Friday 22nd March
We arrived this morning at the port of Laem Chabang inThailand. It was a two and a half hour journey from there into Bangkok through all the traffic. Out of the coach windows we saw lots of temples and coconut plantations. The Thai royal family are very important here and as we neared Bangkok we saw lots of photos of the King along the roads in the capital. The Thai flag together with the King's yellow flag can be seen everywhere. We went to the Grand Palace which was amazing, there were lots and lots of different buildings that were very ornate. They have been built by different kings since 1785. In the grounds of the royal palace is the Royal Monastery of the Emerald Buddha. The picture shows the temple building that contains the Emerald Buddha. You are not allowed to take any photos inside the temple building. The Buddha is very small only about a foot tall and it is enshrined high up on a golden Thai-styled throne. It is clothed according to the season - winter, rainy or summer. Today the Buddha was still in winter clothes even though the temperatures in Bangkok were in the 30's! The clothes are usually changed by the King but as he is getting older and not very well, his son, the prince will change them next month. The Emerald Buddha isn't made of emerald but of jade. It was found in 1434 and was covered in plaster, later on some of the plaster chipped off to reveal the green colour that was mistakenly thought to be emerald. The Buddha was brought to Thailand from Laos in 1778 and housed in the Royal Monastery in Bangkok. Our guide told us that about 15 thousands people visit the Grand Palace everyday- I think they were all there at the same time as us. It was very, very crowded and hot. The buildings were so decorative they were quite overwhelming , I loved the decorative demons and monkeys that were around the bottom of some buildings.