The Grand Palace was the first place I've visited since I entered to the BIG Mango, Bangkok 10 years ago. I've heard every visitor to Bangkok should once see the magnificent building within the Grand Palace to get a feeling of the grandeur architectural style, and the Temple the Emerald Buddha (officially known as Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram) is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in Thailand, within the grounds of the Grand Palace, it ehshrines Phra Kaew Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the highly revered Buddha image meticulously carved from a single block of jade. The temple of Emerald Buddha is beautifully decorated and has a great sense of peace about it.
The construction of the Temple of Emerald Buddha started when the King Buddha Yordfa Chulaloke Maharach "King Rama I" moved the capital from Thonburi to Bangkok, unlike other temples, it does not contain living quarters for monks, rather, it has only elaborately decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas. The main building is the central called "Ubosot" (Ordination hall), which houses the Emerald Buddha. Even though it is small in size, it it the most important icon for Thai people.
Other attractions in Wat Phra Kaew include a model of Angkor Wat, which was built under the order of King Rama IV when Cambodia was under Siamese control. The model was later recreated in plaster at the behest of King Rama V to celebrate the first centenary of the Royal city. And don't miss the Balcony, which can be compared to the temple wall. The murals inside tell the Ramayana epic in its entirety. On the columns of the balcony are stone inscriptions of the verses describing the murals. Each gate of the Balcony is guarded by the five-metre tall 'Yaksa Tavarnbal' (Gate-Keeping Giants), the characters taken from the same epic.
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| The murals inside tell the Ramayana |
Details: Admission fee is 400 Baht. The fee also includes tickets to the Coin Pavilion,
Vimanmek Mansion and Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, all of which are worth seeing in their own right.
The site is open daily 08:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and 01:00 p.m. - 03:30 p.m.
How to get there: The Grand Palace and Wat Pra Kaew are in the Banglamphu area of Bangkok – the ‘Old City’. You can take a taxi or Tuk Tuk. The following buses will get you there:
Bus Number: 1, 35, 44,47, 123, 201
Air-conditioned Bus Number: 2, 3, 7, 8, 12, 25, 39, 44
Tips;
Photography inside the Emerald Buddha is strictly forbidden. This is not just a requirement of the chapel; taking pictures of Buddha images is against the law.
