Our group of eight toured around Bangkok in a large ten-seater van. We hired a chauffeur who spoke some English and headed off at noon with great plans of touring around some of the local sights.
Our guide was extremely calm as he zig zagged through hours of traffic to take us to the Grand Palace to see the Emerald Buddha and later to the Reclining Buddha. We were dropped off at our destination for a period of time and the chauffeur met us at a pre-determined location when we called for pickup. The weather was very hot and humid and everyone experienced motion sickness from the constant accelleration and breaking and weaving in the traffic. After a good dose of gravol most of us managed to cope with the rollercoaster-like car ride. Erik, however, didn't fare too well and he ended up spending the day with his head in a bag, slouched wherever he could rest his aching body.
We skipped the elephant ride today and opted for an earlier return to our hotel. Our plan is to visit the floating market, snake farm (do we really want to see that?), the Tiger Temple, the Bridge on the river Kwai, and take an elephant ride tomorrow. This will be a full day of touring with our chauffeur so we're all hoping everyone is feeling better.
The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782. It houses not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a nuber of government offices as well as the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,000 square meters and is surrounded by four wlls, 1900 meters in length.
We were given an escorted tour which included a visit to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. Ladies and gentlemen were required to cover our legs, but the two younger children were permitted to enter wearing shorts. Every buddhist is required to visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha at least once in their life to pray.
The Emerald Buddha was carved from a block of green jade and was first discovered in 1434 in Chiang Rai. At that time the image was covered with plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha image. However, the abbot who found the image later noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. It is believed it was covered to conceal it from would-be theives during wartime years. Nobody knows who created the image or when it was made. Photos are not permitted in the Temple. At this time of year the Buddha is covered with a shawl. Each season, the clothing of gold and jewellery is changed on the image, to reflect the season. The changing ceremony occurs three times in the year in the presence of the king. Note: We were not permitted to take photos of the Emerald Buddha.
The Reclining Buddha is almost too big for its shelter: 45 meters long an 15 meters high. It is supposed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha nirvana. The figure is modelled out of plaster around a brick core and finished in gold leaf. Mother-of-pearl inlay ornaments the feet.
Note: With the traffic comes pollution. Traffic police stationed at busy intersections have "respite booths" with oxygen tanks and they wear face masks to protect them from the fumes. A study in the mid 1990's revealed that 34% of police officers suffered from loss of hearing, 23% had lung disease and one million of the capital's population are said to be suffering from respiratory ailments of one kind or another. The city has recently converted to lead-free gas.
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