Wat Pra Khaew, Bangkok

We just landed last nite....phewww
Bangkok had been hot and dry and we've been dry-roasted innit for the past few days
humidity wasn't high nor presence at all....so basically it's just hot hot hot minus the sweat :D

our first visit was to the famous Emerald Buddha Temple

also known as Wat Pra Khaew, many ppl mistaken this as the Grand Palace
well it's actually inside the compound of the Grand Palace, built in 1783 during the King Rama I's time.

as soon as we entered there is a huge mural on its wall
really long mural stretching from wall to wall depicts the story of ancient Thailand

notice the distinctive gold paint on it?

Thais lurve their gold it's everywhere!!!!!

it's really long stretching from one part of the wall to the other in a continuous manner

Sawadee kaa~~~~~
The huge Chedi that holds the ashes of Buddha

there's a dress code to Grand Palace
all female visitors must wear long skirt/pants, covered arms etc
while the male counterparts must have long pants
no slipper, no short pants
if u come unprepared, there's a booth outside where u can rent sarongs

as we walked around the compound, we can hear public and monks chanting
the sound of it is really theurapathic

it was really sunny and I was seeking under some shelter until JS shoo-ed me away
coz I was blocking the beautiful mosaics that he wanted to photograph
-_-

the compound is really huge here
and we were standing under the hot sun admiring its architecture
esp the roof!!!!


mystical deities guarding the entrance
they are HUGE!!!!

as a point of reference...they are THIS HUGE!!!!!

we were lucky to photographed a group of saffron robed monks
and lil monks :))))))

do u know that every men in Thailand needs to go through "monk-hood" for at least a month once in their lifetime
even the King has to go through this!!!
every men in Thailand do get PAID LEAVE during this period of time for up to 4 months!!!
wow this is even better than confinement leaves :P
the point is to seek enlightenment and knowledge of Buddhism

hmmm now we understand why Thais are so polite and civic minded
a friend who was visiting at the same time told me in utter surprise
Amy: "They actually queue-ed up like this by the side outside the MRT's doors!!!"
Monkey: "yeah I dun even get that back in KL....let's not talk about LRT...I'm referring to the elevators at my office....>.<"
yeah why ppl like to push in before other ppl can come out?

this happened in Singapore too last week...my colleague was pushed in, she couldn't come out from the lift
When I was out at the foyer, I turned and she wasn't around -_-"
and she was screaming lemme out lemme out~~~~
haiiii...all of us ought to go through monk-hood...hahahahahaha


more mystical deities guarding the chedis
usually deities that guard something have to look fierce

yeah that includes JS
he guards his team like a Terrorizer
everyone who works/indirectly works with/don't even work with him is scared of him
hahahahahahahahaahhahahaaha

I like the architecture here
its roof and tiles used were so intrinsic
it looked all pretty and symmetry from a far

but well look at this....
it's like individually customised pieces
jasmine flowers are widely used in Thailand
it exudes such fragrant nose :))))))) me like!!!
the other culture that uses a lot of jasmine is Indians
anyhow Buddhism originated from India so.....

after visiting all the other chedis and buildings, we are finally at the main building

and the most important one that houses the Emerald Buddha

the history dated back a long long time ago
when a statue of Buddha carved from a single piece of jade was discovered

everyone needs to remove their shoes before getting in
there's proper shoe racks on the outside but our only worry was the shoes being stolen
but then again this is a temple, don't think anyone dare to commit such crime under the nose of BUDDHA
:)))))))))))

no photography allowed
no shoes allowed
no feet pointing towards the Buddha is allowed when u r seated inside its hall
but Terrorizer JS somehow managed to snap one from the outside, without his zoom lens hahahaha. It was of course difficult and a feat

The Statue of Emerald Buddha isn't made from Emerald but Jade
in Thai language, emerald means dark green and not the precious stone emerald

only the King of Thailand can touch this statue
His Royal Highness changes its robes and cloak 3 times a year
Summer, Winter, and Rainy season.

this Buddha is so sacred and is highly regarded
should anything happen to it, mayhem will unfold in the land of Thailand

after visiting the Emerald Buddha, right at the entrance on the outside there's some water and lotus flower for us to cleanse ourselves
u know just like when u go to the church there's holy water, Buddhism has got their own too

sprinkle like this~~~~~~~
I guess in every religion, water is a form of purity that cleanses one's soul

then we walked around this temple admiring all the beautiful carvings and artwork

they are known as Garudas and Nagas
these words sounded familiar huh like Malay?
but actually it's Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a very old language dating back to 2,000 B.C as in before Christ
it is the root of most languages in Asia
just like how Greek is to Europe countries

from the corridor u have a beautiful view of Prasat Pra Thep Bidorn
where the Chedis are....
notice the beautiful pillars?

it's really a long corridor but I didn't mind at all
such a breathtaking stroll
:))))))))))))))

then I met him
"Hey, wanna be my hobbit??"
how come there's a coin inside ur mouth?? ur nose is a bit rustic, so I guess everyone's been rubbing it for good luck...so I'm gonna do the same....u dun sneeze ok????

Berr was here...
elephants are highly regarded in Thailand too
anyway there's where Berr came from
from that Jim Thompson boutique in Central World a few years ago
*read bout Berr when he was still new fluffy and pink*

So whenever u are in Bangkok, don't miss the Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha Temple
I'll blog bout the Grand Palace soon. :))))