GRAND PALACE!!!

Finally, Only problem was----------soooooo many people!!

Chinese come in by the bus loads . A lot of bus loads. 

The Palace was consecrated in 1782.

It is a fairy tale compound that also includes the residence of the former Thais monarch. More than 100 buildings at over 200 acres 

It represents over 200 years of Royal history.

It holds the Emerald Buddha he sits on a very high throne and no one is allowed to take his picture (sorry). 

He now resides in a fantastically decorated boht or chapel.

He has a long history with the Thai people. 

At some point he had been covered in some sort of clay to camouflage him. A man had him for years then one day noticed parts of him breaking away. Underneath was the Emerald Buddha ( He is actually Jade) . Anyway. When a King heard about it he sent to have the buddha brought to him. 

On the trip an elephant refused to pass by a certain tree so it was seen as a sign and they went a different way. In the process the Buddha was captured by someone else , so it took a very long time for him to find his way back to Bangkok,

That makes a very long story short. :)
 
These buildings as you can imagine just keep coming as you walk .

There is a long building maybe 1/2 a mile total that has murals painted and trimmed in gold.
The work is phenomenal the intricate detail not only of the paintings but all the surrounding details that connect one picture to the next.

Monks walk around in orange robes. A man can donate fruits or vegetables to a monk and receive a blessing. If a women wants to give a monk something she has to first give it to a man and he will give it to the monk for her.

A women is never to touch a monk, and she must never sit beside him or he will get up and leave and the women is considered disrespectful.

She must have shoulders and knees covered in a temple. In this so do men.
Shoes are never allowed in holy or sacred places.

Many homes and some restaurants also wish you to remove shoes. If you see a lot of shoes on the sidewalk it is a pretty big hint.

Roy is getting use to but not appreciating taking off his shoes. ( He groans a lot (quietly)) 

The Grand Palace is considered a pilgrimage destination for many buddhists . 


We then went to the Wat Pho . It is a huge reclining Buddha. Almost to big for it house. 46 meters long and 15 meters high. ( Im not sure how long or high that is but its a bunch)

Its core is brick, and then plaster , then covered in gold leaf. It represents the Buddhas passing into another life.

Massage is everywhere here and cheap. You just have to find the time to stay put long enough to get one.. I will Iwill I will I will get one soon.

Anyway, Massage almost went extinct :0 But Rama brought it back and there is a school at the Grand Palace . Very High quality and very reasonable.