The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew

We attempted to visit the three most popular temples in Bangkok on the Sunday before his meeting started, but we were tricked by a man in a uniform who claimed to be the official security at the Grand Palace.  He seemed to be very friendly, and he gave us a lot of advice that turned out to be false.  He said the palace was closed for prayer, but it would open later, so we went to a couple other temples instead (along with a few tailor shops so the tuk tuk driver could get free gas - ugh).  And when we returned, the Palace had closed...  Not only that, but some woman shoved 3 bags of bird seed in my arm and told me to feed the birds, so I did.  Afterwards, she demanded 100 baht and started yelling at me.  Luckily my husband turned around and dragged me out of that mess.  

Since we missed the temples on Sunday, he didn't have any other free time to visit them due to his conference.  I went another day by myself, and I'm so glad I did.  Hopefully he can see them another time because they were extraordinary.

Below is the Grand Palace.  It was established in 1782 after King Rama I took the throne.

You can see me in front of the palace in my bright pink shoes.  Unfortunately this is the only photo that I am in since I went alone and felt silly asking strangers to take my picture.

Below are the elephant models accompanying the Grand Palace.  The elephants are a record of the white elephants acquired during the reigns of the various Kings of Thailand.

Below is what you see as soon as you walk into Wat Phra Kaew.  They are the four main monuments found in the terrace.  Even after explanations, I'm still unsure what they are exactly :)  All I can tell you is that they are very impressive in person.

The guards...  Quite scary if you ask me!

Close-up of one of the buildings

One of my favorites.  On the bottom you can see how these mythical creatures are holding up the statue. I have some close-ups of the creatures below.

Below is the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha.  You aren't allowed to take photos inside the monastery, which is a shame because it was absolutely gorgeous.  The Emerald Buddha is carved from a block of jade and was first discovered in 1434 in Chiang Rai.  At that time the image was covered in plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image.  Later the abbot who found the image noticed that the plaster had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath.  The abbot initially thought that the stone was emerald and that's why it is known as the Emerald Buddha today.

This was the best picture of the Emerald Buddha I could get from outside the temple through a window.

Below are some close up shots of the various temples.  The designs are absolutely incredible and breathtaking.  They cover the entire building.

The rest of the pictures are various images found throughout Wat Phra Kaew

After visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, I went on to Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha), then Wat Arun.  Those posts will be coming soon!