Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)
Grand Palace
This is the most famous place that is a must for all tourists. It is a large compound located near Sanam Luang in the very heart of Bangkok. The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha were built after King Rama I ascended the throne as the founder of the Chakri Dynasty on 6 April 1782 and have undergone several repairs and renovations.
The Grand Palace consists of several buildings with different styles of architecture. Wat Phra Kaeo is renowned as the most beautiful and important Buddhist temple in Thailand. It houses Phra Kaeo Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the most highly revered Buddha image carved from a single block of fine jade.
Scattered in the temple grounds are numerous interesting sculptures of artistic value, including the fanciful animals in mythology, the fierce-looking giants standing guard at the gates, the six pairs of Cambodian-style bronze lions and the stone figures from China.
On the inside walls of the temple's compound, there are extensive mural paintings depicting scenes from the famous epic "Ramayana". It is the longest wall painting in the world as well as one of the Unseen Bangkoks. A distinctive characteristic of this temple is that there are no monks living in it like other temples.
When King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) decided to move the capital of Siam from Thonburi on the west to Bangkok on the east of the Chao Phraya River he decided to build a magnificent new palace as a place of residence as well as a centre of government. The area chosen was however occupied by Chinese merchants, who he promptly asked to relocate (to the present day Yaowarat area).
The tower of gold began construction on 6 May 1782. At first the palace consisted of several wooden buildings surrounded on four sides with a high defensive wall of 1,900 metres in length, which encloses an area of 218,400 square metres. Soon the King ordered the building of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha; as the Monarch’s personal place of worship and royal temple. Once the palace was complete the King decided to under go a coronation ceremony to celebrate in 1785.
The plan of the Grand Palace followed closely that of the old palace in Ayutthaya. The Palace is rectangular shaped, with the western side next to a river and the royal temple situated to the east side, with all structures facing north. The palace itself is divided into three quarters: the outer quarters, the middle quarters and the inner quarters.
The palace became the centre of the Rattanakosin government and royal court for most of the early Chakri Dynasty until the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) who preferred to stay at the Dusit Palace, but still used the Grand Palace as an office and primary place of residence. This practice was followed by his sons (Rama VI and Rama VII) who preferred their own palaces. King Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII) moved into the palace full time after his return from abroad in 1945. However after his mysterious death a year later in one of the palaces inside the complex, his brother King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) who succeeded him decided to move permanently to the Chitralada Palace.
The Palace is however still very much in use; as many royal rituals are performed here by the King every year. Other royal ceremonies celebrated here are coronations; royal funerals, marriages and state banquets. The Palace grounds also contain the offices and buildings of the Bureau of the Royal Household, the Office of the Private Secretary to the King and Royal Institute of Thailand.
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Wat Phra Kaew (วัดพระแก้ว), the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the adjoining Grand Palace together form perhaps the greatest spectacle for the visitor to Bangkok. Despite the fact that the whole compound is so full of tourists you spend half the time trying to avoid getting in people's photos, it's still a pretty amazing place to visit.
It consists of over 100 brightly colored buildings, golden spires and glittering mosaics, and dates back to 1782, when Bangkok was founded. When you enter the compound, you first of all see Wat Phra Kaew and the nearby attractions, and then move on to the Grand Palace afterwards.
Wat Phra Kaew itself, generally known to the Thais as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is perhaps the main attraction. This is Thailand's most important and sacred temple, so you're expected to act with due respect inside it. It houses the tiny (between 60 and 75 cm) Emerald Buddha, which is located high above the heads of the worshippers and tourists. Not much is known for certain about the statue, except that it isn't actually made of emerald but rather of green jade or jasper. Getting a good look at it is difficult as photography is forbidden inside the temple, and it's perched so high up inside it's glass box that it's difficult to really see.
It's thought to have been made in the 15th century and was the cause of several wars before ending up for good in Bangkok in 1782. The image is considered a talisman and holds tremendous significance for Thailand and the Thais. The 'robe' that it wears is changed 3 times each year by the King himself, at the start of each season: A diamond encrusted gold robe during the hot season, a solid gold robe in the cool season and a gilded monk's robe in the rainy season.There are also many other Buddha images inside the temple. The construction of the temple started when King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok in 1785. Unlike other temples it does not contain living quarters for monks; rather, it has only the highly decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas.
Round the interior walls are murals depicting the jataka stories. These are located according to the typical Thai conventions inside temples. The ones facing the altar depict the victory of the Buddha over the evil demon Mara, as he subdues her and achieves enlightenment. As is normal for Thai temples, shoes must be taken off before entering into the temple.
Despite it's national importance, Wat Phra Kaew is the only temple in Thailand that doesn't have any resident monks, and so is not a seat of Buddhist learning in the same way as the likes of Wat Pho and Wat Mahathat.
A cloister surrounds the temple, and depicted along here is an extensive mural of the Ramakian, the Thai version of the famous Indian epic, the Ramayana. In total there are 178 sections, and although they date from the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV 1825-1850) they have since been restored on numerous occasions. The explanatory texts across from each were devised by King Chulalongkorn (Rama V).
Also in the compound is:
- A miniature model of the famous Cambodian temple complex Angkor Wat, made during the reign of King Mongkut (Rama IV) when the Thai empire extended over Cambodia.
- Two libraries, built to protect copies of important Buddhist literature. The Phra Mondop library is impressive, but almost always closed to the public. If not, it's well worth looking at.
- The impressive golden Phra Si Rattana Chedi, which it's claimed (somewhat improbably) houses ashes of the Buddha.
- The Royal Pantheon, with full size statues of the first seven kings of the reigning Chakri dynasty (Rama I - Rama VII). Only open on April 6th, the anniversary of the founding of this dynasty. Surrounding this are large statues of mythical guardians (pictured right), such as the kinaree, half human-half bird and the Hindu garuda bird. It contains the scared Buddhist scriptures, the Tripitaka.
