Royal Palace, Emerald Buddha, Reclining Buddha

The Royal Palace is a huge jumble of buildings, wats (temples), stupas, and tourist infrastructure. 8 million people visit each year, and it seemed like they all came the day we did.

It hasn’t been the residence of the royal family since the 1900’s, but is still used for some ceremonial events, like welcoming foreign leaders. There are outside, middle, and internal courtyards, the latter which is unopen to the public.

By the way, our guide, Ninja, pointed out that the reason that Thai culture remains so strong is that they were never colonized. The French sailed a gunship up the Chao Phraya River and pointed its guns at the palace. The King decided to cut off his left side. He gave everything the other side of the Mekong to the French (Laos) and British (Cambodia). I’m sure this is a simplification, but in general, that’s the story we were told.

There are so many styles, colors, shapes, and textures, none of which are in particular harmony, that it is all overwhelming. It is also hard to discern the palace buildings from the temples. I’ll give it a shot.

The Royal Palace

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Kaew)

The emerald buddha is the most sacred in Thailand. Turns out it’s not emerald, rather jade, but the guides have all been informed to call it the emerald buddha. There were no pictures inside, but I got some from outside.

There are three seasons in Thailand: Winter, Summer, and Rainy. When the season changes, the king, and only the king, changes the clothes on the buddha to represent the official change of season.

Shoulders must be covered, knees covered, no hats, and no shoes when entering most temples.

More Royal Palace

Ellen Making a Wish Come True

She didn’t say, but if I had to guess, it was election-related.

Temple of Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho)

Even More Royal Palace

Thai Massage School

If you are certified in this school, it’s part of a temple, you can open a thai massage establishment anywhere in the world.

My experience with thai massage on day 1, was it is the closet thing to wrestling in high school that I have experienced since.

Final Note

Thought this was interesting. We had lunch at an old Thai restaurant. They used juiced lime peels to freshen the restroom.