Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

Last weekend Tricia and I ventured over to the Grand Palace. Way back when, we tried to go there but we couldn't find the door. That seems very silly, but the palace is guarded by extremely high white stone walls because back in the olden' days people would attack and jump over using elephants. This time we found the door.

I just read in my pamphlet that the walls are exactly 1900 meters tall, if that can give anybody a picture. It certainly doesn't help me because I still can't grasp how to think in the metric system. haha I am constantly trying to convert... That's besides the point. Here is a little bit of background info on the Grand Palace. It was established in 1782 to house the royal residence and a bunch of government offices AND the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It is humongous. (218,000 square meters... the metric again). It used to be in Thonburi, which is on the other side of the Chao Phraya River, but then the awesome new king decided to move the capital to it's new location in Bangkok.

The Emerald Buddha is actually jade and was found in Chiang Rai (up north) in 1434. It was covered with plaster and for a little while everybody just thought "hey neato, another Buddha image", but then the plaster started flaking off and everybody saw that it was jade but nobody knew what jade was at the time and so everybody assumed it was made of emerald. That's a terrible run-on. Anyways, the legend of the Emerald Buddha began and the whole place is covered in these intricate amazing murals that tells the story of it. Also, the buddha has different gold costumes for the three Thai seasons. One for summer, rainy, and winter season. (Right now, it is dressed in the summer outfit.) Their is a big ceremony each time the season changes and the king comes to dress the Buddha.

So, basically- Tricia and I went to the Grand Palace. We took a tour. It was free and we were very excited about the fact that it was free. haha We played tourists for the day and had a great time doing it and then were very impressed with ourselves for not going shopping instead, especially since it is so incredibly hot and steamy outside. haha It was very cool. If you come to Bangkok, you should check it out.

The story of the Emerald Buddha written in old Thai script that is posted all over the temple.

The Emerald Buddha sitting high on a golden throne.

Wat Phra Kaew

Me and Trees in front of the Grand Palace

Even the bushes are shaped to match the temple and palace. Tricia is rockin' that rental skirt.

Lighting candles when we walked into the temple. I really have no idea what this means, but I'm guessing that it's being respectful.