28 January, 2024

Hi everyone!

Today was our first full day with the tour group. We met up at 8:00 AM to check out of our hotel and tour the Grand Palace. The palace, which consists of over 100 buildings on 54 acres of land, was started by King Rama I in 1782. 

The vast majority of the exterior of the buildings is covered in gold and colored tiles, allowing for a beautiful shimmery effect in the sunlight. 

There are also some lovely tiles, like this one.

Thailand is 93% Buddhist, and there are hundreds of temples across Bangkok alone. The Emerald Buddha, made of jade and dressed in gold, is considered the most important image of Buddha in Thailand so there are equal numbers of worshippers and tourists at the Grand Palace.

The statue was a little smaller than we were expecting and it sits high up in a glass case so we were glad to have binoculars to get a better look. (I recommend bringing them to the temple).

The gold garb draped on the Emerald Buddha is changed with each season – summer, rainy, and winter. The summer and rainy “outfits” were made by King Rama I himself. 

Pictures are not allowed inside the Emerald Buddha temple (Wat Phra Kaew), but this was an informational plaque that our guide provided before we went in. It’s currently winter here so that was the outfit we saw.

Then, we headed to the river for a klong boat cruise, which was an interesting way to see more of the city. We spotted several large monitor lizards along the way.

Afterwards, we hopped onto the (thankfully) air-conditioned bus and headed to the airport for our flight to Chiang Mai. We at dinner at a very neat restaurant with lots of plants and a little stream running through it. The size of their menu could give the Cheesecake Factory a run for their money.

We ended the day with a night market and wished we had more time as there were many interesting stalls.

It was a busy day but a great start to our guided tour of the region and we have enjoyed spending time with everyone on the tour so far. We’re looking forward to more tomorrow with a cooking class and a sit-down with a monk.

Lots of love,

Sarah & Spenser