The Grand Palace, Bangkok

The best way to approach the Grand Palace complex is from the Chao Phraya River. The palace complex and Wat Pra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) are set within almost 10 ha (25 acres) of flat surrounded by a white wall that belies the unbelievably colorful wat within.

The Grand Palace itself is not lived in by the king, but used by on ceremonial occasions. The four buildings that make up the complex are not open to the public, but you can admire their exterior architecture. The largest building, the Grand Palace Hall was built by British architects in the late 1880s.

The Grand Palace by night.

The King will change the Emerald Buddha's attire.

The surrounding area.

Nothing could prepare you for your first sight at Wat Pra Kaew. The colors of Theravada Buddhism are red, green, orange and yellow and along with masses of gilding and gold leaf, lotus bud patterns and columns encrusted with gleaming mosaics, these colors are everywhere – so bright they almost hurt the eye.  The stupas are gilded and the swooping layers of the roofs are tiled in shining orange and green tiles. The Thai version of the Ramayana story is illustrated in its entirety around the interior walls.

The Emerald Buddha is tiny in comparison to many if the famous Buddha statues in Thailand, but it is of immense significant. Its origin is surrounded in mystery, but it was first recorded in Chiang Rai, in the fifteenth century. Laotian invaders removed it to Luang Prabang and then Vientiane, but it was recovered and returned to Thailand in the eighteenth century by Rama I, the founder of current Chakri dynasty. It sits high up in a glass case in a huge shrine that was built specially to house it.

Temple of Emerald Buddha.

The sculptures.