Bangkok: A Recreation of Adventure
Bangkok, the centre of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, has been the capital of Thailand since 1782. There are many palaces in the city, some still used by the Thai royal family, while others are now open to the public. Many of them have become government or academic buildings as well as museums. The king's official residence is the Grand Palace, which has housed Thailand's monarchs for over 200 years.. It houses ChakriMahaprasat Hall and Wat PhraKaew, which contains the Emerald Buddha, considered the most important temple in Thailand. However, the more modern Chitralada Palace is the actual Bangkok residence of the reigning monarch, King BhumibolAdulyadej (Rama IX), and his Queen Sirikit.
Temples in Bangkok
Of the hundreds of Buddhist temples (or wats) in Bangkok, only a few are of much interest to tourists. When King Taksin led his troops out of Ayutthaya and into Thonburi in 1767 CE, they took refuge in Wat Arun.
Wat Pho, also known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha or Wat PhraChetuphon, is south of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace. It is Bangkok's largest temple and contains a huge reclining Buddha figure that is 46 metres (151 ft) long and is covered with gold leaf. The feet alone are 3 metres (10 ft) in size.
Wat Suthat, is one of the oldest temples and the site of the Giant Swing, formerly used in an annual Brahman ceremony. A huge teak arch from which the swing(21.15m high) was hung still stands in front of the temple.It is also seen in many postcards.
Wat Saket, or the Golden Mount (PhuKhao Thong in Thai), houses relics of the Buddha in a 58-metre-high chedi surmounted by a golden cupola. Built by King Rama I just outside the new city's walls, the temple served as the main crematorium. In the century after its construction, some 60,000 plague victims were either cremated there or placed outside for vultures to devour.
Wat RatchanatdaramWoravihara (LohaPrasat): Wat RatchanatdaramWoravihara (LohaPrasat) is a sacred Buddhist temple built by the King Nangklao (Rama III) in 1846 for his niece - Mom Chao Ying SommanusWattanavadi. Aprt from being sacred, the temple's claim to fame is its iron roof called LohaPrasat.
Wat Benchamabophit (The Marble Temple): It is a fine example of Bangkok's architectural style with multi-tiered roofs, elegant bird-like decorations (chofahs) and the stunning gold carvings. A large stone lion on either side of the entrance, guards the temple. Inside is a magnificent Sukhothai-style Buddha statue, a copy of the original Phra Buddha Chinnarat that resides in Phitsanulok in northern Thailand.
