mumbai and beyond: Day 2 in Bangkok; The Grand Palace for starters….

Way way back in August last year {2015} we spent a weekend in Bangkok on the back of a 9 day holiday in Laos {had an amazing time!} We spent the Saturday checking out a couple of Bangkok's Fabulous floating markets and on Sunday the 23rd, before we departed for Mumbai, India, we wondered around the Grand Palace {what a complex!} before heading off the the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and then ending up at Tha Tian Market near Chao Praya River.

The Grand Palace is a massive complex consisting of the royal residence, throne halls, a number of government buildings and the The Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand where people convene to pay respect to the Lord Buddha and His Teachings {there were enough people there early in the morning to prove this! Very busy at 9am!!} The The Emerald Buddha is in fact carved out of a block of green jade and was first discovered in a stupa {a dome like shrine erected by Buddhists} in 1434 in Chiang Rai, some 800kms away {I think I've got the place right} At that time, the image was covered with plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, the abbot who found the Buddha noticed that the plaster was beginning to flake off the nose which revealed the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought the the stone was emerald and thus the legend of the the Emerald Buddha image began. The Emerald Buddha is clad with one of three seasonal costumes; summer, rainy season and winter. We were there when the Buddha was 'clothed' in the rainy season attire. The costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by His Majesty the King. For the hot season - a stepped, pointed headpiece; a breast pendant; a sash; a number of armlets, bracelets and other items of royal attire. All items are made of enamelled gold and embedded with precious and semi-precious stones. In the rainy season - a pointed headpiece of enamelled gold studded with sapphires; a gold-embossed monk's robe draped over one shoulder. For the cool season - a gold headpiece studded with diamonds; a jewel-fringed gold-mesh shawl draped over the rainy season attire.

the Emerald Buddha

The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782. It covers an area of 218 000 square metres surrounded by four walls which total 1900 metres in length. After King Rama ascended the throne in 1782, the palace was built. Prior to this, the royal palace and centre of administration had been located on the west side of the Chao Phraya River in Thonburi. For various reasons, the new king considered the former capital to be unsuitable and he decided to establish a new capital not eh other side of the river. Since then, the royal compound has been known as the Grand Palace.

the following {very many photos} are within the Palace complex {lots of pointy bits!}….

a section of the Grand Palace

lots of pointy bits!

I think that this is the Royal Pantheon

the following three photos are the art on the walls of some of the corridors….stunning works!

it has my hand!

I'm helping!

We arrived bang on 8:30am in the morning to try and 'beat the heat' {so cannot do so in August in Bangkok!} and the crowds which turned out to be a drove! I'm so sorry if you are a Chinese reading this…but my goodness me…they 'take-over' when sight-seeing and have no regard for fellow human beings! {generally speaking} They arrived like swarms of bees….in their droves and seemingly 'took over' the Grand Palace! By 10:00 we were ready to move onto the next attraction! SO MANY PEOPLE! It's a wonder we managed to get photos without too many people in the picture! Don't get me wrong, anyone is entitled to visit an attraction, however, I wish that others would be so 'less of self' and more aware that there are other people around! At one stage, Charlotte, Andrew and myself were talking to our guide {so the four of us in a circle} it was pretty clear we were talking {actually, we were listening to something our guide was telling us} and a Chinese man pushed through the four of us to get to a gate so he could take a couple of photos through the gate of the palace. He so could have walked around us as I looked around to see why he had decided to push through us and not walk around….there was plenty of space for him to have done so….so I then lost my temper somewhat and gave him a grilling about how very rude he was and could he not see we were standing in a group talking….he didn't understand a word I said but could see that I was not happy about something….his friend was near by and he translated and the man did apologise….that's an example of someone not having a single regard for fellow humans {we've had more than out fair share of this whilst travelling and nope, it's not always the Chinese who behave like this. We've discovered on our many travels that sadly, there are so many people out there who just don't care about the people around them! AND we have met some amazing people along the way too which helps a little with the negative stuff…I'm digressing now, sorry!}

We then headed over to Wat Pho which is a temple complex that houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple was also the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and still houses a school of Thai medicine. It is known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple. AND there was hardly anybody around - bonus!

the Reclining Buddha reclines inside here

*Wat Pho {Thai: วัดโพธิ์}, also spelt Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. It is also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn!

*Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok with an area of 80,000 square metres and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 150 feet (46 m) in length. The temple grounds contain 91 small chedis (stupas or mounds), four great chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and other buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found within the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates within the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China.

the Recling Buddha

the feet of the Buddha

within the temple complex

pointy bits and Chinese stone statues

a close up of a Chinese stone statue

inside the ordination hall - the main hall used for performing Buddhist rituals and the most sacred building of the complex

the Buddha inside the ordination hall

detail

orange robes times three and one umbrella

so much detail!

there are many small stupas or smaller chedis, called Phra Chedi Rai & the 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 20 slightly larger ones clustered in groups of five contain the relics of Buddha

Our hungry tummies made the decision easy to leave behind the temple complex that houses over 1000 Buddha images and find a spot for lunch! We found a restaurant near the river where we ate a delicious Thai meal. Afterwards, we wondered around a market nearby before making our way back to our hotel where we collected our luggage and headed off to the airport for our flight 'home'.