The Grand Palace

 

 

 

Last night we were all so tired that we had to drag ourselves from our hotel room to find something to eat. We retraced our steps to a small restaurant that the taxi driver had pointed out as serving Isaan food. The restaurant owners could not believe that a family of foreigners were ordering naamtok and sticky rice. As I've been away for a while, I ordered only one plate as "normal Thai spicyness" and two plates that were less spicy for the kids. It was a nice surprise to find that the first plate was no hotter than how Heather usually makes hers, and that even the kids preferred that one to the milder option.

This morning we walked through our alley to the dock where we would catch the boat taxi.

I didn't realize just how conveniently located our hotel was when I booked it, but the Grand Palace was just across the river from us. For only 3 Baht/person we caught a clunker of a boat to the other side and walked the short distance to the Grand Palace. When the doors opened we paid our admission of 500 Baht/person, although the lady at the ticket window did not charge us for Deacon.

Despite the heat and all the walking, the kids loved the experience and I was glad for them to see something that is so important to the Thai culture.

There are no photos allowed inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha but we got there early enough that it was just us and a handful of Thai worshipers. Here is a photo of Deacon checking out the amazingly detailed cut glass and coloured stones that cover almost everything.

We aren't familiar with the stories depicted in the murals but they are so beautifully done and so interesting. We met a lady that was working with a brush on scaffolding to touch up the paintings. It helped us to imagine just how much work would have gone into constructing and maintaining the complex. There was a museum on the grounds that had scale models showing how the complex looked in the 1700's and then 200 years later.

We have plans to visit two more temples before we leave Bangkok tomorrow, but seeing the largest and most important temple in the Kingdom has given us a good foundation for the rest of our trip.

- C