Temple of Emerald Buddha (Wat Prakaew) is a great place to visit in Bangkok Thailand. It used to be the Grand Palace of Thai Royal family. There are so many things to see around the temple and palace. One of my favorite is murals around the inner wall that surround the main hall where the Emerald Buddha is housed. I had a bit of chance to take few pictures of them here (oh, by the way you cannot take picture inside the main hall). I believe it is the only temple in Thailand that does not have any resident monks. The place is opened for visitors and for royal family tradition visits and ceremonies only.
I wished I had time to go around and take time to see the these paintings and stories they tell. Not only the main story lines were told, the artists included daily lives, humors and even naughtiness. The work of art is second to none, in my opinion.
A bit of brief introduction (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phra_Kaew):
” The Wat Phra Kaew (Thai: วัดพระแก้ว, RTGS: Wat Phra Kaeo, IPA: [wát pʰráʔ kɛ̂ːw], Pronunciation, English: Temple of the Emerald Buddha; full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนศาสดาราม, IPA: [wát pʰráʔ sǐː rát.ta.náʔ sàːt.sa.daː.raːm]) is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple (wat) in Thailand. It is a “potent religio-political symbol and the palladium of Thai society”.[1] It is located in the historic centre of Bangkok (district Phra Nakhon), within the precincts of the Grand Palace.[2][3][4]”.
The outside of the main hall of the temple. Beautiful wall and columns.
Roof structures of the near by halls. The roofs are covered by painted clay tiles. The bright orange color is pretty much tradition.
I am a bit fascinated by the architecture of the roof designs. You may notice there are small bells or wind chimes hanging along the overhangs.
This is a view of the out side main hall. I could not resist sneaking a picture of place with the lovely couple 🙂
This is a hermit who practiced medicine. The stone in front of him for symbolized grinding stone for mixing up ingredients.
The based of of the “Stupa”. Those figures at the based show their incredible strength supporting the sacred structure. They are characters from Indian epic Ramayana.
This is one of the section of mural in the inner wall. I think it is about the confrontation of the two small troops from the Indian epic Ramayana.
The power full figure in this section has many arms. It is a palace where the leader listens to his commander report or gives the order to his commander (I am guessing here).
I believe this scene depicts a major battle. There are so many detailed actions in the painting.
This is a close up of one of the Ramayana character. I believe he is a powerful soldier (not a human). This one was painted on the door entrance to the inner hall. I guess that he is for protecting the place.
This is the Royal palace off the main temple hall. There were many tourists there that day.
Hope you like the little tour of the place 🙂
Awesome pics
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Thank you!!
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What a beautiful temple….ah the gold and other vivid colors. . . . . .
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It is the place to visit if you have a chance to be in BKK.
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This was a stunning trip you took us on. Such a beautiful sacred place. Thanks for sharing I love the shapes of these structures and the details gorgeous!
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I am glad you like the place.
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I do and since spending 11 days in total silence in one I love them even more, hugs
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I remember that too. I would like to try that someday 🙂
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So freeing you would really love it and it is not hard.
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Thank you very much Eunice for repost this one 🙂
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You are very welcome it was gorgeous and needed to be shared 🙂
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Reblogged this on Living and Lovin.
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Oh it is exquisite and so are you photos! I would love to visit! Thank you for posting!
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Thank you Cindy and I am glad you like it.
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Thank you so much for this beautiful tour on a lovely Sunday, my friend!!
Cheers~ 😀
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I am glad you like the tour. Please have a great week ahead 🙂
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Thank you so much for your lovely blessings, my friend!
Happy Monday and Cheers!! 😀
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I enjoyed the tour very much. There is so much to see. You could go every day for a year, I expect, and only see a quarter of what is there. Thank you. Aren’t the shaped trees lovely? And I also love the bells which you pointed out.
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Thank you Gallivanta! I am glad that you enjoy the tour 🙂 You are right you can spend days to tour the place. There are murals inside the main hall (which photography is prohibited) as well.
You have good eyes, yes those are shaped trees. They are lovely. I think that take time to keep the trees in the shaped you want. Oh, the sounds of many tiny bells when the wind blows are sweet too. 🙂
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immagini straordinarie e grandiose , con tutto quell’oro che riluce in primo piano hai saputo cogliere la grandezza e i limiti di un popolo
straordinario davvero
mille grazie!
extraordinary images and grandiose, with all that gold that shines in the foreground have been able to grasp the greatness and limitations of a people
amazing really
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Thank you Ventisqueras!
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I so enjoyed your photos as they reminded me of my visit last year. I’m wondering how I missed the mural you show. It is wonderful.
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Thank you Lulu. That was too bad that you did not see the mural inside surrounding wall. I think I can see how that can be missed. The mural does not stand out well since they are on the wall which is in the dark shade.
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gosh – what a beautiful, beautiful place you have here……
and that felt so spiritually refreshing walking about the temple-of-emerald
*humble_bow*
we saw your kind comment over at gallivanta’s place and came to visit.
we shall come again!
*wavingfromlosangeles*
_teamgloria (sophia stuart, author of “how to stay sane in a crazy world”)
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Ah, thank you for stopping by this place and I am glad you enjoy the little tour 🙂
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Some really beautiful pictures of the Temple of Emerald Buddha. And it’s quite an amazing place isn’t it? Wonderfully captured.
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Yes, it is.. Thank you very much for your comments!!!
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I love the architecture and your pictures are lovely.
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Thank you Charlotte!
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It’s Nice album~
Joyful day ^^
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Thank you… 🙂
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Amazingly beautiful series of photos in Thailand. I want to go there in the near future. I love the color of your photos. Vivid and bright!!
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Thank you Gomanchan15. I hope you can visit the place some day soon 🙂
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Perfect blog,nice to be here ,i saw,i was impressed , take care,Regards from Poland ,EM
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Thank you very much EM.
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Wow, what a stunning place to visit, and some wonderful pictures here!! 😀 Your first picture looking up at the columns really gives a sense of how large it is, makes me feel like a child looking up at something very tall! And all that gold – I’m assuming it must be real gold, it certainly looks like it is. I live in a city that has some very old ornate buildings, a castle and cathedral not far off a thousand years old, and they are very impressive, but sadly, no gold! 😦 The white castle walls do shine like gold sometimes when the evening sun shines on them in the summer, it’s quite amazing to see that – but huge illusion of course! 😉
Temples vary a lot as to how bright they are inside. Some are very mysteriously dark, and others looks so light and fresh. I’m intrigued as to what the inside of this looked like, was it very dark or surprizingly brightly lit?
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Thank you Suzy 🙂
I think the temple is a bit tall. My guess it is about 2 and a half story high from the ground to the edge of the overhang in the picture. I am not sure those gold trims are real or not but I think you are right that the paint might have gold into the mix. They look quite shinny. The inside of the main hall is not too dark. There are big windows and wide opened. I find this link: http://www.mir.com.my/leofoo/Thai-amulets/Buddhist_Landmarks/Bangkok/Emerald_Buddha.htm which seems to well represent the lighting condition of the main hall and what it looks like inside too.
I do like castles and cathedrals in UK too. I happened to have a short business trip to UK in late Jan this year. I saw houses and churches while riding a bus from Heathrow airport to Reading during the wee hours. I like them a lot. Too bad that was the only chance I could see things while I was there 😦 I am sure they will look awesome in summer time or at different sun light .
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Oh yes, that’s quite stunning isn’t it?!! So much detail in everything. How do they do all of that, must take a lot of time and people to create everything in those temples. It’s amazing what the human mind is capable of creating! 🙂
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Wow! This is such a fascinatingly beautiful place, YC. Your photos are really good. Thanks so much for the tour. I’m imagining all the work that went into building and decorating this temple. 😎
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Thank you very much. I am glad you like the place. Hmm, you are right .. that must be a lot of work put to build with the details like that.
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Spectacular images and digital trip! Thank you 🙂
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Thank you very much!
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holy-moly!! great shots of such a wonder. 🙂
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Thank you 🙂
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eye widening i can not wait any longer to taste asia it looks amazing 🙂 great account nice pictures
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Thank you. I hope you get to travel over there soon 🙂
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My favorite is the royal palace – without a doubt.
What I find most entrancing when looking over these pictures is the finite detail that goes into every single aspect of the design. From the architecture and building design to the designs themselves and even the colors utilised.
Brilliant, eye catching consistency that is perfectly presented.
Great shots 🙂
ML
x
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Thank you Miss Lou. The details that they incorporate in almost any thing is amazing to me too. 🙂
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🙂
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Wonderful temple … The architecture is smashing !!!.
Beautiful photos too.
Thanks for sharing.
Best wishes, Aquileana 😛
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Thank you Aquileana 🙂
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thank you for the insight, these pics are amazing. I love this post
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Thank you very much. I am happy you like the post.
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Thank you!
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wow, everything about this place speaks of beauty, intricacy and craftsmanship, truly impressive
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The place is impressive and it one of the main place to visit in Bangkok. Thank you!
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