Wat Arun and Dusit Palace

After we left the Grand Palace, we walked directly down the street toward the river, through the market and onto the 3 baht ferry that runs you to the other side. Our destination: Wat Arun.

I have only ever taken pictures of Wat Arun from the opposite bank, by the palace. This was my first time exploring the temple and I was very excited.

In Cambodian, "arun" means morning, so I always thought this was the Morning Temple, or Sunrise Temple. I was wrong. Apparently Arun is a deity, and this is Arun's temple. Yup. So there's some random knowledge for ya.

Wat Arun has one tall tower in the middle and four less tall ones around it. The fun thing here is that you get to climb up pretty high and you get a sweet view of the river and palace on the other side.

The stairs to the uppermost level were crazy steep, and Isa's scared of heights, so she stayed at the second highest level.

But her view up to the top was pretty cool too. This place is so intricate!

I remember how steep some of the stairs at Angkor Wat are. Hopefully she'll be able to scale those. I told her and she said she'll be able to do that. Slowly and carefully.

After exploring the temple and the grounds for a while, we took the cross-river ferry again, and then waited at that same pier for the orange flag ferry to take us upriver. We learned on our awful day that traffic around Ratanakosin is terrible, so we thought if we took the ferry up for a while, the roads should be clear for taxis.

We were somewhat right. We got off at the N15 pier and grabbed a taxi headed for Vimanmek Mansion. This is only about a half mile ride, but unfortunately, some of the roads around the palace are shut down. So it took a lot longer and we sat in the taxi just watching the meter increase and at one point I opened the door and almost got out. Turns out there's an intense police and military presence in this area.

We didn't know what was going on and we didn't want to get in trouble for taking pictures of the army, especially because most of them were lounging around not doing anything. So we took a few pictures of the barricades instead. You can see some cops back by the car in full riot gear.

We asked one of them what was going on and he told us they were getting ready for riots. We asked if it was safe for us to be here, and he said yes, the riots were in a different part of the city today. Comforting, right?

So we went in to Vimanmek Mansion, and wow has it changed from 11 years ago. It's so much more strict now. This is the only picture you're allowed to take:

Then you put everything you own in a locker. Camera and wallet included.

Last time I was here, you were free to wander the grounds and they had a free traditional dance show that I actually participated in (the last song they ask if anybody from the audience wanted to join and I was all over that). Now, all the grounds are closed off and only certain rooms in the house are open for viewing. I don't remember going upstairs in the house before though, so that was new for me.

The mansion is beautiful and only because admission is free with your Grand Palace ticket do I think it's worth it to visit now. It's sad because this was one of my favorite attractions in Bangkok a decade ago, but now it's dropped way down on the list. :(

In the same massive grounds as Vimanmek, you'll find Dusit Palace. Well, more specifically, this building is the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall:

This building is magnificent. I've been all over Europe in some of the grandest and most beautiful structures, but never have I seen anything to rival this palace. It is absolutely stunning (inside). Again, you can only take pictures outside and then you have to leave your camera in a locker with your bags before you enter. So I don't have my own pictures, but here's a few from the interwebs:

This wasn't open a decade ago.. It was still used exclusively for royal events.

The building was donated by the King to the Queen to house works from her SUPPORT foundation. Artisans from around the country contribute to intricate works of art, from carvings to gold work, to silk weaving. SUPPORT is a program set up by the Queen for two reasons. First, the artisans are actually poor farmers. They run their farm during the day and then work on these projects in their spare time. They're paid for their work, so it gives them extra money. Second, it keeps the skills alive from old times. These skills are now taught and passed on from generation to generation because they're useful again.

The museum also provides an audio guide for free, so we got to learn about many of the pieces. The works of art are truly awe inspiring. Most of them are gifts to the King and Queen for their birthdays or the anniversary of their coronation.

We left Dusit and walked over to the Marble Temple. It was just closing as we got in, so we just took a few pictures and then worked our way out through the barricades.

It's funny. Because looking at the temple, it's all peaceful and calm, and then from where we're standing to take this picture, you turn around into this:

Bangkok Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Bangkok Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha

The Grand Palace complex, which includes Wat Phra Kaew, is the one absolute must see in Bangkok. 

We were very excited to finally go this morning, as we were unable to make on Monday. We tried to research online how much the entrance fee was, but different sites were quoting different prices. When we arrived, we were hoping for 250 Baht but prepared for 400. The interwebs were wrong.

500 baht. Each.

Which in the grand scheme of things is only $15 US, so we feel like we can't complain, but when every other temple in Bangkok is free or nearly free, 500 baht is a lot. But they can charge whatever they want and we'll still go. And they know that.

And after seeing how busy it is inside, maybe they should charge more.

When you first enter the Grand Palace, you are directed into the main temple complex surrounding Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We were there right as the complex opened, so for the first 15 minutes or so it was relatively empty and easy to take pictures.

But then the groups came in (including many Chinese tour groups that just swarm the place with little regard or awareness for anyone else). The complex filled fast and we headed for the exit. We thought we would go visit the palace and the rest of the grounds and then come back to Wat Phra Kaew after the rush of groups died down.

Well you can't do that. Once you leave the Wat Phra Kaew area you can't come back in. It's a one way path just like the Forbidden City in Beijing. Well, worse actually. The wat itself has only one specific way to go, you can't completely circle the building.

So once we hit the exit and realized we couldn't come back later, we went back in to take more pictures. Although I understand the idea of forcing the visitors to all go one way to create a flow, it creates a definite bottleneck around Wat Phra Kaew in the morning since nobody wants to leave.

They were doing some restoration work on the temple...

...and some cleaning of the Emerald Buddha. How'd you like to be this guy?

I waited until he was done so I could get a picture without any people. Well, above the crowds, but without any cleaners.

When we finally went through, the crowds on the palace side were much less overwhelming. 

We wandered for a bit and checked out the weapons museums and the throne rooms (which they don't let you take pictures inside).

We also watched their "Changing of the Guard" ceremony, which at times was quite humorous. They would march and fall in line, but when they stopped, they weren't perfectly in line or evenly spaced, so they'd take quick tiny little steps to get in the right position. It made us giggle every time.

As we left the palace grounds, just outside the exit is the textile museum. Entry to the museum is included in the 500 baht Grand Palace entry fee (as are several other places we went to today), so we decided to make the most of our tickets and we went. And we were so glad we did.

The textile museum tells the story of Queen Sirikit, who has been the queen of Thailand for over 50 years. The museum gives an overview of all the things the King and Queen have done for Thailand. It really makes you love them. Pardon the pun, but the thread that tied all the stories together was the queen's desire to create and promote a unique Thai traditional dress (since no such thing existed before her). She worked with designers to make 8 styles that were both traditional and modern. She wanted them to be practical for western attire, but be indisputably Thai. And the results were beautiful.

As I'm rereading that paragraph, I find it weird to be so excited about a clothes museum. But I think the stories about the King and Queen and all they've done for Thailand are just so inspiring. You get in for free, so why not go check it out? It's air conditioned and totally worth it.

We left the grounds and went over to the river to catch the 3 baht ferry across to Wat Arun, but that's for the next post. For now, here are some tips to keep in mind when visiting Wat Phra Kaew and Bangkok's Grand Palace:

1. It's more expensive than you think it will be. They're constantly increasing the price, so be prepared to pay more. But it's awesome and worth it, so buck up and pay it.

2. The ticket includes entrance to the textile museum (mentioned above), the Vimanmek Mansion, Dusit Palace, and a coin museum (supposedly located by the grand palace exit, but we couldn't find it). You have seven days to visit these other sites, so no need to rush.

3. The gates open at 8:30. Be there at 8:30. 8:45 is already too late. You only need two hours to see everything in the complex (Emerald Buddha Temple and the Grand Palace). So if 8:30 is early for you, you can go back to your hotel afterward and take a nap.

4. Roads in and around Ratanakosin Island (the part of Bangkok where the Palace, Wat Pho, and the rest of old town are located) are awful. Traffic is jammed in every direction with no hope of an end in sight. I suggest you take the BTS to Saphan Taksin and drop down to the river and take the 15 baht orange flag ferry up to the pier 9 (walk past the line, you pay on the ferry). Once you pass Wat Arun, get off. It's pleasant, cheap, and quick. And fun. (Click here for more info on the ferries.)

5. There is only one entrance to the entire complex. It's halfway down the road that runs along the north side of the complex. This is the same road that leads to the ferry pier, so if you took the water taxi, get off at number 9 and walk straight up the road.

6. Remember that the path through the complex is one way with no reentry or back tracking. You start in Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha Temple). Once you exit the temple grounds and walk towards the palace, you cannot go back into the temple. So make sure you're satisfied with the pictures you've taken or the prayers you've offered before moving on.

7. The dress code is strictly enforced (at the entrance, after you have already bought your ticket). Men must have long pants and at least a t-shirt. No tanks or singlets. Same for women, but also no see through tops or short skirts. Technically they still say no open-toed sandals (you'd have to wear socks with them) but they don't seem to care about that one any more. If you come improperly dressed, they have clothes to rent.

8. If possible, go on a weekday. Not only is it a little less packed, the two throne halls that flank the palace are closed on weekends and they're worth seeing.

Forbidden City Guide

I have been wanting to come here for years. Ever since I heard about it over a decade ago. I was beyond excited to go in, and honestly very disappointed once we got in. :(

The complex is massive. Like ridiculously big. We looked up plans and maps and self-guided walking tours through the complex, so we had a plan. But very soon after entering, we realized that our plan was worthless.

Before entering, you just file in with all the other people. You have to enter from the south, above Tiananmen Square. This is what you'll see, with a warm welcome from a giant portrait of Chairman Mao.

You pass through two giant courtyards (each capable of holding more than 10,000 people) before you even get into the actual palace that requires your ticket. Once inside, you see five magnificent marble bridges over a stream.

This is where you can cut left or right in an attempt to avoid all the groups and tourists. We followed the stream to the left first (you can see all the crowds going straight down the middle).

Going left seemed to be a good idea since we walked into this serene park with very few people in it.

But then we ran into do not enter signs everywhere.

So after looking through a not-worth-it little museum, we crossed the courtyard with the bridges and went right, hoping to circumvent the tourists that way, but we ran into the same thing (with another not-so-worth-it museum with ceramics).

It turns out that there is only one way through the palace complex, and they force everyone to take it. So you can't escape the crowds (until later, we found).

We went straight in through the main central axis. Each building has a crowd of people in front of it, all pushing and shoving trying to get up front to take a picture. Isa checked out the first, and then decided it wasn't worth it to see the others because of the people, so she waited to the side while I went in. I tried to be patient and courteous, but that isn't very effective. The problem is that once you fight your way to the front and get your picture, nobody will move to let you out. It's almost as much of a struggle to get out as it is to get in.

Once you get up close, they all pretty much look the same. Like this:

You keep heading straight back along the same central axis passing through gates and around buildings and around sacred staircases...

...until you hit the garden in the back. The garden is not as pretty as I had hoped. I was going for a tea garden on a Versailles scale. But it's rather small and square (not natural looking) and not very picturesque.

At this point, we found an alleyway that went off to the right. With no tourists. So we took it. We walked along a long corridor, peering through closed doorways to see what was hidden inside.

This led to another area that was open to the public, but since it was off the central axis, it was much less visited. There were a few exhibits (of fans, ceramics, and traditions) and cool buildings, and it was finally nice to be somewhere that 1000 other people were not.

Looking at our map of the complex, we really wanted to get to an area just east of these buildings. So we walked down some long corridors and eventually found an entrance, but it cost 10 yuan to get in (that's a little less than $2). Generally this is just a ploy to get more money out of tourists, but we went for it. And it was worth every penny.

This was what we had hoped the rest of the complex would be like. It was all open to explore, you could go wherever you wanted, and it was far less crowded.

One of the highlights of this area is the 9 dragon screen. Apparently there are only three like this in all of China.

We wandered some more through this area and then exited through the north. We found out that everyone has to enter from the south, and we realized that the reason they block everything off is to create a flow of traffic. With hundreds of thousands of people going through every day, they're doing the best they can to control it.

On the north side of the Forbidden City is a park set on a hill called Jingshan Park. We paid the 50 cents to get in and hiked to the top for cool views of the palace. Through the haze of Beijing's crazy smog, it made for some eery and cool pictures.

The park itself is kinda cool with some rockeries and cool buildings, but mainly you go up for the view. And sunset.