When arranging a free tour in Bangkok for the first time, are there any attractions that must be visited?
I would recommend "Grand Palace & Jade Buddha Temple".Mainly because the two are close to each other, there are Thai Buddhism, murals that blend Hindu mythology, Thai royal architecture, Western architecture, and even stone sculptures of Chinese gods occasionally. Such a diverse cultural identity is worth visiting. Necessity, it is really much better than the teak palace!
◎ A must-see for newbies in Bangkok!
- Transportation: The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha are located on the left hand side of the Chao Phraya River in the Bangkok area. Both are the same area to visit, and they occupy a large area. You can set up a half-day to visit here.You can take the MRT Silom line from downtown Bangkok to Saphan Taksin. After exiting the station, you will see the place where the ferry tickets are sold for 3 minutes. You can purchase the tickets and take the ferry tickets to the N9 station (map , The pier is marked with "N★"), and you can reach it by walking for another 7~10 minutes. (For detailed transportation, see "How to get to the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha at the riverside attractions from downtown Bangkok``One article)
- Tickets for Grand Palace & Jade Buddha Temple: I took a group to visit this time. The price of the tour has increased from 350→400→450 in the early years, so when I bought the ticket at the end of 2012, it was already 450 baht, but when I just searched for it, there were other Aitai friends on the forum. Share, the ticket price of the Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha Temple has been increased to 500 baht!I hope that this will not dispel everyone's idea of arranging this attraction, because the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha Temple have been renovated and maintained over the past few years, and the interiors are now very complete enough for you to visit it. Even the half-human and half-bird statues in the Jade Buddha Temple area are golden. Shining and refreshing.
- What season and time is better to go?When is it suitable to go?The first time I visited the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha was at the end of December 2006. It is less rainy during the dry season in Thailand, and it is slightly cooler, but it must be said that the afternoon visit was really hot to explode and dressed silly. The "black" and "knit sweater" I'm all but heatstroke.If it is the itinerary from May to October, the weather will be hot and thunderstorms in the afternoon.So when is it better to go?I would suggest that it is from January to February. Taking advantage of the cool weather and bright light in the early morning of the day, the shooting will be more beautiful.
- Please Note: Although the Thai royal family no longer lives here, there are occasions when foreign guests and royal family members come and go. In addition to the importance of the Buddhist temple in the hearts of Thais, there is a rule that "you cannot wear sleeveless clothes when visiting here. Shorts, slippers, sandals.” As mentioned earlier, Bangkok, Thailand is hot all year round. Foreigners have long been accustomed to wearing thin straps, shorts, short skirts, and flip-flops to play around, but to show respect, they must be dressed neatly before they can enter. Remind everyone to pay attention to clothing when you go, someone will check it when you enter the ticket gate!
※ Ticket office and entrance
▲ After entering the meeting, you will be more impressed by the integration of the architectural features of the Grand Palace and the Jade Buddha Temple.
▲ The clothing regulations and precautions are stated above, please be sure to follow them.
▲ Sometimes you can make good use of the commentary map, which will be introduced on it!
▲ The weather is actually not so blue that day, post-production?
No~ I lowered the white balance K number, added -EV, reduced the aperture, and shot as far as possible.
◎ Where is the sight of Jade Buddha Temple?The importance of Thai culture, politics and economy cannot be underestimated.
Thailand’s tourism industry is developing very vigorously. Every year, many Europeans and Americans travel to Bangkok. For them, the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha Temple represent the symbols of Thai culture, so they can always see people coming there whenever they want.In order to let these tourists know more about Thai culture and understand where the Grand Palace and the Jade Buddha Temple are visible, the local government provides the service of renting a guide at the entrance (of course, there is also an audio commentary in Chinese). Not only that, but they also have very Professional group guides, I saw a German group when I went there at the end of the year. The Thai tour guide explained the great stupa allusions in very fluent German to the group members, as well as the correct posture and process of kneeling and worshipping the Buddha.Therefore, I would recommend renting a guided tour to help you understand the characteristics of this attraction and where to see and learn about Thai culture.
From a geographical point of view, the Emerald Buddha Temple is located in the northeast corner of the Grand Palace, accounting for about a quarter of the entire Grand Palace. It is the most famous Buddhist temple and one of Thailand's three national treasures.Not only that, this temple was built in 1 and became an important place for the Thai royal family to worship the Jade Buddha and hold religious ceremonies. When the season changes, every Thai king needs to personally change the jade Buddha statue in order to pray for the country and the people; then the Thai cabinet As long as there is a change, the new prime minister must also take the oath of office to the king at the Jade Buddha Temple together with all cabinet members.In this way, you can understand that this is not only a representative of religious belief in the hearts of Thai people, but also an important political and economic symbol.
The main points of visits in this area are divided into "Jade Buddha Hall", "Golden Stupa", "Book of Buddhist Scriptures", "Bilong Temple", "Miniature Model of Angkor Wat", "Ramajian Mythology Mural", etc. Wait for me to introduce them one by one.
▲ The four entrances and exits of Jade Buddha Temple are guarded by two five-meter-high Yasha King statues.
▲ The Emerald Buddha Temple and the Reclining Buddha Temple in another district contain stone sculptures of Chinese gods, which also shows the frequent exchanges between the Thai dynasty and China during the construction period.
▲ The Jade Buddha Temple is mostly tall and huge buildings. It is necessary to carry a wide-angle lens.
▲From left to right:
Ceylon-style golden stupa (พระศรีรัตนเจดีย์ / Phra Sri Ratana Chedi)
Pure Thai Buddhist Scripture Pavilion (พระมณฑป / Phra Mondop)
Khmer-style Bilongtian Temple (ปราสาทพระเทพบิดร / Prasat Phra Debidorn)
◎ The golden stupa of Le Dana is magnificent after restoration.
Everyone will first see this golden and clear stupa, called the "Le Dana stupa", built by Rama IV (Rama IV is the movie "Anna and the King", Chow Yun-fat The king played the role of the king), and ushered in the Buddha's sternum relic enshrined in the old capital of Dacheng.At that time, the Thai pagoda construction technology came from the teachings of the Ceylon monks. The Ceylon pagoda was derived from the shape of the bodhi leaf, and the shape of the pagoda was simple. The Thai pagoda has evolved and has not seen the appearance of the bodhi leaf, but instead pays attention to it. The construction of the spire is beautiful in that the taller the spire is, the more complicated it is, just like this stupa.
▲ There is also a small tower dedicated to relics in the tower.
▲ This is a shrine dedicated to the Erawan Buddha.
▲ The elephant is the guardian elephant and mount of the Erawan Buddha.
◎ The Buddhist scripture pavilion guarded by the golden Yasha King day and night.
The Buddhist scripture pavilion built by Rama I has a square base and six pillars on each side. The upper roof is stacked one after another, converging into a thin spire, forming a very complex, A structure with regular beauty.This Thai-style Tibetan scripture pavilion has been built and added by the kings of the past dynasties. The outer wall has long been plastered with gold and green mosaic tiles, which is even more extraordinary under the sun.Not only that, his most precious thing is that he has a Buddhist scripture made of gold pieces, and two Yaksha kings are placed at each of the four entrances and exits.
▲ The Golden Yaksha King watched the door!
▲ The five-headed giant snake (Naga), derived from the Hindu epic poem "the sea of milk churning".
▲ Visitors are not open to visit. (Is it because the scriptures are precious?)
▲ The face is a Yasha, the upper body is a human, and the lower body is a bird. It is called Kinnari.
◎ The Bilong Temple of Khmer-style architecture stands tall.
The cross-shaped temple in front of you is called "Bilongtian Temple". It is 40 meters high and is the royal ancestral temple of the Rama dynasty in Thailand.It was originally built by King Rama IV, but it was destroyed in a fire in the early 20th century, and later restored and built by King Rama VI to its current appearance.This temple is quite similar to the shape of a modern Thai temple. The base is a Thai-style pointed cornice. The roof is covered with green and orange glazed tiles. The towering stupa in the center is a Khmer-style building, but there is no top. The sharp spire of the harvest, but the shape close to the fingers facing the sky, is very special!
▲ This royal ancestral temple houses the memorial statues of King Rama I to King V. It is open to visit on 4/6 every year.
▲ It is understood that these were originally made of precious gems.
▲ The panoramic view of the temple.
▲ There are two golden pagodas beside the Bilongtian Temple. They were built by King Rama I to commemorate his parents. They are also called "Double Golden Pagodas".
▲ Inevitably, everyone has to take this pose! ^+++^
▲ Tota is the king of Yasha.
(I think a lot of people write about monkeys. If you read the myth of Ramajian, you know that in the story, King Penyasha, the deity, entered the palace to guard King Rama.)
▲ Half-human, half-bird, called Kinnara.
◎ There is a jade Buddha carved from a whole piece of jade in the Daxiong Hall.
The entire Buddhist temple is decorated with splendor and magnificence, and the jade Buddha (Sakyamuni) enshrined in the Daxiong Hall is the most important and valuable national treasure of Thailand. It is carved from a single piece of jade, about 66 cm high and wide. Approximately 48 centimeters, each year the Thai royal family puts on different costumes for the Buddha statues to show respect.In addition, there are many murals in the palace, including the Mura Disturbing Picture, the Three Realms Picture, the Buddha's Deeds, the King's Tour, etc. You can also take a closer look!
▲ The Daxiong Hall has three layers of double eaves.
▲ The stone lion in front of the entrance of the temple, and you must take off your shoes to enter.
▲ 112 statues of half man, half bird.
▲ It took a long time to find the court clothes photos of the Jade Buddha in different seasons! ^^
▲ There are eight places for people to rest around the Daxiong Hall. You can sit but not stand on it!
▲ Many Thais will pray here for protection of the Jade Buddha.
※ Angkor Wat model
▲ King Rama IV ordered the construction in accordance with Angkor Wat.
※ Spire Temple
※ King Kong Buddha Hall
▲ The five-meter-tall Yasha King is stationed at every entrance and exit.
◎ The myth of Ramajian turned into 178 hand-painted murals!
The geographical position of Thailand is deeply influenced by India. The earliest surviving version is the one appointed by King Rama I. It roughly retains the original story structure of the Indian epic "Ramayana", but the scene is replaced by the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Prince Rama became King Rama.In addition, some of the main buildings of the Emerald Buddha Temple were also built by King Rama I, so there will be traces of Ramajian mythology in the entire area of the Emerald Buddha Temple.
The outline of these hand-painted murals on the wall reads "King Rama married a very beautiful princess Sita (Sita), who was spotted by several kings of Yasha, who even killed King Rama and took the princess as his own. However, King Rama went to heaven after he died with resentment, and began to ask gods and four-faced Buddhas everywhere. Finally, the gods also felt that the king of Yasha was too much, so they jointly decided to send the monkey god Hanuman to take the king of Yasha. Numan really has a strong martial arts. After he came to the world, he not only conquered several Yasha kings, but also came to the forest to find the heart of the Yasha king, and fought with the guards for hundreds of rounds, destroying the hearts of the Yasha king one by one. The kings were taken to the heavenly court. In order to give justice to King Rama, the gods such as the Erawan Buddha ordered King Yasha to guard the palace for King Rama from now on."
▲ There is a story in Thai on the wall.
▲ Thai-style five-eave palace.
▲ People, gods, monkeys and the king of Yasha fought against each other.
▲ When I left at the end of 2006, these murals were still being repainted, and they are almost finished now.
※ Eight colored porcelain pagodas
▲ It is said that these colored porcelains were brought from China by Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty's voyages to the West.
(Originally, I was a little skeptical, until it was inquired that Zheng He really came to Siam during his second voyages to the West, and that there was a Sanbao Temple in Bangkok, etc.)
>> go forward The first must-visit tourist attraction in Bangkok: Grand Palace (Grand Palace)
◎ Notice for visiting:
- You must dress neatly when you enter the tour, and you must not wear clothing that exposes your ankles and shoulders, and no slippers.
- When entering the main temple, you must take off your shoes and sit on the ground. Keep quiet. The feet are strictly forbidden to face the direction of the Buddha statue, and "photographs are not allowed."
- Because the Emerald Buddha Temple occupies a large area, after there are many allusions and information, you will learn more about Thai culture, so it is recommended that you can find a tour guide at the door for explanation. (Part of the information is reproduced from: Wikipedia_Jade Buddha Temple)
◎ Jade Buddha Temple. Wat Phra Kaeo
– Address: Na Phra Lan Road, Phra Nakhon, Bangkok 10200
– Phone: +66 2 224 3290
– Opening hours: 08:30~15:30
-Ticket price: 500 baht (THB)
