DAY 44 - GRAND PALACE

Checked in with the concierge for directions on getting to the Grand Palace and his advice was to "take a taxi" as it would be too difficult for us, not speaking Thai, to get there by river transport.  Guess he was worried we'd get lost or get scammed.  With a population of 15 million, traffic in Bangkok can be horrendous, especially during rush hour.  Everything we'd read online recommended getting around the way many of the locals do - by skytrain or by one of the many river boats.  Deciding factor for us was time - up to an hour by taxi versus 20 or so minutes by the river, so away we went.  Ended up on a long tail with only 5 other passengers on board - paid a little more ($3 vs 90 cents each) but worth it as there were no stops & we were there in 20 mins.  This is a very busy river with tugboats & barges, long tails, and large & small river cruise & commuter boats going up & down and across the water in every direction.  Makes for a lot of wakes but our driver expertly navigated through at top speed with hardly a splash inside our boat.  Having experienced the long tail ride around Phi Phi Ley, we weren't at all nervous on this trip.


Made our way through a large, busy market then on to the palace (followed some Caucasions who looked like they knew what they were doing & were similarly dressed - only someone going to the palace would be wearing long pants & sleeves in this heat, lol).  The palace grounds are filled with the most incredibly ornate pavilions, chapels, statues & galleries.  We rented personal audio guides and listened to the commentaries as we made our way through.  Would have loved to linger at each of the sights but the combination of crowds and no breeze for relief from the heat meant we had to rush through in about 1-1/2 hrs.  Easily could have spent 3 or 4 hours looking at everything there was to see...

Dress Code.  'Do Not Trust Wily Strangers" LOL

Six pairs of "demon giants" guard the entrance gates to the temple

L to R:  Phra Sri Ratana Chedi; Phra Mondhop; Royal Pantheon; Hor Phra Ratchakoramanuson

Phra Asada Maha Chedi
One of the 8 Khmer-style Prangs dedicated to different Buddhist precepts

Royal Pantheon
Blue-tiled prasat enshrines statues of the 8 kings of the Chakri dynasty

Mythical creatures surround two Chedis (honouring King Rama I's
father and mother) in front of the Royal Pantheon

Grounds of the Royal Monastery are surrounded by 178 mural panels depicting scenes from the Ramakien epic.
These were first painted during the reign of King Rama I (after 1782) and have since been restored several times.

Hor Phra Khanthara Rat
Small pavilion housing the Buddha image 

This is what happens when you don't visit with appropriate clothing.
They have a selection of aloha shirts and wraps you can borrow before entering :)

Express Boat

Caught the express commuter boat back to the hotel, zipped in to change into less clothing & headed over to MBK mall by skytrain.  Their skytrain is much like ours but cleaner, higher tech and, best of all, AIR CONDITIONED!!