Joanna James
With the contrast between the developed world and the developing world, Bangkok offers an eclectic mix of features; temples, shopping malls, and street food are a few belonging to that mix.
If you cannot spare time for more than one historical site, Grand Palace should be the one you should visit. The compound of structures live up to its name and fascinates its visitors with the brilliance of its architecture. The temple Wat Phra Kaeo is also found at the premises of Grand Palace, and it houses Emerald Buddha. The history of Grand Palace goes back to 1782, which is when it was built. The palace was put to use as a royal residence, and now it is mostly used as the venue for official ceremonies. The best way to go about visiting Grand Palace is to book yourself on a sightseeing tour with a guide, without a guide, you won't know what to make of what you see; you'll be picked up from your apartment hotel Bangkok, and dropped off at the same place.
If you can endure more walking, take your palace tour to Wat Pho, which is located south of the Grand Palace premises. The oldest temple in Bangkok, it was built by King Rama I. Locals regard the temple as a place of great comfort and healing, and King Rama III established the country's first-ever university at the temple precinct. There's also a traditional medical school where you can get a soothing foot massage if you don't mind the relatively high prices. The most highlighted feature of Wat Pho is the reclining Buddha which has a length of 45 meters and a height of 15 meters.
This semi-outdoor weekend market is the largest in the world. You can find anything you want to at Chatuchak Market, and it is easily accessible from places like Citadines Sukhumvit 8 Bangkok. The market has over 15,000 stalls featuring a range of merchandise, and they offer relatively low prices compared to other markets in Bangkok. This is a great place to witness the lively local scene and how locals go about their weekends.
The temple represents the triumphant times of the country in connection with the battles between Burma and Siam. The former Siam was defeated by Burma, but the surviving soldiers and the general didn't back down; they decided to march until the sun rose again, due to this reason, the temple is called the Temple of Dawn; this is also where the king built his palace and his royal chapel later in history. If you climb to the very top, you will be rewarded with an enchanting view of the setting sun and the Chao Praya River. Even if you are not much of a climber, if you visit the temple in the evening, you can see the premises in its most glorious form.
The temple has a fascinating story behind it; the East Asiatic Company owned the land around the temple during the 1950s. The company decided to remove the statue of Buddha, which was a plaster statue without any real significance; however, they found it impossible to remove the statue as it proved to be too heavy. While trying, the statue was dropped, being worn out by the heavy task, they decided to leave it as it was and resume their work the next day morning; however, what the morning brought on was something completely different; a few monks who were passing by noticed a glint through the plaster, so the plaster was removed, and the revelation was a solid gold Buddha which weighed 5.5 tons. The origin of this mystifying figurine is buried deep in history, and historians are yet to be successful in uncovering it.
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