Wat more could you ask for - Narrative

The pictures accompanying this blog entry were taken on several occasions while we hosted sightseeing tours with various folks. Everyone wants to visit the ultimate Bangkok site: the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (the Temple of the Emerald Buddha) so we went there several times. I never tire of seeing their exquisite beauty. I remember the hesitancy I felt the first time we returned to it. After traveling to Thailand three years ago, we visited Japan and China in subsequent years—would I now find that the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha were a beautiful memory muted by the other gorgeous sites we had more recently seen in Japan and China? I needn’t have feared. The sites were even more beautiful than I recalled. The Grand Palace site is actually a series of many wats including the most famous one, Wat Phra Kaew. The Grand Palace itself is no longer the residence of the King and you can only view it from the outside. You can’t possibly take in all the many buildings the first time you come here. It takes several visits to begin to absorb it all. Also, it is fiercely hot and humid. Usually, you can take refuge in some air-conditioned spot close by. But this site is huge, and requires a lot of walking. On average, you can expect to last a maximum of an hour to an hour and a half before you totally wilt. The first 29 pictures were taken at the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Note the artist/restorer working on the murals. Many restorers are always renovating the murals and parts of the buildings. The last few of the 29 are views of the outside of the Grand Palace. Here’s a hint to those of you thinking of visiting Bangkok. Each time we have been to this site, taxi drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, friendly people, and people in official looking uniforms have tried to dissuade us from entering. They tell various stories: this is the wrong entrance, the real entrance is around the corner; the site is closed until the afternoon; foreigners are not allowed into the site since there is a ceremony taking place there, etc. We can’t figure out what’s going on—we just ignore these people, proceed to the main entrance and buy our admission ticket. You can tell it is the main entrance by looking for the Haagen Dasz store sign across the street.

When you finish viewing the site, you are directed to leave by way of an exit next to the Grand Palace. At this exit, grab a cab and direct the driver around the corner to Wat Pho, the site of the giant reclining Buddha. It is about 3 minutes away, but I defy you to walk it after you have spent over an hour in the tropical sun. The next 9 photos were taken at Wat Pho. One picture shows a line of people next to round bowls. For 20 baht (50 cents donation) you can obtain 120 one baht pieces to toss into each bowl. After completing this task, you can make a wish. Also note the beautiful pictures showing some inlaid mother of pearl. You’ve probably guessed that this inlaid mother of pearl is on the soles of the Buddha’s feet. Wat Pho also houses a very famous Thai massage school on its grounds. After so much sightseeing, you may be ready to indulge in a massage. Tourists pay about 360 baht (about $9) for a 40 minute massage by a student. Pricey by Kho San Road standards where many tourists get a massage (250 baht--$6.50--for an hour).

The final shots are those taken at Wat Benchamabophit, made of white carrara marble. The story is that King Chulalongkorn, the King who is credited with steering the country into the modern age and preserving Thailand’s independence from colonialism, visited Europe and decided to build a Wat with a European look to it. The result is this beautiful marble Wat which also houses over 50 Buddha statutes on its grounds, two of which are rare masterpieces. The Wat is located adjacent to the grounds of the Chitralada Palace, which is the residence of the King when he is in Bangkok. The day that we visited here, all traffic was stopped to wait until a motorcade went by from the palace. We hoped we would get a glimpse of the King but we only saw some generals in Mercedes Benz which quickly sped by.

These are the final pictures until we relocate to Chiang Mai. This trip is currently scheduled for November 21 barring any other unforeseen circumstances, if you catch my drift. Eleanor