Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo
No holiday or siteseeing trip to Bangkok is complete without a visit to the dazzling royal enclave known as the Grand Palace. Spread over 24 hectares (60 acres), it was once not only the royal residence, but a centre of administration. It includes numerous pavilions and throne halls from a range of eras dating back to the late 18th century – many of them delightful confections of tiered roofs and exuberant finials, glistening with gold-leaf and mosaics of coloured glass.
The Grand Palace was one of the first projects to be constructed when Bangkok was founded by King Rama I in the 1770s, following the destruction of the old capital Ayutthaya by the Burmese a few years before. In the outer section of the palace compound is the magnificently ornate Wat Phra Kaeo (wat means temple; note that Ph in Thai names is actually pronounced like a P, not an F). It is also called the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, after its greatest treasure: a small but much-revered 15th-century statue of the Buddha, in fact made of jade. It is personally dressed by the king at the start of each of the three seasons, to ensure good fortune during that season.
The Thai royal family is viewed with great reverence, and a strict dress code applies to all visitors to the Grand Palace (and indeed to all temples as well): men must wear long trousers and shirts with sleeves, and women must wear long trousers or skirts reaching beneath the knees (or a sarong), and cover their shoulders; sandals are not permitted.
Tickets to the Grand Palace also include entry to the Vimanmek Teak Mansion 3.5 km (2.2 miles) to the north. This old royal palace, built in the early years of the 20th century, is billed as the world's largest teak house: it is a curiosity in itself and, along with a number of other buildings in the compound, forms a museum of royal memorabilia and high-quality Thai crafts. There are also daily exhibitions of Thai dancing here – a mesmerising traditional art form which, one way or another, you should witness at some point during your stay.
Comments on this article
Morgan Page 20 November, 2009
Hello, i am a girl and think geography is really rubbish, i hate it but... it is kinda good beacause i dont have to listen and always get sent out!