Wat Phra Kaew

After the conference on value addition, Reianne and I had a free day to explore Bangkok. It's my first post-conference opportunity to go around so I grabbed it. Our first stop was the Wat Phra Kaew, the temple of the Emerald Buddha. I didn't realise that despite the rain, we'd be faced with a jam-packed venue, making this temple look small and crowded compared to Wat Phra Si Sanpeth. It was so busy that I wondered if people actually worshipped here.

Everyone went in one direction so Reianne and I decided to go around the other way, where there were fewer people hanging around. The sparsity of the crowd allowed us to see the different structures more closely.

One of the first statues we encountered, right at the entrance, was that of a hermit doctor (it apparently has healing powers).

Because I am not well read about the architecture of Thai religious structures, they tended to look very similar to me except if there are differences in colour. 

The corridors in some of the side buildings featured murals that told the story about the Ramayana. This definitely beat the tapestries I saw in Hyderabad and the translations I saw in the Asian Art Museum because the story was drawn so intricately here in its entirety. Of course, we didn't have time to see much. But I did notice a panel containing a tent in a forest quite close to some brush fire.

What struck me the most about these structures is that they're covered in gold leaf. Reianne was saying something about the gold being donations from the subjects of the Royal Family. This shows how much the Thais love and revere the ruling members of the Chakri dynasty. Just imagine a library being covered in gold! Knowledge and the building holding it became singularly precious.

In Ayutthaya, I wasn't able to take a close look at the carvings. But at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the buildings were so in-your-face that it was impossible to not notice the superb workmanship of the builders and the restorers.

I've seen many chedis in Ayutthaya. But they're all in ruins. Seeing the golden chedi in Wat Phra Kaew has allowed me to visualise how grand Ayutthaya must have been like back in its heyday. But instead of rebuilding the capital, the first king of the Chakri dynasty, King Rama I, moved it to Bangkok. 

Aside from the carvings that adorned the buildings, I was blown away by the mosaic work. They reminded me of the Taj Mahal because they both illustrate the masterful skills of the people who decorated the temple and the tomb. I'm not sure if precious stones were also used in Wat Phra Kaew; however, the end result was also as stunning.

And then there were the monuments. The guards who kept the contents of the buildings safe. Some were yakshas (giant demons), which I also saw in the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The stone guardian right outside the chedi reminded me of the ancestors set in stone in Mulan.

There were quite a number of elephant statues in Wat Phra Kaew. Apparently, they are symbols of strength and good luck. 

And lest we (tourists) forget that this temple is dedicated to Buddha, we could see one statue at a corner of the library, the Phra Mondop. 

Mythical birds were visible around the temple complex. We saw a bronze representation of the Tantima bird up close in one of the chapels. It looked like a warrior. For some reason, I thought that this bird is the more serious version of the Philippine sarimanok. After all, the sarimanok was more colourful and flamboyant.

Finally, we reached the actual temple building of the Emerald Buddha. We had to take off our footwear and walk on the slippery marble tiles. We were also not allowed to take photos inside the building.

Despite the chaos outside, the temple interior was so calm and peaceful. People were crowded but they were mostly in prayerful or respectful silence. As the crowd pushed us forward, I caught my first glimpse of the Emerald Buddha. In contrast to the Mongkhon Bophit image, the Emerald Buddha was tiny! It appeared to be made of jade (based on the green hue) and it's clothed in gold.

After seeing this Buddha statue, we felt we were ready to go see the other highlight of our trip to the central part of Bangkok: the Grand Palace.