Grand Palace behind wall
The Grand Palace is open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Admission costs 500 baht (about $15).Be sure to wear clothes that cover your shoulders and legs or you won’t be allowed into various parts of the palace. We had a guide through Gate 1, but there are free guided tours throughout the day.
The Grand Palace is an enormous complex of temples buildings that was home to the Kings of Siam since 1782. Although it isn’t the official residence of the present king, King Rama X, it is still used for official events such as state functions and royal ceremonies.
The entrance gates are guarded by giant demons that protect the temple from evil spirits.
The palace complex is laid out very similar to the palaces of Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam.
There is a mixture of architectural styles. The round gold building, built by King Rama IV in 1855, is in the Shri Lankan style and houses a relic of Buddha. It is covered with gold mosaics.
The second building is the Buddhist library, in the Thai style, was built by King Rama I in 1789.
The third building, the Royal Pantheon, is a mixture of Thai and Khmer styles. It was built by Rama IV in 1856. It is flanked by golden stupas.
Outside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha was a station where people left offerings and could bless themselves with holy water dropped from a lotus flower, which both Jordan and JP did.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew, was begun in 1782 by King Rama I. It is considered as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand. Carved from a single block of jade that dates from the 15th century, the Buddha sits cross-legged in a meditation pose.
You are not allowed to take photos inside the temple, but I bought a book with an interior shot, a close up of one of the guardian Buddhas, a depiction of the Emerald Buddha in its seasonal costumes for summer, rainy season and winter.
Other attractions in Wat Phra Kaew include a model of Angkor Wat, which was built under the order of King Rama IV when Cambodia was under Siamese control.
The murals inside the Balcony tell the Ramayana epic in its entirety. On the columns of the balcony are stone inscriptions of the verses describing the murals. Each gate of the Balcony is guarded by the five-meter tall Gate-keeping Giants), the characters taken from the same epic.
Two gilt stupas are supported by monkey and demon caryatids.
detail of ceramic decorations
The Thai Royal Palace is a mixture of styles, Spanish on the first level, French on the second, British on the third, and a Thai roof.
dog with stone ball in its mouth
After the Grand Palace, we took a boat tour of the canals that branch off the river.
Grand Palace from the river
Wat Arun, an 82 meters Khmer style tower also known as the Temple of Dawn, is just across the Chao Phraya River from the Grand Palace.
The temple is covered with mosaics, pieced together from Chinese porcelain that was used as ballast in ships. You are no longer allowed to climb the temple. Wat Arun was envisioned by King Taksin in 1768. It is believed that after fighting his way out of Ayutthaya, which was taken over by a Burmese army at the time, he arrived at this temple just as dawn was breaking. He later had the temple renovated and renamed it Wat Chaeng, the Temple of the Dawn. It used to be the home of the Emerald Buddha, before the capital and Palace was moved to the other side of the river.
Our canal cruise was fascinating because we saw several dozen old and new temples side by side with ancient teak houses, and falling down tin structures. We got a sense of what life was once like in Bangkok with kids fishing and swimming in the canals.
In front of one ancient temple, we fed hundreds of catfish.
Brand new temples are being built. We came around a turn in the river and saw this immense Buddha, which was one of many,
including this reclining Buddha.
When we returned to the hotel, the boys went to have their suits fitted.
the perfect fit
our hotel in background
That evening we all scheduled massages at the Yin Yang Original just down from our hotel. I had a 30 min neck and back massage for ten dollars, JP had a 60 min deep tissue massage for a little over twenty, Steve had a 60 min herbal massage for under thirty, and Jordan and Brooke both had 60 min massages for under thirty (Brooke’s first massage ever).
Then we explored the night market, which was full of hundreds of shops and restaurants, and even a ferris wheel.
We enjoyed a light curry meal at an Indian restaurant.