Thursday at the Grand Palace

We decided to get up and out early in an attempt to beat the tour buses to the Grand Palace. No such luck. Although we left the hotel at about 7:45, we did not get to the Palace until 9:20. Trains and boats took longer than usual. We were able to help out a British couple who had not ridden the boats before.

The only trouble with getting to the Palace early is the sun angle is not great for photographs. Dick and John advised us to hire a guide - BT500. And we were targeted by one as soon as we entered the complex. He seemed like a nice enough guy, only wanted BT400 for 45 min. He spoke good English and slowly. He also walked slowly, which Michael appreciated. And he carried an umbrella, which is what the guides use to keep their group together. OK, some use the flags. Tuvee used it to provide some much needed shade.

This palace has not been used as a residence since 1946. Parts of it date back to the late 1700s, others to the 1800s. The last building used as a residence by Rama VIII is now a guest house for visiting heads of state, Kennedy and Johnson as least stayed there. Rama IX, the current king moved his residence so that this one could be open to the public.

Enough history, let's seem some pictures.

This is the view from the entrance. That's gold leaf over glass on the gold pagoda. Here's a close up. The guide said that 4 of these tiles have a dollar's worth of gold on them - probably more now. Think about how many tiles there are on this. Yikes.

These figures are demons. You can tell because they wear shoes. THere are 12 of them around the temple to ward off evil spirits. The idea is that the demons fight amongst themselves, which keeps them away from the good guys.

Here is a monkey - monkeys are always good - flanked by two demons. Note the monkey is laughing and does not wear shoes. On the left is a mythical man/bird creature.

I had thought that Wat Arun was unique in its use of Chinese porcelain, but apparently not. There are several structures here that had the porcelian as well. In fact there were three people breaking the China and using nippers to create the pictures for a building under construction. Here's one that uses the porcelain.

THe main chapel is quite amazing. You can go inside, but may not take pictures. This is the home of the "emerald" Buddha. It's actually jade. 66 cm tall. Carved from one solid piece. I took a picture from outside, but you can't really see it well. Need a long lens. 

The lens flare is bad in this one, but it's the only one I have of the exterior of the main chapel. Build in 1782 of solid teak - no nails. Covered in porcelain tiles and glass tiles. Magnificent. 

This is a side wall. The blue area is ceramic tiles. 

After strolling around in the heat, we decided to head back to the hotel and see what Dick and John were up to. John is not felling well. Dick and I planned to go to the Siam neighborhood, but we got as far as lunch and Dick decided he really needed a nap. So I went shopping!  It seems as if there is a high end mall about every 5 km in this city. This one had an area with Thai handcrafts. I focused on the silk and bought several scarves. They also have some very nice clothing that I have no where to wear.

Early morning flight to Bhutan tomorrow so the pictures are going to change dramatically, I think.