Bangkok

Krung Thep Maha Nakhon… We debated for a few days on whether or not to travel to Bangkok, but ultimately decided to go. We only had about 24 hours, so we set up a tour guide to show us around. We stayed in Old Town to get a more authentic experience and be closer to the tourist attractions.

Our guide, Anan, met us at our bnb at 9am and we proceeded on foot to the first temple, which was only a block from us. Wat Trimitr houses the world’s largest gold seated Buddha measuring nearly five meters in height and weighing five and a half tons!

After leaving the temple, Anan showed us how to ring the bells (from right to left) with an open palm, and then you stand in front of the bronze bowl with a coin in-between your hands, close your eyes and make a wish before throwing it in (with your eyes closed). If it makes it in, supposedly your wish comes true.

We then walked over to China Town. You are immediately met with a large Chinese temple. There, Anan walked us through another superstitious process. You grab a container full of bamboo sticks that are numbered. While kneeled, you shake the container with your eyes closed until one falls out. Then you take that number over to the table to read your fortune.

My fortune told me to walk slowly. If I walk too fast, I will miss out on certain life events. A good reminder for everyday life (for everyone, really).

He then walked us through the Chinese market. There are so many alleys and streets with different vendors selling everything from food to clothes.

After the Chinese market, we took a bus over to the flower market; something else Bangkok is famous for. They build different flower creations for different events. Some buy flowers as an offering, others purchase the flowers to be made into necklaces and bracelets. They were very beautiful flowers, but to be honest, I expected a bit more variety and grandiose experience.

We bought a bouquet of lotus flowers to give as an offering at a temple we were going to later. Once at Wat Pho, Anan sat us down and showed us two different styles in folding the lotus flower. We then walked over where he also purchased a set of three incense, one candle, and three small squares of gold.

First, you kneel and light the candle and place it with the others and make a wish. You also light the incense at the same time and hold them between your hands and pray. Then you take the small pieces of gold and place them on any Buddha statue to “repair” them, but it’s also a good wish towards certain items. Like placing one on the heart or head has different meanings.

After this experience, we were taken inside to the reclining Buddha. Seriously, y’all, this thing was larger than life! The detail on the feet was made out of a pearl shell and had so much detail in the story – very beautiful! If you walk around to the back side of the reclining Buddha, you will see 108 bronze bowls. You purchase a small container of coins, and you walk down and place a coin in each bowl and make a wish with each one.

We continued on within the grounds and learned a lot more about the design and details of the compound, Wat Pho.

Our final stop for the day was the Grand Palace. There are over 37 buildings located within this compound, and unfortunately, tourists only have access to one. It’s a very popular attraction and they do take a lot of pride in it, so it was interesting to see the culture and fascination behind it all.

The Grand Palace complex was established in 1782 and it consists of not only the royal residence and throne halls, but also a number of government offices, as well as, the renowned Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It covers an area of 218,000 square meters and is surrounded by four walls, 1900 meters in length.

The emerald Buddha is the Buddha image which was carved from a block of jasper. The image measures 66 cms high. The emerald Buddha is of northern Thai workmanship and was probably made in the 15^th century and regarded as the most important Buddha image in Thailand.

They don’t allow pictures in here, as they don’t want anything duplicated in other temples.

There are six pairs of Demon Guardians, standing at the gate of the gallery. Their purpose is to guard the Emerald Buddha from all evil spirits. Everything has so much detail to be admired.

Afterwards, Anan wanted to take us to another famous temple along the water – however, it was already late afternoon and we were a bit exhausted from the day.

Personally, Bangkok was not my favorite stop in Thailand; however, I would go back for another 24 hour trip!