The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo

Well, I have finished my second week teaching and am still alive! My little ones are getting used to their new routine and are settling in nicely to their new classroom. Not sure if I would want to do this forever, but I am enjoying it for the time being (I suppose it helps that they are all super cute and haven't learned to talk back yet!)
This weekend Ryan and I felt up to another touristy excoursion, so we planned a trip to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). This is a HUGE tourist hot-spot, so we knew we were in for a day of crowds and scams. Trying to scam the tourists is a lucrative job for many Thais. Although it is discouraged by the government, there is little anyone can do to stop it unless it is reported. It is such a problem that Thailand has a special Tourist Police that are trained to deal with victimized tourists, and we have been told to call them if we encounter any problems. Knowing this going in (having been suckered once before) we were a little more weary when a nice gentlement informed us on our arrival that there was a special ceremony at the Grand Palace today and only Thais were allowed in. He recommended a number of other temples we should go visit, and we are sure he would have found us a nice Tuk-Tuk driver to take us around town for a "low low price", but not wanting to have to stop into a tailors (the scam is the driver takes you to a number of temples and then to a tailor - he gets gas money, and the tailor hopefully sells us a suit or two) we continued on our way to the main entrance, where, sure enough, the Grand Palace was open to the public. There were several signs at the main gate asking tourists to be weary of strangers, and stating that the complex is open daily.
While no longer where he resides, the Grand Palace was the king's official residence from the time it was built, in 1782, until 1946. To enter the grounds all tourists must be in appropriate dress. While it states this for entrance into all temples, the Grand Palace is the only place where it is enforced. Everyone wishing to enter the grounds must wear appropriate dress at all times; basically this means knees and shoulders covered, and no open toed, or open heeled shoes. They have sarongs for people to borrow if need be, but Ryan and I were prepared. Unfortunately for us, this also happened to be one of the hottest days in Bangkok since we arrived, so we were pretty hot and sweaty by the end of our day!


We couldn't enter any of the buildings, but the spectacular architecture and design of the exteriors of the throne halls and royal residence, as well as the artwork in the Ramakien Gallery, led you to believe the interiors would be equally immaculate.



This last picture is of Phra Si Rattana Chedi. It is said to contain a piece of the Buddha's breastbone.
Featured within the walls of the Grand Palace is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is the most sacred building in the complex and remains the most revered Buddha image in Thailand. Circling the bot are 112 garudas (mythical half-man half-bird creatures).

Cameras were not allowed in the building, but we were able to take a picture of the Emerald Buddha through the window from the outside (hence the poor photography).

The legend surrounding the Emerald Buddha states that in 1434 lighting struck the CHEDI of Wat Phra Kaeo in Chiang Rai (Northern Thailand) and the flaking plaster revealed a jadeite image beneath. When the king learned of this he sent an army of elephants to retrieve the image, but the elephants would not carry the Emerald Buddha to Chiang Mai. Taking it as a sign, the king rerouted the elephants to Lampang where it was moved several times until taken to Laos. It was not returned to Thailand until 1778, where it stayed in Wat Arun before crossing the river to its final resting place in 1785.
The Emerald Buddha sits encased in glass, high on top of a golden altar, and is actually carved from Jade. It is quite small, especially when compared to the other Buddha images we had seen recently, at only 66 cm high. It was dressed in one of its three costumes, according to the season: summer, winter or the rainy season.
We finished our tour walking past Chakri Maha Prasat Hall, where we spotted guards in white uniforms. Most people took a picture with the guards, but we decided on a more descrete approach. No one tried to make them laugh, as they do with English Bobby's but they did look pretty stern and did not crack a smile for anyone passing by.