With Oi and Andy still at loggerheads, Andy decided to head out of town to clear his head, so on Sat 12th, I had a leisurely brekky and browse of the papers and decided to find my way to the grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. There wast a skytrain near to it, and I wasnt certain I could use the songtaews without a local guide. I then remembered our day on the river when we were right royally ripped off. River taxi's went from that same point, and we had passed the Palace during that afternoon. The pier would be a good starting point, so I took the skytrain there, and of course my intuition was correct. I chatted to a gent from London on the river trip. He seemed to think there was way too much walking involved in visiting The Palace. I was a bit worried about that as I am not the world's best walker, and by this time the temp was 42 degrees. The admission to the Palace was 500Baht - £10 which is a lot of money in Thailand. Touts outside were offering their services as personal guides, for an additional 450 Baht. I wondered if I was doing myself a disservice by declining. Soon the answer became apparent - certainly not! There were free guided tours in English available from official guides. The guide new exactly what to point out and at what pace to take it for us heat shy farangs. However it was sometimes difficult finding her in a crowd as she was not much more than 4ft tall and even with the obligatory guides umbrella, she disappeared below the towering bodies from Aus, USA, and UK!
The Palace is spectacular. It has not been used as a royal residence for over 100 yrs, but it still has a firm place in ceremonial duties of state, and houses several staet departments. Everything glistens golden in the sunlight, and you cannot help but gawp in awe. I am sure all the gold only reflects more heat down on us poor mortals who find temperatures at this level rather difficult. Theres a dress code for visiting temples and other revered sites. With a mid calf dress, not low cut I thought I had it sorted. However, I had overlooked the necessity to make sure shoulders were covered. My top had 3 inch wide straps, which didnt meet requirements. I had to throw my shawl over my shoulders to get in. The numbers who dont realise this are such that there are booths that loan out acceptable clothing. One of the first pics many tourists take is of the fellas decked out in floral beach pants or sarongs to cover their knees, and ill fitting shirts to cover their shoulders.
Within the grounds of the Palace is The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. This is probably the most revered temple in Thailand, and its name refers to the tiny jade (not emerald) statue that sits atop an impressive and large altar in the temple's main hall. The Buddha image is clothed in seasonal robes, changed three times a year to correspond to the summer, winter, and rainy months. The changing of the robes is an important ritual, performed by the king, or these days because of the frailty of the king, by The Crown Prince. The magically empowered statue is thought to have been made in North Thailand in the 15th century, before being installed at a temple in Laos, only to be taken back by the Thais and brought to the capital around 1780 -- a sore subject between the nations. The statue is made of one solid piece of jade, and whilst it might be disappointing to find out that it isnt emerald, it is still an impressive lump of precious stone. The whole atmosphere of the temple was one of awesome reverence.
By this time I was hot enough and ready to make my way back to my hotel - about an hour away, but not without what has become a favourite afternoon tipple of iced latte.
On the Sunday, I decided to repeat the formula for Saturday, and this time visit Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha. I didnt really know what to expect, but knew it was on every list of things not to miss in Bangkok. This temple was almost next door to The Palace, so I knew how to get there. I wander through the street traders to get there, and decided to try some coconut water as I was thirsty. They just slice the top off a green coconut in front of you and stick a straw in it for you to drink. I managed half of it - not my favourite of drinks. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I'd stick to water in future.
The temple is a much smaller complex, and therefore only 100Baht for entrance. It is non the less spectacular, glistening golden flecks from the roof tiles and giving off a magical air. Many of the stupas are covered in ceramics, not just here but in other temples too, Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn) from last week, being the most notable. The reason for this is that Thailand used to plunder Chinese trading ships, and frequently on the high seas the cargos of porcelain got broken, rather than waste the crockery it was cut up and recycled as temple decoration. Whether or not this anecdote is true, I dont know, but it certainly makes a good example of recycling 15th century style!
The temple is also the seat of traditional Thai medicine and massage. Around the grounds are shelters bearing the instructional texts and diagrams, dating back hundreds of years. Massage is part of Thai culture, and most Thais will have some understanding of it. Oi gave me a foot massage (reflexology) one day shortly after my arrival, and at the weekend, I had my hair done in Jomtien. The ladyboy who washed my hair gave me a full head massage as art of the service. Really nice, even if the stylist was a bit frightened of my fine wispy hair.
Nothing could have prepared me for the sight of the reclining Buddha. Yeah, I had read that it was 15 mtrs high and over 40 mtrs long, but when faced with such an imposing statue you cant help but be in awe. . . . . and then wonder 'Why?'. There was an element of money grabbing here that I would not play ball with. Down one side of the statue were a series of money bowls. You paid a couple of quid and were given a bowl of coins ( probably 60p worth) and for everyone of the bowls you put coins into, buddha would bless you.
Having seen all I wanted to, I began to make my way back. I got to the river/skytrain interchange and felt it was still too early to go back to the hotel, and I hadnt had my iced latte. I decided to divert to the adjacent Shangri-La Hotel and see how the other half lives. Afternoon tea was being served in the riverside lounge - how elegant - so I partook. It amazed me how so many petite oriental girls were just diving into mountains of cakes and pastries. How on earth do they keep their figures!
I then wandered round yet another street market before making my way back, again observing that this was a nation of shopaholics!
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