Grand Palace, Bangkok

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New Year at the Grand Palace The Grand Palace or Wat Phra Keow is one of the most memorable places in Bangkok that can't be missed by any visitor. One of the words making up its name is the Thai word for "glass" which reminds you of something shiny! Definitely the shiniest thing in the Grand Palace is the famed Emerald Buddha. Visitors and Buddhist followers alike far and wide travel to the Grand Palace to pay their respects to the Emerald Buddha! Come new year, January 1st, the compound is open to all walks of life without the typical payment requested from the public! Join the throngs of worshippers and tourists alike in the glittering place! [more]

Extraordinary Architecture at the Grand Palace The resplendent Grand Palace located in the heart of Bangkok and the city´s most outstanding feature. This is a must-see sight offering magnificent architecture and elaborated detail. To date the Grand Palace complex remains the spiritual heart of the Thai Kingdom. As well as visiting the remarkable Wat Phra Kaew, the Dusit Hall offered a quite impressive visit with it´s magnificent architecture, museum, scale models and Buddha images. As the Grand Palace is considered a sacred place is mandatory to wear appropriate clothing, covering shoulders and bare feet. The entrance to the Grand Palace cost around 200 baht. [more]

Enthralling Reclining Buddha vs Excruciating Thai Massage Behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha you´ll find the Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). It's home to the magnificent gold leaf, 3 meter high- 46 meter long ,reclining Buddha. The predominant Buddha´s feet with exceptional and enthralling illustrations of Buddhas´s'laksanas'(attributes)is worth seeing.I found the traditional Thai massage offered at the Wat Pho alluring. I was warned that this type of massages tend to be quite energetic and stimulating rather than relaxing, and that included yoga positions. It cost me 120 baht for half an hour of pure, how could I put this, pain. I felt I was being battered and stretch like a piece of leather. The brisk movements and fingers like nails made me glad I only paid for half an hour. After I was tempted to get one of those monks blessing to take the pain away. A few days later I felt great so it wasn´t that bad after all. [more]

Suitable Clothing for the Grand Palace When we entered the Grand Palace, we were immediately herded into a trailer where we were given “suitable” clothes to wear into the temple. This meant a long-sleeved, button-down shirt for me, long pants for Matt, and socks and sandals with the essential heel strap for both of us. Respect is an important issue in Thailand, and respectful clothes cover your shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles (for men). There is even a hierarchy of sandals: sandals with heel straps are high-class and acceptable, while flip-flops are disrespectful. Luckily the tourist bureaus have realized that Bangkok is hot, and most tourists are unaware of the clothing hierarchy, so the ticket office allows tourists to borrow suitable clothing for free. It’s easiest to just put their clothing over what you are already wearing, and to store your shoes in the cubby holes provided. You’ll have the chance to retrieve your shoes on the way out, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving anything particularly valuable in this room. [more]

Tourist Scams at the Grand Palace When visiting the Grand Palace, beware of the favourite local tourist scam: As we passed one of the many gates in the walls of the palace complex on our way to the entrance, we were approached by an official-looking man in a suit who informed us that he was very sorry, but today was a special Buddhist holiday and so only Buddhists were allowed into the Palace today. Lucky for us, he knew of another place with another Buddha statue and he could take us there . . . Our guide book had warned us about the disproportionate amount of con artists in Bangkok, so we took this with a grain of salt, thanked our “friend” (whose Buddha statue was probably in his brother’s house and who probably wanted to charge us for the ride over there, the viewing, and hit a few tourist shops on the way where he could hope to get a good commission off of what we bought), and continued around the corner to the palace gate, where foreign tourists were pouring in. Un-phased, he turned around and approached a distant group of unsuspecting tourists who were several yards behind us and hadn’t hear this exchange. We wondered whether the palace guards at the gate had understood his spiel or not, but either way they never tried to interfere. Beware of scams like this in Bangkok, and stick to the advice of your guidebook or someone you trust. [more]

Getting to the Grand Palace on a Budget Most people will say that the quickest way to get to the Grand Palace is to take a taxi cab directly there. I say, don't. Hold on to your travel money and save it for a rainy day. Instead, take the Bangkok Sky Train (BTS) to the Sapphan Taksin Station, which is the end of the stop (after switching trains at the Siam Center Stations). Once you get off Sapphan Taksin, look for the pier right out of the exit going down the stairwell. Look for the many boats that charter across the river. It will cost you a small amount in change to travel by boat to the area close to the Grand Palace! [more]

Grand Palace A popular tourist attraction, you'll have no problem finding a tuk-tuk to take you to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Make sure you're wearing closed shoes, not sandles or flip flops which are considered unsuitable. It's a big complex, so leave plenty of time to look round. We took a guided tour, which added some background though the guide was difficult to understand and kept telling us what to take photos of! Most guidebooks will give you plenty of info if you want to look around on your own. Don't miss the Emerald Buddha (actually made of jade) in the king's private chapel - the small statue's outfit is changed according to the season. [more]

Grand Palace Definitely worth a visit if you’re visiting Bangkok purely for the ornate temples and the palace grounds. If you time your visit right you can also view the changing of the guard so take your camera and take loads of pictures. The Thai Royal Family is revered, so dress respectfully or you’ll be refused access to some parts of the Palace. It is a magnet for tourists and can get very busy so expect the crowds and the usual market stalls selling souvenirs and local crafts and practice your bartering skills. Beware of the scammers at the front gates who’ll tell you the Palace is closed and attempt to entice to another attraction. [more]

Grand Palace (Royale) This place in Bangkok is composed of several buildings that also serve as the official place where the king of Thailand chose to reside in. This remained a place of residence from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. If anyone would like to come near the palace, it is protected by a wall that serves as its defense. It stretches out to 1,900 meters in length and fences more than 218,000 square meters. The Grand Palace is reminiscent of Italian architecture. It is also very well defined by the edges that you will see once you’re face to face with it. [more]

The Grand Palace If your in Bangkok you might as well go and see the Grand Palace, I am the type of person that generally gets pretty bored looking at buildings and museums but the architecture is so amazing and the detail that has gone into building the Grand Palace really is breath taking. The palace grounds are huge and everywhere you look there are amazing statues that are really funky so I got some brilliant photos. There is also a temple that you can go inside, you have to take your shoes off and everyone is praying or whatever it was they were doing inside. It took me about an hour and a half to look around and generally I do these things fairly quick but there is so much to look at it does take quite a while. There are also a museum, maybe two which has various artifacts in, I cant tell you what as I didn't go in, sorry but its not my thing. I think one of the museums were old guns and stuff. When you have finished looking around, there is a cafe in the Grounds of the Grand Palace that you can stop and have a drink at. Getting to the Grand Palace is fairly easy, you can get a taxi or a tuk-tuk, a bus or you can get a boat along the canal, thats the way I came, then its just a short walk to the palace. [more]

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