Day 4 The Grand Palace



I had breakfast at the hotel and then walked to the BTS station catch the train to the Central Pier where I would take a boat to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The exit from the station leads right to the pier so it would be nearly impossible to get lost. You purchase your boat ticket right at the pier, either a day pass for $5 or a one way for $1.50. It was a beautiful morning and the ride up the river was relaxing with plenty of scenery along the way from upscale high rises to shantys on stilts along the waters edge. You get off the boat at stop #9, which leads you through a small market where vendors sell food, fruit, fresh juices and souvenirs. You can also purchase wrap around skirts and pants as there is a strict dress code for entering the grounds, no bare shoulders or sleeveless shirts, and women must wear skirts, these items can also be borrowed on site for a small refundable deposit, although the selection is not very flattering from what I saw. Now I had been warned of the ploy some “wily strangers” employ on TA, which is they tell you the palace is closed and you should take their tuk-tuk for a tour or to visit a special shop. Sure enough as I was waiting to cross the road a man approached me to say the Palace would be closed until the afternoon do to a special occasion, even as droves of people were coming in and out of the gate. Now anyone that knows me can tell you I have been a master in the art of bovine defecation for almost my entire life, so without missing a beat I looked him straight in the eye and said “of course it’s closed, I am President Obama’s personal ambassador and I have been invited to the palace for lunch with the highest officials of the government”, he just looked at me funny and walked away.
The Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha is one of the most venerated sites in Thailand and there were crowds of people on the grounds to pay homage and make offerings. Photographs cannot do justice to the scale and grandeur of the buildings or the intricacy of the mosaics covering them. Building after building is just awe inspiring, with gilded statues throughout the grounds. There are also galleries surrounding the main area, the walls adorned with scenes from the Ramakien, part of Buddhist lore. Workers were present partaking in restoration of various areas, applying what appeared to be gold leaf on the ceiling beams of the covered walkway. The Buddha itself is carved from a large piece of jade, although it was mistaken for emerald when first discovered, and sits atop a large gilded throne over 20 feet high. No photos are allowed in the temple, so you will just have to visit it for yourself to see this relic from the past. You could easily spend up to 2 hours just wandering around trying to take it all in. They do not allow photos in the palace itself so I skipped that part, those sorts of things are not of much interest to me and without pictures I would forget most of it anyways.


One of the many statues located on the grounds


The Temple of the Emerald Buddha


A close up of the intricate mosaic work covering the buildings


The "corn cob" design of the towers is typical of the Cambodian style

After leaving the grounds I visited a small shrine across the street, and had lunch at a restaurant along the road. Before returning to the dock I also checked out the stalls set up on the road along the river where you can buy food or amulets to offer at the temple. There was another Wat across the street from these which houses the Mahanikal School of Buddhism, and there were many young monks on the grounds. The buildings were being worked on, pallets of new roofing tiles and scaffolding lined the walkways. The temple here house a large statue of a sitting Buddha. The is a ferry at the pier that will take you across the river where you can visit the Temple of the Dawn, but I was about templed out and wanted to start heading back home. The midday sun is quite intense so plenty of sunscreen is a real necessity if you are going to be out and about.


Pink pacaderms at the traffic circle


A Monk checks out some of the food items for sale along the road

At the hotel I took a little nap and freshened up the headed for the Patpong market, which is an infamous site in Bangkok. I didn’t care for this place at all, it was basically some stalls selling crap for 2-3 times what they were asking at Chatuchak Market with raunchy go-go bars on either side. I had hoped to get some street food here, but the whole area looked dodgy and not too clean so I just had a beer and left. Now the Nana Market, near my hotel also has some go-go bars, but the vibe of the area is much nicer and has a better mix of people, not just a bunch of degenerates. I was burnt out from the long day in the sun, and had an early tour planned for tomorrow so I made it an early night once back at the hotel.

A longtail boat passes on the river