Grand Palace and Wat Pho

On Thursday we visited the Grand Palace, former residence of the Thai royal family and still used for important functions. It is also the site of Wat Phra Kaew, the Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, one of the most important religious icons in Thai Buddhism.

Somehow the name "Emerald Buddha" and its great importance had us expecting something 15 feet tall and studded with brilliant green stones. The outside of the chapel is beautifully decorated:



And the entrance is well guarded:




In reality, the little guy is just 18 inches high, perched high atop a huge altar. You can just about make him out in this photo (cameras are not permitted inside the chapel, but you can take pictures through the door).





It is taboo to wear shoes inside a temple here, so we were walking barefoot. On the way out, Don managed to step in some nice fresh bird poop. That really made his day.

We also toured the temple and palace grounds, home to many interesting figures:







After lunch we headed to Wat Pho, home of the reclining Buddha, all 45 meters of him, in all his glory:






That is one big Buddha.

Wat Pho is known as Thailand's first university and it is still the leading centre in the country for the study of Thai massage. We both went in and had a couple of frighteningly strong little ladies twist and pull us in an assortment of ways for a full hour, for just 12 dollars each.