Stopover in Bangkok and Bye for Now
We spent most of the day on October 31 just getting from Ao Nang to Bangkok and then to the hotel and resting. So let's just skip to our last day in Thailand.
With not much time and having to check out early, we decided to go and see the Grand Palace and Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha for our last Thai activity. The palace was built in 1782 and holds the royal residencies and throne halls for the Thai royal family, but also the renowned temple.
In the upper terrace, there's a large golden chedi (a stupa with relics) and a miniature of Angkor Wat built in the late 19th century. It was pretty cool to see the site plan after having visited the ruins themselves mere weeks before.
There are murals painted on the exterior walls all around the compound telling stories and depicting scenes from the Ramakein - Thailand's national epic (a collection of mythological and religious stories).
The Emerald Buddha is seated atop a golden throne and I would guess is no more than a metre and a half tall. It's actually carved from jade. The story goes the Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434 covered in plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha. However, the abbot who had found the statue noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot thought the stone was emerald, hence the name. As the temple is still quite active and many locals come to pray, there are no photos allowed out of respect so you'll just have to come see it for yourself.
On the outer terrace surrounding the temple, there were hundreds of beautiful intricate carvings on stone, each one unique. And also many potted lotus flowers - some with blobs of bees.
Sadly, because it was Saturday most of the rest of the complex was closed. We didn't get to see inside many of the buildings, but that's okay because we had a plane to catch.
With just a little time and not much money left before heading to the airport, we actually ended up visiting the Siam Centre Mall. It was a mix of higher end Western stores and boutique local stores. And it had an amazing selection of restaurants and a fancy food court. It was a nice buffer to the many airports and return to Western life that awaited.
Thankfully the flights home went without incident, despite my ludicrous need to buy ALL THE BUTTERFLIES and pack them in my carry on. I got home very late, or I guess very early, on Monday to some elated and furious cats. Back to the grind that same day... It's hard to imagine coming from golden palaces back to office meetings in what felt like one never-ending plane journey. As always, I'm glad to be home and sad to leave such beautiful countries, welcoming people and crazy adventures once more.
With not much time and having to check out early, we decided to go and see the Grand Palace and Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha for our last Thai activity. The palace was built in 1782 and holds the royal residencies and throne halls for the Thai royal family, but also the renowned temple.
In the upper terrace, there's a large golden chedi (a stupa with relics) and a miniature of Angkor Wat built in the late 19th century. It was pretty cool to see the site plan after having visited the ruins themselves mere weeks before.
There are murals painted on the exterior walls all around the compound telling stories and depicting scenes from the Ramakein - Thailand's national epic (a collection of mythological and religious stories).
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The Emerald Buddha is seated atop a golden throne and I would guess is no more than a metre and a half tall. It's actually carved from jade. The story goes the Emerald Buddha was discovered in 1434 covered in plaster and was thought to be an ordinary Buddha. However, the abbot who had found the statue noticed that the plaster on the nose had flaked off, revealing the green stone underneath. The abbot thought the stone was emerald, hence the name. As the temple is still quite active and many locals come to pray, there are no photos allowed out of respect so you'll just have to come see it for yourself.
On the outer terrace surrounding the temple, there were hundreds of beautiful intricate carvings on stone, each one unique. And also many potted lotus flowers - some with blobs of bees.
Sadly, because it was Saturday most of the rest of the complex was closed. We didn't get to see inside many of the buildings, but that's okay because we had a plane to catch.
With just a little time and not much money left before heading to the airport, we actually ended up visiting the Siam Centre Mall. It was a mix of higher end Western stores and boutique local stores. And it had an amazing selection of restaurants and a fancy food court. It was a nice buffer to the many airports and return to Western life that awaited.
Thankfully the flights home went without incident, despite my ludicrous need to buy ALL THE BUTTERFLIES and pack them in my carry on. I got home very late, or I guess very early, on Monday to some elated and furious cats. Back to the grind that same day... It's hard to imagine coming from golden palaces back to office meetings in what felt like one never-ending plane journey. As always, I'm glad to be home and sad to leave such beautiful countries, welcoming people and crazy adventures once more.
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