May 24, Thursday
This morning I have to check out of my room at the hotel and leave my luggage in Violet’s room, where we can change later this afternoon. We have an early departure on our excursions for the day, starting with a walk through the narrow city streets in the older area of Bangkok to make our way to the water front for a cruise on the river and canals.
From front right.. to back: Mel, Scott, Lindsey, John & Mike
Walking through the narrow streets of the old city
Same type of boat we are riding on today
Lindsey, Karsten, Melany, Violet and John
Michael and I are in the front seats for our ride today on the canals of Bangkok
Many of the houses we see were flooded last year, most having been restored.
A temple we pass along the way. Looks like this one contains a giant seated Buddha.
You can see by the pictures that there are a variety of houses on stilts, poor and quite nice ones that look like cottages. There are also some modern homes along the way.
Locks that come down to control the flow of water when it floods. Didn't seem to help much last year !
Some people even have pretty decorative gates on they waterfront properties
And some have their own private docks
Common site are ladies in boats selling their wares
Coming out of the canal
back on the river and city views
When we come ashore after our cruise, we are in a market area and get to see some of their produce.
Dried fish... smelly dried fish !
And lots of other things, some of which I cannot identify.
It is a short walk to Wat Pho and the grounds of Grand Palace which we tour with our local guide. The first building we come to is being readied for some type of grand ceremony and they are putting the finishing touches on the freshly redone gold leaf applications.
Here is a zoom on some of the newly guilded leafs and flowers. Those bits of colour are all from tiny pieces of what I am assuming is glass, and not semi-precious stones.
Looking back at the gate were we entered, flanked by some huge stone Chinese statues
and there are smaller ones scattered inside the complex
The Grand Palace compound is huge and actually consists of different sections: The Palace and administrative building areas, Wat Pho (where the reclining Buddha is located), Wat Phra Kaew (where the Emerald Buddha Temple is located) and a number of other buildings.
We start our visit with Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan. (No wonder I’m not interested in learning Thai, the names are just too long.)
“Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok (with an area 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images of 160 ft in length: the Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas). TWat Pho consists of two walled compounds bisected by Soi Chetuphon running east–west. The northern walled compound is where the reclining Buddha and massage school are found. The southern walled compound, Tukgawee, is a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence and a school. Outside the temple, the grounds contain 91 chedis (stupas or mounds), four viharas (halls) and a bot (central shrine). 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 21 large ones [supposedly] contain the ashes of Buddha. The temple has sixteen gates guarded by Chinese giants carved out of rocks. These statues were originally imported as ballast on ship trading with China. [The grounds are scattered with more Chinese statues which were stored away for years until one of the kings decided to display them so that they could be enjoyed.] The outer cloister has images of 400 Buddhas out of the 1200 originally bought by king Rama V. In terms of architecture, these are varied in different styles and postures, but are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. The main temple is raised in marble platform punctuated by mythological lions in the gateways. The exterior balustrade has around 150 depictions of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions.”
Our first stop is to view the Reclining Buddha. It is huge and it is difficult to take a picture of the entire statue which is in a building.
From the head, taking a picture towards its feet.
My head just makes it above the 5 foot high pedestal.
Looking straight up towards the ceiling to get a good picture of the face
The Buddha's feet, artistically decorated.
“The reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf. The Buddha's feet are 3 metres long and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl illustrations of auspicious 'laksanas' (characteristics) of the Buddha.”
“The reclining Buddha is 15 m high and 43 m long with his right arm supporting the head with tight curls on two box-pillows of blue, richly encrusted with glass mosaics. The 3 m high and 4.5 m long feet of Buddha display inlaid mother-of-pearl. They are divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified like flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers and altar accessories. Over the statue is a seven tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor indicating the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. People drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and to help the monks maintain the wat.”
Some of the 108 bronze bowls
Outside of the building, I am again impressed by the decorative details around the windows and doors
Our tour of the other buildings of Wat Pho begin
The degree of detailing on everything is amazing
The first of two belfries on the Grand Palace Grounds
Another of the Chinese statues, this one supposedly Marco Polo !
Many stupas or chedis are located here
Some of the thousand Buddha figures in the complex
Prang
More Chinese statues
Phra Buddha Deva Patimakorn statue. Ordination Hall ( Bronze statue )
Zooming on to the statue and wall paintings behind it
Details of the pedestal on which it sits
As we prepare to exit the hall, I spot some familiar flags outside
We leave the grounds of Wat Pho (and the Grand Palace) so that Violet, Mike and Lindsey can return to the hotel by local bus.
I get a great shot of some very young monks walking by while John waits.
Mel, Karsten, John and I opt to pay the guide for a tour of the Grand Palace and a chance to see the Emerald Buddha. We return to the grounds for the continuation of our visit.
The Grand Palace was built in 1782 and for 150 years was the home of the Thai King, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government. “The Grand Palace is a compound (218,400 square metres or 2,351,000 sq ft made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards) surrounded by four walls 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. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), currently resides at Chitralada Palace, 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.
Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925 the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace
Wat Phra Kaew behind its wall
The Emerald Temple
Me at Wat Phra Kaew. It is another complex within the Grand Palace Compound. It is a true GEM as you can see from the pictures. The decorative details are amazing.
Can you see the serpent coming down the stairs in the photo above. This is the detail of it's head; actually a claw formed of 5 heads.
Our visit of Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) contained a copy of the Emeral Buddha and I was able to take a picture of it from outside one of the windows (along with all the other tourists who were trying to capture the image).
In the portion of the tour that included the palace museum (which contained the real Emerald Buddha), we were not allowed to take pictures. Sorry ! But I can tell you that the Emerald Buddha is tiny, only 45 centimeters high and that it is made of jade, not emerald. If you want to see what it looks like however, you can find a photo on the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Buddha
A model / miniature of Angkor Wat, commissioned by King Rama IV
I can't wait to see the real thing; although this model is probably in better shape than the real one at Siem Reap.
We toured the upper galleries of What Phra Kaew, jewels in every sense of the word
After touring this area, we made our way to the Palace buildings
Borom Phiman Mansion (1903) now used as a Guest House for foreign dignitaries
Chakri Maha Prasat (1882) which contains the Central Throne Hall. King Rama V brought back with him two Englishmen, the architect John Clunich and his helper Henry C. Rose to design and construct the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall. Construction began on the 7 May 1876.
Dusit Maha Prasat (1790) which has the same height and dimensions of the Throne Hall in Ayuthaya, and is used for “lying-in-state” ceremonies of kings, queens and honoured members of the royal family.
{Rama IV, who was the father of King Rama V, was depicted in the book and movie “ The King & I, or Anna and the King of Siam”. “King Mongkut Rama IV was born in October 1804. Mongkut learnt the ways of the west and had his children similarly educated in English. One teacher he commissioned to come and teach was Anna Leonowens who subsequently wrote novels about her experiences which later formed an historical excuse for the content of film and stage entertainment in the west, entitled, '' The King and I ''. In reaching out to the west, Mongkut at the same time revealed aspects of life in Asia which were not understood. The idea of an older man having some 600 women and over 82 children tantalized Victorian ideas as did the preconceived concepts and confusion about slavery in Thailand which were incorrectly mentally compared to the English slave trade between Africa and the West Indies, and elsewhere in the then '' British Empire ''. King Mongkut is reported to have said to one westerner, "What you teach us to do is admirable, but what you teach us to believe is foolish". His selection of Anna as his children’s' teacher and her conditions for employment were conditioned by this attitude. Thus Mongkut rejected as foolish the concept of ceasing to think for one's self and subjugate one's mind to new European minders.”
After the tour we are on our own just outside the Imperial Palace grounds and the four of us (Mel, John, Karsten and I) go off to find a restaurant for lunch since it is about 1:30 by now. We aren’t sure where we are exactly or where the restaurants are, but we end up on the waterfront in a covered area where the food markets are located. I am a bit worried about eating there, but I’m hungry and tired so I sit with the group and order some chicken with noodles which turns out being quite good. I had planned on taking a Tuk-Tuk back to the hotel after this very long day, but after eating I’m feeling better and the rest of the group is walking, so I decide to go along with them. The 15 minute walk turned out to be more like half an hour; in the heat and humidity on sore feet again. We are on a major street corner, the guys are looking at the map trying to figure out where we are and I’m eyeing the tuk-tuk on the corner. Mel is ready to get on as well but the guys tell us we are almost there so we keep walking. It seemed like it took another 15 minute walk to get to the hotel, but we finally got there. As soon as I reached the room the women were sharing for the day, I stripped and got into a tub of cold water to try to cool off. I swear my face was as red as a tomato from heat exhaustion.
We checked out late in the afternoon and headed for the train station where we board for our 6 pm departure. We aren’t all in the same train car but at least we are on our way, on the night train to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. The seating configuration is a bit strange, with only two people facing each other with a table between us, on each side of the car. At night, the bottom seats slide down to make the first bed, and a platform folds down from the ceiling to make the second top bunk, narrower than the bottom one. So when you are sleeping, you are length wise to the car, and not across the car; it actually made for less side to side motion during the night. Violet is in the bottom bunk and I have to climb up to the top bunk. I’m glad no one took a picture of the acrobatics required to do this.
It’s been an incredibly long and tiring day and as soon as I lie down, I’m asleep.
This morning I have to check out of my room at the hotel and leave my luggage in Violet’s room, where we can change later this afternoon. We have an early departure on our excursions for the day, starting with a walk through the narrow city streets in the older area of Bangkok to make our way to the water front for a cruise on the river and canals.
From front right.. to back: Mel, Scott, Lindsey, John & Mike
Walking through the narrow streets of the old city
Same type of boat we are riding on today
Lindsey, Karsten, Melany, Violet and John
Many of the houses we see were flooded last year, most having been restored.
A temple we pass along the way. Looks like this one contains a giant seated Buddha.
You can see by the pictures that there are a variety of houses on stilts, poor and quite nice ones that look like cottages. There are also some modern homes along the way.
Locks that come down to control the flow of water when it floods. Didn't seem to help much last year !
Some people even have pretty decorative gates on they waterfront properties
And some have their own private docks
Common site are ladies in boats selling their wares
Coming out of the canal
back on the river and city views
When we come ashore after our cruise, we are in a market area and get to see some of their produce.
Dried fish... smelly dried fish !
And lots of other things, some of which I cannot identify.
It is a short walk to Wat Pho and the grounds of Grand Palace which we tour with our local guide. The first building we come to is being readied for some type of grand ceremony and they are putting the finishing touches on the freshly redone gold leaf applications.
Here is a zoom on some of the newly guilded leafs and flowers. Those bits of colour are all from tiny pieces of what I am assuming is glass, and not semi-precious stones.
Looking back at the gate were we entered, flanked by some huge stone Chinese statues
and there are smaller ones scattered inside the complex
The Grand Palace compound is huge and actually consists of different sections: The Palace and administrative building areas, Wat Pho (where the reclining Buddha is located), Wat Phra Kaew (where the Emerald Buddha Temple is located) and a number of other buildings.
We start our visit with Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan. (No wonder I’m not interested in learning Thai, the names are just too long.)
“Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok (with an area 80,000 square metres), and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images of 160 ft in length: the Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas). TWat Pho consists of two walled compounds bisected by Soi Chetuphon running east–west. The northern walled compound is where the reclining Buddha and massage school are found. The southern walled compound, Tukgawee, is a working Buddhist monastery with monks in residence and a school. Outside the temple, the grounds contain 91 chedis (stupas or mounds), four viharas (halls) and a bot (central shrine). 71 chedis of smaller size contain the ashes of the royal family, and 21 large ones [supposedly] contain the ashes of Buddha. The temple has sixteen gates guarded by Chinese giants carved out of rocks. These statues were originally imported as ballast on ship trading with China. [The grounds are scattered with more Chinese statues which were stored away for years until one of the kings decided to display them so that they could be enjoyed.] The outer cloister has images of 400 Buddhas out of the 1200 originally bought by king Rama V. In terms of architecture, these are varied in different styles and postures, but are evenly mounted on matching gilded pedestals. The main temple is raised in marble platform punctuated by mythological lions in the gateways. The exterior balustrade has around 150 depictions of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions.”
Our first stop is to view the Reclining Buddha. It is huge and it is difficult to take a picture of the entire statue which is in a building.
From the head, taking a picture towards its feet.
My head just makes it above the 5 foot high pedestal.
Looking straight up towards the ceiling to get a good picture of the face
The Buddha's feet, artistically decorated.
“The reclining Buddha covered in gold leaf. The Buddha's feet are 3 metres long and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl illustrations of auspicious 'laksanas' (characteristics) of the Buddha.”
“The reclining Buddha is 15 m high and 43 m long with his right arm supporting the head with tight curls on two box-pillows of blue, richly encrusted with glass mosaics. The 3 m high and 4.5 m long feet of Buddha display inlaid mother-of-pearl. They are divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified like flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers and altar accessories. Over the statue is a seven tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. There are 108 bronze bowls in the corridor indicating the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha. People drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and to help the monks maintain the wat.”
Outside of the building, I am again impressed by the decorative details around the windows and doors
Our tour of the other buildings of Wat Pho begin
The degree of detailing on everything is amazing
The first of two belfries on the Grand Palace Grounds
Another of the Chinese statues, this one supposedly Marco Polo !
Many stupas or chedis are located here
Some of the thousand Buddha figures in the complex
Prang
More Chinese statues
Phra Buddha Deva Patimakorn statue. Ordination Hall ( Bronze statue )
Zooming on to the statue and wall paintings behind it
Details of the pedestal on which it sits
As we prepare to exit the hall, I spot some familiar flags outside
We leave the grounds of Wat Pho (and the Grand Palace) so that Violet, Mike and Lindsey can return to the hotel by local bus.
I get a great shot of some very young monks walking by while John waits.
Mel, Karsten, John and I opt to pay the guide for a tour of the Grand Palace and a chance to see the Emerald Buddha. We return to the grounds for the continuation of our visit.
The Grand Palace was built in 1782 and for 150 years was the home of the Thai King, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government. “The Grand Palace is a compound (218,400 square metres or 2,351,000 sq ft made up of numerous buildings, halls, pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards) surrounded by four walls 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. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), currently resides at Chitralada Palace, 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.
Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok. Throughout successive reigns, many new buildings and structures were added, especially during the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). By 1925 the king, the Royal Family and the government were no longer permanently settled at the palace, and had moved to other residences.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Palace
Wat Phra Kaew behind its wall
The Emerald Temple
Me at Wat Phra Kaew. It is another complex within the Grand Palace Compound. It is a true GEM as you can see from the pictures. The decorative details are amazing.
Can you see the serpent coming down the stairs in the photo above. This is the detail of it's head; actually a claw formed of 5 heads.
Our visit of Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) contained a copy of the Emeral Buddha and I was able to take a picture of it from outside one of the windows (along with all the other tourists who were trying to capture the image).
In the portion of the tour that included the palace museum (which contained the real Emerald Buddha), we were not allowed to take pictures. Sorry ! But I can tell you that the Emerald Buddha is tiny, only 45 centimeters high and that it is made of jade, not emerald. If you want to see what it looks like however, you can find a photo on the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerald_Buddha
“A seasonal cloak, changed three times a year to correspond to the summer, winter, and rainy season covers the statue. A very important ritual, the changing of the robes is performed only by the King to bring good fortune to the country during each season.”
A model / miniature of Angkor Wat, commissioned by King Rama IV
I can't wait to see the real thing; although this model is probably in better shape than the real one at Siem Reap.
We toured the upper galleries of What Phra Kaew, jewels in every sense of the word
After touring this area, we made our way to the Palace buildings
Borom Phiman Mansion (1903) now used as a Guest House for foreign dignitaries
Chakri Maha Prasat (1882) which contains the Central Throne Hall. King Rama V brought back with him two Englishmen, the architect John Clunich and his helper Henry C. Rose to design and construct the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall. Construction began on the 7 May 1876.
Dusit Maha Prasat (1790) which has the same height and dimensions of the Throne Hall in Ayuthaya, and is used for “lying-in-state” ceremonies of kings, queens and honoured members of the royal family.
{Rama IV, who was the father of King Rama V, was depicted in the book and movie “ The King & I, or Anna and the King of Siam”. “King Mongkut Rama IV was born in October 1804. Mongkut learnt the ways of the west and had his children similarly educated in English. One teacher he commissioned to come and teach was Anna Leonowens who subsequently wrote novels about her experiences which later formed an historical excuse for the content of film and stage entertainment in the west, entitled, '' The King and I ''. In reaching out to the west, Mongkut at the same time revealed aspects of life in Asia which were not understood. The idea of an older man having some 600 women and over 82 children tantalized Victorian ideas as did the preconceived concepts and confusion about slavery in Thailand which were incorrectly mentally compared to the English slave trade between Africa and the West Indies, and elsewhere in the then '' British Empire ''. King Mongkut is reported to have said to one westerner, "What you teach us to do is admirable, but what you teach us to believe is foolish". His selection of Anna as his children’s' teacher and her conditions for employment were conditioned by this attitude. Thus Mongkut rejected as foolish the concept of ceasing to think for one's self and subjugate one's mind to new European minders.”
After the tour we are on our own just outside the Imperial Palace grounds and the four of us (Mel, John, Karsten and I) go off to find a restaurant for lunch since it is about 1:30 by now. We aren’t sure where we are exactly or where the restaurants are, but we end up on the waterfront in a covered area where the food markets are located. I am a bit worried about eating there, but I’m hungry and tired so I sit with the group and order some chicken with noodles which turns out being quite good. I had planned on taking a Tuk-Tuk back to the hotel after this very long day, but after eating I’m feeling better and the rest of the group is walking, so I decide to go along with them. The 15 minute walk turned out to be more like half an hour; in the heat and humidity on sore feet again. We are on a major street corner, the guys are looking at the map trying to figure out where we are and I’m eyeing the tuk-tuk on the corner. Mel is ready to get on as well but the guys tell us we are almost there so we keep walking. It seemed like it took another 15 minute walk to get to the hotel, but we finally got there. As soon as I reached the room the women were sharing for the day, I stripped and got into a tub of cold water to try to cool off. I swear my face was as red as a tomato from heat exhaustion.
We checked out late in the afternoon and headed for the train station where we board for our 6 pm departure. We aren’t all in the same train car but at least we are on our way, on the night train to Chang Mai in Northern Thailand. The seating configuration is a bit strange, with only two people facing each other with a table between us, on each side of the car. At night, the bottom seats slide down to make the first bed, and a platform folds down from the ceiling to make the second top bunk, narrower than the bottom one. So when you are sleeping, you are length wise to the car, and not across the car; it actually made for less side to side motion during the night. Violet is in the bottom bunk and I have to climb up to the top bunk. I’m glad no one took a picture of the acrobatics required to do this.
It’s been an incredibly long and tiring day and as soon as I lie down, I’m asleep.
No comments:
Post a Comment