Bangkok Day 2: Ramakien Murals and Grand Palace Garden

Hi Hive! I am back! I am trying hard to get back to blogging, but it's been hard lately due to the issues we face as a family. However, I will share this in the next blogs. For now, I'd like to finish our Bangkok Trip so allow me to share this with you.

Previous Bangkok Travel blogs:

• Bangkok Day 1: Ancient City, Three-Headed Elephant, and Coconut Coffee
• Bangkok's Ancient City Video Tour
• Erawan Museum
• Bam Nam Phueng Floating Market
• The Berkeley Hotel Breakfast Buffet
• The Berkeley Hotel Pratunam Room Tour

Arcanys' Five-Year Club only requires that the employee join at least one of their group tours. Since we had already joined the Ancient City tour on our first day, we had decided to visit the temple. We hopped on a taxi and asked the driver to bring us to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew. It was not too far from our hotel, but I had heard of many scammers in Bangkok, especially in the Grand Palace, so we had been very vigilant not to entertain any locals, as we were all aware that this spot was open on that day.

The entrance fee here was priced at 500 Baht, which would be around Php 900. This includes the entrance to the following:

1. The Grand Palace, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha Museum.
2. The Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
3. The Arts of the Kingdom Museum and the Masterpieces by Artisans of Queen Sirikit Institute
4. Khon, Thai classical masked dance

The dress code here is anything below the knee. We are already aware of this, and so we had no issues coming in. There were lots of tourists around, and locals outside were selling overpriced Thai-style pants for those tourists who came in with bottoms above the knees.

The temple is a vital symbol of Thai Buddhism and national identity. We came in adoring its architecture and its intricate designs and grandeur that reflect the craftsmanship of the Thai people, but as we noticed the arts on the wall, I was blown away by the Ramakian Murals. At first, I thought these were just random paintings, just some symbols of mythical creatures, heroes, and demons. But upon research, I figured it was all about the story Phra Rama, who embarks on a dangerous journey to recover his lost bride, Nang Sida, from the demon king Thotsakan, thus it's called Ramakien Murals. Fun fact: here are 178 murals that span the entire perimeter wall of Wat Phra Kaew, showing narrative painting, bringing together traditional Thai iconography and extraordinary artistry.

As we don't have the luxury of time to explore the painting, I decided to stop and go around the temple. As this is the most sought-after place in Bangkok for tourists, it is given that taking photos would be challenging. I tried hard not to capture any photobombers, but there will always be people included in the shots.

Another thing to marvel at within the temple are the giant guardians called yaksha or demon guardians. There are six pairs of them located at all entrances to the temple. The term yaksha, or in Thai, is simply called yak (giant), and they are Buddhist gods that protect against evil spirits, which is why they were located right at the entrance area.

We were amazed by their heights, and I even took a landscape shot showing two of them from this side of the temple. They were dressed in gold, their two-layered headdresses had demon faces in them, and they got masks that looked frightening. They are holding a weapon, and they all look like they are ready to fight.

On the left side of the temple are also areas where Buddhists could offer incense and pray. There were many tourists who were also in this area, somehow paying respects and perhaps observing what the Buddhists were doing.

We were sitting here in the area of the temple as it was super hot and tiring, our mini fans were truly helpful in this situation.

As soon as we were all out of the temple, we headed towards the Grand Palace. I am absolutely blown away by the structure.

I can see the creativity behind the architecture and the garden. Although there were so many tourists, there was still enough space for everyone! You will just have a challenge looking for a spot to take a photo without a photobomber, but I had no issue with that, as I was able to remove these people from my stitched photo:

I believe this is the only thing to do here; we didn't have time to go into the building or what. Well, maybe because of the size of the place, we couldn't figure out if we should go inside or if we should just be in the garden. There were no guides or any staff of the building that would show us inside. So as soon as we were over it, we headed to the exit, which by the way was a long walk, and it was super sunny. Imagine the sweat and struggle!

Anyway, check out the next post for Icon Siam and the long-awaited Chao Praya Princess River Cruise.

Watch the video I took with my Insta360:

J U N E B R I D E
_{Boholana | Cebu | Philippines | Travel | Photography Enthusiast | Calligraphy | Art
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