The Grand Palace in Bangkok is an unbelievable 22 acres of stunning architectural beauty. Construction began on May 6, 1782 by King Rama I, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty, when he moved the capital city to Bangkok. There were a total of 5 Rama kingdoms and throughout each successive reign, many new buildings and structures were added over 200 years of history:
A very impressive building in this compound is the temple of the Emerald Buddha; it houses a statue of the buddha in solid emerald, measuring about 2 1/2 feet high. The impressive part of this buddha are 3 different solid gold clothes that are changed throughout the year. This temple is revered by the buddhists:
Except for the Thai King and, in his stead, the Crown Prince, no other persons are allowed to touch the statue. The King changes the 'gold clothes' around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season.
This was a working palace with the Thai king, his court and his royal government working on the grounds of the palace until 1925. Now it is reserved as the most visited tourist site of Bangkok.
Just across from the Royal Palace compound, there is an awesome buddhist temple called Wat Pho. It is one of Bangkok's oldest temples, also constructed by King Rama I. There are some amazing arrangements of buddhas:
There is a very special large one in a temple dedicated to him 'reclining'; representing his remaining time on earth before departing. It is huge, measuring 15 metres high and 45 metres long:
And a total surprise for us in this compound of buddha temples- is a Thai massage school! It is home to Thailand’s oldest traditional massage school and involves a lot of hard pressing and stretching to reach your body’s deep tissues:
It is an experience not to be missed- there are about 30 beds in each of the two massage buildings and with clothes on (this is not a picture of me), those thumbs are incredibly powerful! I had this traditional Thai massage and Cathy had the famous foot massage!
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