January 19, Monday – Explore Bangkok – Visit Grand Palace – Chaopraya River dinner cruise

Destination: Bangkok – Accommodations: Bizotel Premier Hotel

After breakfast, we boarded our bus to visit the Grand Palace. On the way, Are told us some information about monks. He said the monks that we see wearing white are not monks…nor are they men. They are nuns and they shave their heads just like the monks. Interestingly, Are said that Thai monks not only shave their heads, but they also shave their eyebrows and of course their beards. No facial hair at all.

Are also told us a beautiful philosophy about life that he had heard from a woman he spoke with one day. Life goes from B to D with C in the middle. B is birth. D is death. And C are the choices you make after B and before D.

We arrived at the Grand Palace. In 1782, the palace was constructed and the grounds cover more than 8 square miles. The palace had been the official residence of the Kings of Siam since 1782. Royalty no longer live in the palace, but it is used for official events.

Rather than being a single structure, the Grand Palace is made up of numerous buildings, halls, and pavilions set around open lawns, gardens and courtyards.

Within the grounds of the palace is the Wat Phra Kaew commonly known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand.

The palace has a strict dress code. No sleeveless shirts and men and women have to cover their legs well below the knees. I was lucky once again to be allowed into the Temple of the Emerald Buddha with my booties covering my sneakers. The story behind the Emerald Buddha’s origin remains a mystery, but it is deeply revered by the Thai Royal Family as well as Thai citizens. We were not allowed to take photos inside the temple, but we could take a photo outside the door.

The Emerald Buddha is not made of emerald, but rather the emerald refers to the Buddha’s color. The Emerald Buddha is adorned with three sets of gold seasonal decorations: one for the summer and one for the rainy season, and a third for the winter or cool season. The decorations are changed each season by the King of Thailand, or a senior member of the royal family, which is quite a feat since they have to climb a huge ladder to get to the Buddha.

We walked around the beautiful grounds and took photos. It is truly a beautiful place. We also toured the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles which is on the premises. In 2003, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother requested permission to use a then-vacant building on the grounds of the Grand Palace
to house a new museum of textiles. A
building was granted for this purpose by His Majesty. The Queen Mother wanted to preserve Thailand’s textile arts for future generations.

The Royal Wardrobe of Her Majesty is on display in the museum and features the beautiful wardrobe she has worn through the decades. Sadly, the Queen Mother passed away a few months ago and Thailand is still mourning her passing and will continue to do so for a year.

We had lunch at a local restaurant and then went to the Khon performance at Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theater. Established over 90 years ago in 1933, today’s performers keep the masked art form alive. The performers bring the stories of Thai literature to life by combining dance, martial arts and traditional Thai music. The costumes are elegant and bejeweled and the theater has earned a place in the UNESCO cultural heritage list.

Since there was a commentary above the stage in English, we were able to understand what was happening on stage. It was a short but wonderful experience, and we were all very happy to have seen the show.

We returned to the hotel by Tut Tut – a fun (and slightly harrowing experience) and then we again boarded our bus to take us to a dinner cruise along the Chao Praya river. It was a beautiful evening as we watched the sunset and enjoyed dinner as we cruised along.

After the cruise we returned to the hotel for a nightcap with friends and then off to bed.