Saturday 4 October 2014

The Grand Palace, Bangkok

Day 1

Confused and jetlagged,  but determined to make the most of our short time in Bangkok,  we headed off in search of one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city; the Grand Palace, and Temple of The Golden Buddah (500 bhat per ticket).

The Palace was pretty simple to get too; take the sky train to Saphan Taksin, and from there transfer onto the express boat to Tha Chang. (The boat is my favourite way to travel so far, the city seems calmer from the river, and the light breeze feels amazing!)

Scenes from the river

From the pier its a five minute walk to the palace -just follow the crowds- easy peasy lemon squeezy. (Nb, take care walking through the market that has sprung up around the pier, I have read about a number of scams operating in that area).

The Palace itself is fairly unremarkable, it houses a couple of small museums, and actually still contains several working royal offices.

Far more interesting was The Royal Monastery of The Emerald Buddha. The architecture of the monastry was beautiful; so many colours, vibrant against the overcast sky. It was architecture like this that first drew me to Thailand,  so it was amazing to experience it in the flesh.

Inside the temple complex

I also enjoyed the miniature angkor wat (built during the reign of King Rama IV), and the golden chedi,  inside which is believed to be held a peice of the Buddha's chest bone.

 The golden chedi | A miniature Angkor Wat

In terms of tips for visiting the complex, they will lend you clothes to cover up if you come inappropriately dressed (shoulders and knees should be covered), but obviously its easier and more respectful to bring your own. Also, and this sounds super obvious,  try and avoid the middle of the day, theres a lot to see here, and we found we rushed the final parts in an effort to get out of the heat (lets blame that foolishness on the jetlag shall we.. )

All in all, a reasonably successful first day out.

Much Love,
Jess
xxxx


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