Amongst the most magnificent sights in Bangkok is the Wat Phra Kaew temple, or the Temple of the Jade Buddha. It is a riot of gilded and colourful figures in a very concentrated area within the grounds of the King’s Grand Palace in Bangkok.
It is Thailand’s most famous Buddhist temple and one of Thailand’s three national treasures. But the Jade Buddha didn’t always live in the Grand Palace in Bangkok. It has variously appeared in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, Thonburi, Vientiane in Laos and even took a trip to Angkor Wat in Cambodia at one point. It came to Bangkok at the time the city became the national capital and the Grand Palace was built to house the royal family.
Built in 1784, the Jade Buddha Temple is the site of may of the royal and religious ceremonies dedicated to the palace, because the temple houses the Jade Buddha (also known as the Emerald Buddha). The centre of the shrine hall is declared as a national treasure of jade Buddha statues in Thailand. The Emerald Buddha itself is 66 cm high, 48 cm wide and is carved from a single piece of jade. The Emerald Buddha sits on a throne flanked by two other Buddhas representing former kings of Thailand.
Incredible!
I’ve looked at your photos 10 separate times already and each time I look I’m more amazed!What a sight!
It’s an amazing place, Mac. I’ve visited it four times and would go back the next time as well.
Your photos do it great justice. They only thing they don’t capture is the heat and humidity!
Well thank you, esteemed Gurus! It is just SO photogenic and almost surreal in its beauty and exotic creatures. A continual “trip” to experience. And how do you ever truly capture the “essence” of the temple…. Just keep trying I guess….