Last Updated on June 24, 2019 by PowersToTravel
Day Two of my prepared itinerary says:
“Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew – Take bottle of water. Leave 8am. 13 min walk up Maharat Rd, then right. 500 bht or $15; 2 hours. Open at 8:30am. Be at the entrance gate no later than 8:15am.”
I actually had set an alarm the night before. I am one to respect the lessons learned of others, and I knew that the Grand Palace was one of the top sights in all of Bangkok, and we would be visiting on a Saturday. Granted it was not during a school vacation period, and since it was November it was not yet the truly high tourist season, but we do hate crowds.
Breakfast on the patio
So, we arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to our breakfast. What a breathtaking experience! Sala Rattanakosin serves breakfast on a patio which hangs out over the Chao Phraya River, directly opposite Wat Arun. Since we were relatively early for breakfast, we were able to snag an outdoor table right next to the railing, and settled in to a gourmet breakfast. The menu consisted of approximately four menu options, and the “Belgian Waffles with Mango” certainly caught my eye immediately.
Breakfast at Sala Rattanakosin
As we waited for our breakfast, we watched the fascinating river traffic – the barges, long tail boats and commuter boats of all shapes and sizes. I took far more pictures than I should have – in fact my batteries ran out early and disappointingly because of an over zealous trigger finger all day.
Greg on the patio at Sala Rattanakosin
View of Wat Arun from Sala Rattanakosin
Wat Phra Kaew
Soon we were off for our thirteen minute walk up Maha Rat Rd to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. To our surprise, the cross road was blocked off, yet we were forced by police to walk on the crowded sidewalk, after first going through bag inspection and metal detectors. The Grand Palace needs that much security? There was already a press of people, and I wondered what it would be like if we had not gotten there “early.” (Turns out there was a different reason – check out the next article to find out why.)
We stood on the sidewalk opposite the main gate on Na Phra Lan Road for about fifteen minutes, waiting for the gate to open. Finally we were allowed to go through the gate onto the grounds, and then made our way a distance to find the ticket booths. We strolled through the grounds, and found the great Wat Phra Kaew.
As required, we left our shoes outdoors and walked into the back of the temple. Since this would be my first temple interior, and first view of a Buddha, I was very excited. However, I don’t have a picture of the Emerald Buddha, so I’m thinking that pictures were prohibited. At the time, I remember I was disappointed because the Buddha statue did not appear to be terribly large. The interior was stifling hot already, and the guards kept moving the line through, so fast that it was hard to grasp what there was to see. I broke from the line of tourists, and knelt to the ground with the devout to pray, simply so I could experience the temple.
At the time I didn’t realize how significant the Emerald Buddha is. Of course it isn’t large, it’s emerald! Later, in Laos we learned about the wars between the two countries over the centuries, and how the Emerald Buddha was believed by both countries to be theirs, and how sad the Lao people are that their Emerald Buddha is no longer in their country.
For me, the exterior of the temple, with its graceful, colorful and ornate portico, was even more beautiful than the interior.
The heat and humidity was intense. We strolled around the entire campus of golden pagodas, mythical creatures, adorned with mirrors and colored glass. I called them “templets” to myself. We dodged from shady portico to shady portico, trying to keep cool.
We made it to the Grand Palace itself, which to our disappointment was closed to guests.
The Grand Palace in Bangkok
The Grand Palace in Bangkok
Finally we asked each other, “Isn’t there ice cream anywhere?”
Any ice cream?
Check out this article of mine too:
Thailand Travel Blog – Itinerary, Impressions and Diabetic Travel Tips
A wonderful way to greet a special city. Excited to see what is to come.
Looks like a great breakfast:), and wonderful visit to a beautiful temple. Interesting story about the emerald buddha, too, and its backround.