Magic Of Grand Palace & Temples In Bangkok
Thailand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and for good reasons. Yes the Thai cuisine is amazing and there are beautiful beaches to be found. The people are welcoming which is why Thailand is known as ‘Land of Smiles’ plus there are friendly elephants to meet. But what really sets Thailand apart from other countries is the magic of its temples. Nowhere in the world will you see so many structures as beautiful with jaw dropping detail as in Thailand.
I’m going to do two separate articles with photos and videos showcasing some of these magnificent temples with this first one in Bangkok and the next one in Chiang Mai. These temples are often located right in cities mixed with modern buildings so that it seems they pop right out of nowhere. It’s like something out of an Asian fairy tale suddenly appeared in real life. Right in Bangkok, the largest city in Thailand, we’ll start with the Thai Royal Family’s Grand Palace.
Within the Grand Palace is a temple where the Emerald Buddha resides which is made of green emerald. Unfortunately, no photos nor video are allowed of this national treasure. But fortunately there are many other beautiful things that I was allowed to photograph.
The Grand Palace along with Wat Pho below is the most popular tourist attraction in Bangkok. These are the two main tourist sights that people visit and always leave breathless.
Just a short walk from the Grand Palace is a temple site called Wat Pho where the main attraction is the Reclining Buddha which is 151 feet long and 49 feet high. This large temple site also has many other beautiful temples as you will see.
To really appreciate just how big the Reclining Buddha is, you’ll have to watch the video above.
Finally with a short boat ride across the river is another temple site called Wat Arun which is an older one which has existed since the 17th century but its main structure was built in the 19th century. From a distance it looks like a dull ancient grey stone structure but as you will see close up, there is amazing detail.
I’ve visited the Grand Palace and Wat Pho during my first ever trip to Thailand many years ago but revisiting these sites again in this year was just as refreshing and wonderful as before. This was also my first visit to Wat Arun which I always wanted to visit. You just can’t see such incredible sights anywhere else in the world in my view. Yes neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Vietnam also have temples too but they are nowhere near the elegance of the ones here in Thailand, not even close. Yes Cambodia has Angkor Wat which is amazing in its own right but the temples there are mostly ancient ruins which have not been restored like the ones in Thailand where they are still actively used today as religious sites.
Also, during my first ever trip to Thailand many years ago, the public transit infrastructure was not as well developed as today. I paid for a guided tour to see the Grand Palace and temples. Personally, I would rather tour sights on my own time (and sometimes it could be quick at certain spots) rather than spend prolonged periods of time listening to a tour guide talk about all the details and history of each place. With today’s extremely efficient and cheap public transit in Bangkok, I saw these amazing sights without taking a guided tour. All three of these main tourist attractions shown in the video were covered within a morning plus into the early afternoon.
The photos here really do not do any justice to these temples. While the video above is better, it still doesn’t replace being there in real life as you are in complete awe as soon as you enter past the walls of these temples in Bangkok. The temples in Chiang Mai are smaller but equally beautiful which I’ll show in the next article.
Traditional Thai Massage
Before leaving Bangkok, I decided to finally try a traditional Thai massage which is a total body massage that is offered at the many massage shops all over town. Many tourists take in a Thai massage (as well as Thai foot massages too). So I walked over to one of the bigger massage shops close to my hotel and had a Thai massage mama work on me for an hour in a low lit quiet room on a floor mat. I had changed into a Thai massage gown they provided. Indeed it was a total body massage and I can report that much of it was brutally painful! I endured it after hearing that such a massage was suppose to be good for my body. After this torture, my body did feel surprisingly refreshed for some reason. However, I can say that I’ll probably never take another traditional Thai massage again as it was just too painful for me.
Additional Fun At Thai Food Markets
Here are some quick video shorts on fun at Thai food markets I visited. They are one of the main reasons why I love travelling to Asia and Latin America so much where you can get cheap and tasty meals here which are way better than their equivalent ethnic restaurants back in Canada.
