Djurdjevic - Personal Photos - Around the World Trip

07 Mar 2009

June 2006

'Round the World, Again

Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Germany...

As it turned out, the magnificence of the Reclining Buddha temple (Part 1) was only a warm-up to the splendor of the Royal Grand Palace, Bangkok's showcase attraction, and the city's pride and joy. The palace is only a short ride away from the Reclining Buddha (No. 3 on Bangkok map). Although it is no longer used by the Thai kings as a residence, the Grand Palace is still used for ceremonial purposes. This is, for example, where King Rama IX, now 78, celebrated the 60th anniversary of his reign only a few weeks ago (on June 9, 2006).

Right from the entrance one can see the carefully manicured lawns and trees at the entrance to the Grand Palace with pagoda steeples dotting the skyline.

As you come closer, the beauty of these gorgeous buildings becomes breathtaking. I have seen hundreds of palaces all over the world in my lifetime, but I have never seen anything like this. This is truly spectacular. And it all started 224 years ago...

Rama I, founder of Bangkok and the first resident of the Grand Palace, established his throne here in 1782. Ayutthaya, some 50 miles up river from Bangkok (see the map), had been the capital for over four centuries - from 1350 to 1767, when it was virtually destroyed by the Burmese invaders.

Guarding the entrance to the central part of the palace grounds are these two mean looking demons. Tu told me that they were the replicas of the original statues that still reside at another temple on the other side of the Mae river that dates from an earlier period (see Temple of the Dawn in Part 3).

The golden pagoda is called a "reliquary" as it houses; the center one is the Mondop, a repository for Buddhist sacred scriptures, and the third one on the right is the Royal Pantheon in which statues of past Thai rulers are enshrined.

This miniature replica of a Cambodian palace was erected by one of Thai kings (Rama IV, 1851-1868, if I am not mistaken, arguably the most famous Thai king, depicted in the films "Anna and the King" and "The King and I" ). He loved Cambodian architecture.

The beautiful pagoda seen in the left background, composed of tens of thousands of little porcelain flowers and birds, is from the Rama III era, an early 19th century (1824-1851) ruler who loved flowers and Chinese art. Rama III decorated many of Bangkok's temples with Chinese porcelain tiles, a style that ended with his reign.

Too bad, as far as I am concerned. Because the subsequent influence of European architectural styles you will see in later photos, imported under Rama V (1868-1910), looks like pseudo art in this oriental setting.

A view of the three main structures that compose the Upper Terrace of the Grand Palace from another angle.

Wars have been fought over him, but the actual Emeralnd Bhudda is a tiny figure that stands no more than two and a half feet tall.

He is that tiny figure at the top of the golden stack inside the temple (above). The Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434. Like the Golden Buddha, his image was covered with plaster. But a monk had noticed that the plaster on his nose had flaked off... and voila... the legend of the Emerald Buddha began. The statue is actually carved from of a block of green jade. And you've already heard the story about is travels back and forth between Laos and Thailand as the tides of war between the two countries swung back and forth in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Just outside the Emerald Buddha is this golden steeple supported by the colorful demon and monkey statues.

I said early you will get a chance to see the European influence on the Thai architecture, and so, here it is...

The lower part of this building constructed during the reign of Rama V has a definite Victorian feel. But a local architect reportedly talked the king into creating Thai-style superstructures over it, according to Tu.

If you turn your head slightly to the left, standing at the same spot, you see the genuine Thai style. "I'll take this over that Victorian borscht anytime," I told Tu. Yet it was in front of that modern early 20th century building that King Rama IX entertained some 60 crowned heads from all over the world two weeks ago when he celebrated his 60th anniversary on the throne.

This is the place from which the king delivers his speeches to the people, seated at the golden throne in the right middle part of the picture.

And here is finally my parting look at the Grand Palace. From here, we proceeded on foot to mingle with ordinary people again...

... and experience "life's a street" lifestyle of this dynamic city. This is where I had my first ever coconut juice, as you saw in an earlier picture (see Part 1).