After a roughly 2 hour bus ride from the port, we arrived in the city of Bangkok, now colloquially known as Krungthep.
The full name of the city is in the longest in the world and is: Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit which rougly translates to “City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra’s behest.”
Our first stop was the Grand Palace complex which also included the Wat Phra Kaew, Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Not a real emerald, but a solid piece of jade.
What an astounding complex. All the previous kings (known as Ramas) each have a pagoda here.
A lot of royal history all around.
Next stop was Wat Pho with the giant Reclining Buddha.
Our last temple for today was Wat Traimit, the temple of the Golden Buddha. A massive block of solid gold.
After a long, hot day we checked into our hotel with a river view from our room. Now for much needed showers.
The Ramayana is a Sanskrit epic from ancient India.
The epic narrates the life of Rama, the seventh avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu, who is a prince of Ayodhya in the kingdom of Kosala. The epic follows his fourteen-year exile to the forest urged by his father King Dasharatha, on the request of Rama’s stepmother Kaikeyi; his travels across the forests in the Indian subcontinent with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana; the kidnapping of Sita by Ravana, the king of Lanka, that resulted in bloodbath; and Rama’s eventual return to Ayodhya along with Sita to be crowned as a king amidst jubilation and celebration.
Wat Phra Kaew, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and officially as Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The complex consists of a number of buildings within the precincts of the Grand Palace in the historical centre of Bangkok. It houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha, which is venerated as the country’s palladium.
The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam(and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand, with over eight million people visiting each year.
The Golden Buddha is a gold Maravijaya Attitude seated Buddharupa statue, with a weight of 5.5 tonnes in the temple of Wat Traimit.
At one point in its history, the statue was covered with a layer of stucco and coloured glass to conceal its true value, and it remained in this condition for almost 200 years, ending up as what was then a pagoda of minor significance.
During relocation of the statue in 1955, the plaster was chipped off and the beautiful shining gold revealed.
