Full circle back to Bangkok
After four weeks of travelling I finally ended up back in Bangkok where it all started. Do you know that feeling when it seems like you were only here yesterday and at the same time you feel like you’ve been away for months? That was how it seemed. At the start of this journey it had been the first anniversary of the Kings death so the Royal Palace was shut to the public. A month later it was open again so it seemed rude to be in Bangkok and not go. It is quite pricey to get in at £10 considering most places had been about £1 or £2. It was also heaving with people! By far the busiest place I visited on the whole trip which did make it hard to see things properly.
The palace grounds have a number of structures built within the walls several temples and shrines as well as the Palace. Everything is very ornate and detailed and really oozes wealth which for me was quite a contrast to other temples I had seen in some of the poorer countries, clearly when building this place money was no issue. It is also very well looked after nothing is crumbling or flaking off (which is actually what I like). It is hard to gauge a sense of the age of the palace as it almost looks like it was finished yesterday but in fact it has been the residence of the King since 1782.
There are many beautiful surfaces very ornately decorated and again look like they were created yesterday. I suspect the whole place has had a fair bit of work happening this year so it was at its best for the Kings funeral, I would be interested to hear from anyone who visited a while ago to hear if it has changed at all.
There are also a number of beautifully painted murals around the walls of one of the buildings.
When I was in Chiang Mai I discovered that the temple there was usually the home of the green buddha (depicted above) but at the current time it is residing in the grand palace. So thinking I had missed out on something I made a point of searching this green buddha out. Well if I’m honest it was a bit of a disappointment! The buddha is so tiny and so high up its very difficult to see him. The room he is in is beautiful and incredibly ornate but I found the adoration of this little green chap a little strange. He is made from a solid piece of emerald which I suppose is impressive but still I’m not convinced. See what you think…
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