We start off early for our first full day in Bangkok as today’s programme is to tour the main attractions of the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, and I heard they get crowded fast. On the way to the Palace - within walking distance of our hotel - we get distracted by a fantastic bakery turning out delicious pastries. We’re just early enough to grab a table and wolf down our selection of four - they’re all glorious especially the almond pain au chocolat, divine!
We’ve lost a bit of our lead but we should still be fine? Alas, that’s without counting on car-centric design in the area leading up the the palace. Massive urban motorways loop around each other with no crossing point in sight and we’re completely confused as to where to go. To make matters worse, we start being diverted by a series of “helpful locals” pointing us in various directions to the Palace, but also insisting it’s closed this morning. Luckily, I’d read up on this popular scam, and context clues also help: they all have the same map, and all give us different (fake) opening times. Still, it’s very unsettling, and it takes us a couple of conversations to learn to stand our ground and firmly move past saying we’ll check it out just in case. The most confusing bit is almost the absence of obvious scam: none of them try to sell us anything at all - so what’s the point in waylaying tourists like that? I only feel really sure of myself once we reach the last of them, almost at the gate, who gives us the textbook speech: “it’s Buddha day, the temple is closed”.
What with all this, it’s ten o’clock and there are throngs of tourists flooding in to the (open, obviously) Grand Palace. One more hiccup as we get checked for proper temple attire: I’ve brought a sari for Ollie, who doesn’t do well in long pants in the heat. But what has been perfectly fine in every other temple we’ve visited so far (and since!) is for some reason forbidden here: men must wear trousers apparently. It feels like an excuse to make us buy some of the cheap elephant ones on offer right opposite, but what can we do. Grumbling, and up one item of tackily traditional clothing, we get through and into the monument’s grounds. It’s immediately apparent it’s well worth the steep 500THB entry fee, even with the crowds. We’ve entered via the Palace’s temple compound, which is a dazzling kaleidoscope of mosaic-covered buildings and statues all glittering in the sun, dominated by a massive golden chedi. There’s enough to see for everyone to scatter and every little corner is worth a picture which is enough to keep camera enthusiasts busy without competing for spots. Even the shaded galleries surrounding the compound are beautifully decorated with gilded frescoes recounting the myth of the Ramayana (the same one we saw as a dance in Bali!).
The main attraction is the temple of the Emerald Buddha - a historically and politically significant icon closely associated with royal power in Thailand. While we’ve been warned that the statue itself, despite its importance, isn’t very physically impressive, the building housing it is another matter. Every square centimetre covered in shiny glass mosaic tiles and golden statues, its size and height dwarf the rest of the courtyard and make the detailing on it even more impressive. There’s a bit of a queue as everyone wants to see it, but we shuffle along quite quickly (shoes off, like in all Buddhist temples) and get inside within minutes. The Buddha is atop a glittering mountain of an altar, surrounded by red and gold frescoes on the walls and beautiful mother of pearl panels for doors and windows. The coffered ceiling is my favourite bit: more sober, but still stunning. Having seen the whole thing, I still think the exterior was the most impressive bit however!
Back outside, we take our time to visit the rest of the temple complex. There’s the Ramayana galleries, plenty of smaller buildings (shrines, libraries, a royal pantheon) all gilded and tiled and decorated, some impressive giant guardian statues (just as colourful as the rest), and a few standalone chedis, more sober in their decoration but standing out all the more for it. It’s a feast for the eyes - especially for someone like me who loves shiny, golden, colourful things - and even Ollie is quite impressed.
After a suitably lengthy exploration of the complex, we continue the visit through the palace buildings themselves. Unfortunately we can only see those from the outside, even though the explanations in the brochure we found (only in French!) seem to suggest that wasn’t always the case. While they’re also very ornate, the temple remains the piece de resistance.
Our ticket also includes (by default) entry to the Queen Sirikit textile museum. It’s not Ollie’s thing and he finds a seat outside in the shade while I head in. After missing the Batik Museum in Penang, Malaysia, I’m very excited to see that this includes a batik collection (the king’s himself!), ironically mostly from Indonesia, Malaysia and Bali. It’s an impressive spread and I enjoy learning about the different types, sizes and uses for the cloth, as well as the meanings and influences behind some of the traditional patterns. The next rooms contain a sample of the queen’s outfits throughout the years. She is obviously a woman of refined taste, and one of her focus was to revivify the production of traditional Thai textiles and patterns. Most of her dresses are a successful mix between local fabrics and cuts and French haute-couture (cocorico!), and if I may say so, they’re gorgeous. On the ground floor is a fascinating exhibit building on the queen’s life work to stimulate the textile industry across Thailand, which showcases modern pieces from every region and explains very didactically the different fabrication processes for the various trademark regional cloths. I could stay hours but Ollie is waiting so I just quickly skim through - definitely a worthy stop though!
Also included in our tickets is a traditional dance show at a nearby theatre. We’re a bit scared that it will be the exact same as in Bali, but after checking online that it’s only half an hour long we decide to give it a go. There are indeed a couple of scenes from the Ramayana but it’s quite brief and the rest is a very interesting whirlwind tour of dances from all around Thailand, including historical dances dating back to the twelfth century. That feels like enough culture for one morning, and before heading on to Wat Pho, we go for a spot of lunch accompanied by a fresh coconut, and treat ourselves to some ghee ice-cream - I go for Earl Grey Vanilla flavour which is absolutely delicious.
Refreshed, we head over to Wat Pho which is known for its gigantic reclining Buddha. The temple complex is massive and we get a bit lost as we wander around after getting in through a side entrance. None of the buildings look big enough for the statue which is 15m high and 45m long, but they are still very pretty and it’s a pleasant stroll admiring glazed roofs, ancient statues and gnarled trees. There’s also a modern art exhibition with a couple of sculptures dotted throughout but they’re not very impressive compared with their beautiful setting. As we progress towards the river, we get to a group of huge multicoloured chedis: one for each of the four kings that once coexisted in Thailand. The mosaics are slightly different on each and it’s a proper spectacle as they tower over the rest of the buildings.
Past them, we finally get to the main courtyard. It’s busy with monks preparing for the new year - they have hung strings all over the courtyard at a height of about 2.5m, creating a very regular grid covering the entire space. From every intersection hangs a little bundle of spare string hovering at face height. This is Sai Sin, sacred cotton thread, and the grid will be tied in to a Buddha image somewhere in the temple, spreading his blessings to anyone who touches the string. It’s all set up for the New Year “midnight chanting” ceremony, where monks and lay attendees will tie the spare threads around their head, connecting the entire audience to the Buddha while they recite prayers, before keeping a section of the string tied around their wrist as a memento of the blessing. We’re too early for this of course but it’s fascinating to see the preparations for this relatively new tradition (started in 2005!). We also get a little blessing of our own from two monks with a bowl of holy water and little red bracelets. As we queue and bow in front of them, they sprinkle our head before tying the thread around our wrist - evidence of the blessing and encouragement to apply the tenets of Buddhism.
Right at the back of the temple, we finally find the reclining Buddha. He’s in a building just big enough to contain him, hemmed in by two rows of massive square columns, and it’s hard to get a proper look as he towers over us from this close up. The building is crammed (as befits its status as main attraction) and we slowly shuffle along the length of the statue, occasionally getting a peek in between two columns. It’s a bit of a dogfight as people vie for a selfie spot - I just want a picture of the statue but still get told off for not queuing for a clear shot. As we round the idol’s gigantic toes, the throng thins a bit and we see on the opposite wall a line of 108 alms bowl. It’s believed to bring luck to drop one coin in each bowl as you go along, but there’s also a queue for that and we’re not that keen on it - we’ll stick with our red bracelet.
Thoroughly templed out by now, we just hop over the river to the ferry terminal to get another quick outside look at Wat Arun before heading back by boat - this was a long day!
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