I met Martina on Friday 25th January at the Grand Palace, which was established in 1782 and houses not only the Royal residence and throne halls but a number of governement offices and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,000 square metres and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 metres in length. The palace was built after King Rama I’s ascension to the thone in 1782. Prior to this, the royal palace and centre of administration was located in Thonburi, on the west side of the Chao Phraya River. For various reasons, the new king considered the former capital to be unsuitable and decided to establish a new capital on the other side of the river. By his royal command, a new palace was built to serve not only as his residence but also as the site of some administrative offices.
The royal compound has been known since then as the Grand Palace. The buildings are pretty impressive – there is a reliquary in the shape of a golden chedi, the Mondop (a respository for Buddhist sacred scriptures inscribed in palm leaves contained within a mother of pearl inlaid cabinet), a miniature Angkor Wat crafted by order of King Rama IV (see photo) and the grounds of the Royal Monastery are enclosed by galleries, the walls of which are decorated with scenes from Ramakien (ie significant battles), first painted during the reign of Rama I and since then restored several times (see photo). Another building is the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha, which is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand where people convene to pay their trespect to the Lord Buddha and his teachings.
The Emerald Buddha is enshrined on a golden traditional Thai-style throne made of gilded carved wood, known as a Busabok, in the ordination hall of the Royal Monastery (see picture of midget Buddha). The sacred image is clad with one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season and winter). The costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by the current King. The Emerald Buddha is in fact carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time, the image was covered with plaster and thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, however, the abbot who found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and thus the started the legend of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha was later taken to Lampang, where it remained until King Tilok of Lannathai moved it to Chiang Mai, his capital, where it was enshrined. In 1552, an interruption occurred in the Lannathai line of succession.King Chaichettha of Luang Prabang, who was the son of a Chiang Mai princess and a Laotian king was invited to fill the gap. After a relatively short reign, he returned to Laos for 226 years until 1778 when a Thai army under the command of Chao Phraya Chakri (who later became King Rama I), captured Vientiane, the Laotian capital and the image was brought back to Thailand. When King Rama I had built the city of Bangkok, the Emerald Buddha was housed within the Royal Monastery with due pomp and ceremony. You are not allowed to take any photos of the Emerald Buddha but it is a midget buddha compared to the others we saw (only a couple of feet high). The Thais consider it an insult to the Lord Buddha if they point their feet towards any buddha image, so as not to have bad karma, we tried to shuffle along with our feet pointed at odd angles – not an easy task!
We wilted in the heat again after only a couple of hours of sightseeing, so we took a tuk tuk to the new city centre shopping mall, Siam Paragon, which opened last year. We bargained the driver down to 100 baht, but when we got in the tuk tuk, he pulled the usual trick of trying to increase the price. We agreed to pay another 50 baht (which is about 85p in the grand scheme of things!) but the driver mustn’t have been happy with that, as he then proceded to drive like a lunatic, swerving in and out of traffic coming in the opposite direction and chuckling to himself as he did so. When we got out, I told him he was a complete nutter, but he must have thought that was a complement because he laughed. I think that was our last experience of tuk tuks as we probably had a narrow escape. We bought a few things in one of the department stores (Paragon), as they had a sale on. I also managed a trip to the hairdresser (cut and colour for 40 quid) , as I was starting to look like a bedraggled old bag! I am also a bit more tanned than usual and I must look like a local, as some of the shop assistant have been talking to me in Thai, even though I keep telling them I don’t understand and shrug my shoulders. One woman talked to me in complete gibberish – I haven’t a clue what language it was!
I have found Bangkok cheap, especially taking taxis and eating out. You can get a decent curry for under 100 baht (about 1.50), which is great – I have been stuffing my face (nothing new there!). I am in foodie heaven for the next month. Hooray!
The royal compound has been known since then as the Grand Palace. The buildings are pretty impressive – there is a reliquary in the shape of a golden chedi, the Mondop (a respository for Buddhist sacred scriptures inscribed in palm leaves contained within a mother of pearl inlaid cabinet), a miniature Angkor Wat crafted by order of King Rama IV (see photo) and the grounds of the Royal Monastery are enclosed by galleries, the walls of which are decorated with scenes from Ramakien (ie significant battles), first painted during the reign of Rama I and since then restored several times (see photo). Another building is the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha, which is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand where people convene to pay their trespect to the Lord Buddha and his teachings.
The Emerald Buddha is enshrined on a golden traditional Thai-style throne made of gilded carved wood, known as a Busabok, in the ordination hall of the Royal Monastery (see picture of midget Buddha). The sacred image is clad with one of the three seasonal costumes (summer, rainy season and winter). The costumes are changed three times a year in a ceremony presided over by the current King. The Emerald Buddha is in fact carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in a stupa in Chiang Rai. At that time, the image was covered with plaster and thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. Later, however, the abbot who found the image noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and thus the started the legend of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha was later taken to Lampang, where it remained until King Tilok of Lannathai moved it to Chiang Mai, his capital, where it was enshrined. In 1552, an interruption occurred in the Lannathai line of succession.King Chaichettha of Luang Prabang, who was the son of a Chiang Mai princess and a Laotian king was invited to fill the gap. After a relatively short reign, he returned to Laos for 226 years until 1778 when a Thai army under the command of Chao Phraya Chakri (who later became King Rama I), captured Vientiane, the Laotian capital and the image was brought back to Thailand. When King Rama I had built the city of Bangkok, the Emerald Buddha was housed within the Royal Monastery with due pomp and ceremony. You are not allowed to take any photos of the Emerald Buddha but it is a midget buddha compared to the others we saw (only a couple of feet high). The Thais consider it an insult to the Lord Buddha if they point their feet towards any buddha image, so as not to have bad karma, we tried to shuffle along with our feet pointed at odd angles – not an easy task!
We wilted in the heat again after only a couple of hours of sightseeing, so we took a tuk tuk to the new city centre shopping mall, Siam Paragon, which opened last year. We bargained the driver down to 100 baht, but when we got in the tuk tuk, he pulled the usual trick of trying to increase the price. We agreed to pay another 50 baht (which is about 85p in the grand scheme of things!) but the driver mustn’t have been happy with that, as he then proceded to drive like a lunatic, swerving in and out of traffic coming in the opposite direction and chuckling to himself as he did so. When we got out, I told him he was a complete nutter, but he must have thought that was a complement because he laughed. I think that was our last experience of tuk tuks as we probably had a narrow escape. We bought a few things in one of the department stores (Paragon), as they had a sale on. I also managed a trip to the hairdresser (cut and colour for 40 quid) , as I was starting to look like a bedraggled old bag! I am also a bit more tanned than usual and I must look like a local, as some of the shop assistant have been talking to me in Thai, even though I keep telling them I don’t understand and shrug my shoulders. One woman talked to me in complete gibberish – I haven’t a clue what language it was!
I have found Bangkok cheap, especially taking taxis and eating out. You can get a decent curry for under 100 baht (about 1.50), which is great – I have been stuffing my face (nothing new there!). I am in foodie heaven for the next month. Hooray!
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