Bangkok, Thailand: Part 2: The Grand Palace

Outside the Grand Palace prior to walking through one of the main entrances. The white wall is part of the protective wall build around the Palace grounds.

On Sunday Mark and I set off to explore the historical and cultural sights of Bangkok. Our first stop was the Grand Palace, a must-see for anyone visiting the area. The first photo was taken prior to entering through the official gates, the palace is in the background.

According to what we read while there, the construction on the Grand Palace began back in 1782 for the King of Siam, who eventually became the King of Thailand. The Palace is not actually one large building, like how some might think of a castle or the main structure of Buckingham Palace, rather it consists of many buildings, pavillions, and structures. The structures were not all built at once, rather various kings added something here or there during their reign. It is truly a sight to see. It is amazing to think of how difficult the construction process had to be back in the 1780's, especially when you can see the minute detail and complex designs. There are many curved lines and individual mosaic tiles to construct the trim and framing. Also, there is an exetremely large amount of gold used in the decorations. We had read various plaques posted around the building and statues which detailed the originality of the pieces, although some have undergone remodeling, many of the original structures, tiles, and statues are original.

I believe that wikipedia does an excellent description of the history of the Grand Palace and the construction, so I am adding the link here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace

Since we are discussing the Grand Palace it is fitting to state that the King and Queen of Thailand are VERY well loved and respected by the Thai people. It is considered disrespectful to speak ill of them. In fact, when you look around stores, taxis, restaurants, street vendors and such, many of them have pictures of the Royal Family posted. This is not to be confused with the reasons various countries post pictures of their dictators/prime ministers/etc. within a communist society. Finally, the Thailand Monarchy no longer reside in the Grand Palace, it is still used for various official and special ceremonies several times a year.

An additional tidbit of information: Thailand's Royal Familiy have a constitutional role, while elected officals serve in the governing body. Recently, you may recall the riots in Bangkok due to the upcoming elections (held Feb. 2). This was for the parliment positions and political governing bodies, which did not have anything to do with the Royal Family.

Wondering around the grounds, we came across a building where monks gather to meditate and pray. As we were walking around we could hear their rhythmic chanting, which was very awesome! Mark audio recorded it, but I am not able to upload (download?) it to the site due to my complete technological handicap.

All of the work is actually individual small mosiac tiles placed in that pattern. The sun creates a gorgeous glimmer off of the glass and gold.



If you look close, you may see the layers of tiles and gold. This was actually only about 1.5' high. Many of these surrounded the buildings.



Here is a close-up of the ceramic flowers. These flowers adorn many columns in the area-some columns reach of 20-30 feet with flowers all the way up!

Paintings down the many hallways. The detail of these paintings was very impressive, I'm not sure the picture captures its' beauty!

This is a minature replica of Angor Wat, Cambodia cast out of concrete. Once again, the detail is exquisite! You can look down the hallways, into the windows, and such. I should have held my hand next to it for a size comparision, but I would guess it's not much taller than 2 feet at it's highest peak.

The Emerald Buddha. Despite it's appearance, this Buddha is actually quite small, I would guess 2 feet. Buddha's clothing, which is made of gold, is changed 3 times a year in accordance with the seasons. The King or an official diplomat must change the garmets. This picture was taken outside of the temple, as you may not photograph inside and must show respect at all times. You may photogrpah outside according to the guards so please do not think I broke any cultural or religious laws here.

The Emerald Buddha dates back to the 15th Century and is carved from a single blcok of green jade. This Buddha has a rather interesting history intertwined with myths and fables. It appears that it actually may have originated in either Northern Thailand or India, but then traveled around many parts of Asia before finally resting in The Temple of the Emerald Buddha in 1784. The official name is Wat Phra Rattanasatsadaram.

Here is just another picture of one of the buildings. Those are full size doors several feet in the air. I have no idea if they open or not, but they are very fancy and absolutely gorgeous in person!