The Grand Palace

There are so many temples to visit in Bangkok, but the one that we wanted to be certain not to miss was the Grand Palace, which houses the Emerald Buddha and is a very important religious and cultural space for the Thai people. We were able to go early one day, which is nice as the heat and humidity get to be a bit much for us later in the day. We initially thought that it was going to take an hour on the train to get to the Grand Palace, but once again the kind people at the ticket counter helped us out. We only needed to go a short distance - only one stop on the train which was so great since it was rush hour and there was no place to sit. This is fine for a short trip, but would have been really challenging for one hour. We disembarked at the Sathorn Pier and walked a very short distance to the ferry which took us down the Chao Phraya River to the Grand Palace. The first boat transport option when you get off of the train is for a traditional longboat which would have cost 300 Baht for each of us ($9). This would be a fun option if I could sit comfortably on a bench, but since I can’t do that, we walked a bit further to the ferry which ended up costing only 30 Baht each and was very comfortable. Going early is great as the boat makes fewer stops. On our trip down the river we passed two other temples that we hope to come back and see on different days.

One of the many temples along the Chao Phraya River

It’s not a long walk to the palace entrance and you pass by lots of shops and restaurants. Something that we saw at many shops, and on a lot of tourists in the Grand Palace, were these long light pants featuring elephants. The dress code for the palace requires that shoulders and knees are covered along with all other parts of your body in between. This requirement is mentioned in all the guidebooks, YouTube videos and on the Grand Palace Website so tourists should be aware. As we were walking by the shops, one of the merchants told a man in front of us that he would not get to enter with his shorts (so he should stop and buy some pants). They are strict at the palace and a man who was entering next to us was told he could not enter with a sarong tied around his shorts. I believe that they have a place where they will have you borrow things to wear with a deposit.

These are the cute elephant pants that many of the visitors are wearing.

The other thing to be aware of when visiting the big temples is that there are people standing outside who will tell you that the temple is temporarily closed and they will try and take you to another place. We heard about this on different YouTube channels that we watched and then it happened! This man tried to convince us that the Palace was closed for a couple of hours for lunch but he had another activity for us. George is kind and stopped to talk to him, and the many looked official and said he worked for the palace. When we continued walking, we found that the palace was open - it does not close during the day. Keep an eye out for this if you come to Thailand.

We were compelled start taking pictures the moment we entered the palace grounds! Everything is so beautiful and ornate it’s hard to know where to look first. You can participate as part of a tour, or hire a local guide to take you around the palace. We saw people on the boat with a guide and there are people standing outside of the palace offering tours in a variety to languages. Since we like to be self paced, we went with the rental of audio devices that shared information about each of the buildings in and around Wat Phra Kaew (The Temple of the Emerald Buddha). This is the central section of the Grand Palace, inside the much larger complex that includes museums, buildings for visiting dignitaries, and places where the royal family may stay and receive guests and also places that enshrine the remains of the royal family.

Modeling the audio devices before heading to the main gate

There is a mural that covers the outer walls that surround the entire temple. It is gorgeously painted with minute details. You could spend hours just looking at this mural. This picture is just one small part of the mural. According to resources that I found on the internet, these panels are depicting scenes from the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian epic, Ramayana. Here is the link to the website where I found the info in case you would like to read more about it.

This is one small section of the mural

The Royal Pantheon in the background enshrines the statues of the eight Kinks of the Chakri dynasty. In the foreground is one of the two Golden Chedis surrounded by mythical creatures. These were builds to honor King Rama I’s father and mother.

Phra Viharn Yod - the porcelain floral design is stunningly beautiful. This building contains important Buddha images,

Turning around, I can see the back of the Royal Pantheon and man spires. The golden structure right behind the pantheon is Phra Sri Ratana Cheri and it enshrines relics of Lord Buddha.

A sandstone model of Angkor Wat, the famed Cambodian temple

This is one of the six pairs of demon giants that guard the entrances to the temple.

This is part of the crowd waiting outside of the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha. You must have your shoes off at this point and you can enter and walk through the back, though you cannot take any pictures while inside.

This is a picture of the small Emerald Buddha statue taken from outside of the chapel. The Buddha is currently wearing his winter gown. They change the robe for each of the three seasons.

George standing in front of the Belfry where they ring the bell on special occasions. The white pagoda to the right is one of the places there people can sit and rest.

Statue of the Goddess Kun lam in front of the Royal Chapel of the Emerald Buddha

We are now outside of the temple area and in front of the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall which was originally built as the official residence of King Rama V and now used for state banquets

This door is on the side of the main entrance and is so stunning!

Aphorn Phimok Prasat - used by kings as a disrobing area. A replica was exhibited at the 1958 World Fair in Brussels.

After we finished touring this amazing place, we went to The Gate Grand Palace - a restaurant just outside of the grounds - for a really delicious lunch! It gets really busy here, but we were early, about 11:30 and got seated right away. It gets so hot and humid that it is nice to relax in some air conditioning. If you come to visit, going during the week and early is recommended.

Crispy Noodle Pad Thai - so delicious