Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew and other Bangkok, Thailand Things to Do Tips

Set aside plenty of time to visit the Royal Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, it's not just that this is one of the cities major tourist attractions and therefore full of visitors but that there is just so much detail to take in. Your senses will be crowded with the vivid flood of colour from the fantastically decorated buildings and statues, the sound of bells along the rooflines and the smell of incense.

The Emerald Buddha - a figure of great reverence in Thailand - dressed in one of his gold costumes (they are changed dependent on the season) is housed in a wonderfully decorated Chapel Royal. Outside is the almost iconic shape of the golden chedi, in which ashes of the Buddha are housed, fierce looking demon figures can be found guarding other of the buildings and you can follow the whole story of the Ramakian depicted in paintings on the arcade surrounding the temple complex. The latter is also a good place to shade yourself from the sun, the crowds and the quite overwhelming impression that the temple can make on you.

The Palace, by contrast to the classical Thai architecture of Wat Phra Kaew, is almost a Western looking Pavilion (it was designed by a British architect) topped with Thai spires. It is currently being renovated so any photo opportunities are rather scuppered by scaffolding.
There is a very strict dress code for the Wat and Palace complex. You should wear long trousers or skirts that are below the knee and shirts with sleeves (a shawl/wrap over a sleeveless top will not do). If you don?t adhere to the dress code you can borrow suitable wear from an office near the entrance.

This is one of the places ehere you are likely to encounter the "Grand Palace isn't open, I'll take you to another temple" scam. Be polite and say you'd like to find out for yourself. The Palace/Temple complex is open everyday 8.30am-3.30pm.

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Phone: 02-224-1833
Address: Maharaj Pier, Chao Phraya, Bangkok
Website: http://www.discoverthailand.com/

Tucked away in the shadow of the Memorial Bridge Wat Prayoon is a temple complex surrounding a small artificial hill where models of houses – shrines to family members – are perched.

As well as been a very peaceful place to wander the main attraction of Wat Prayoon are the snapping turtles, which live in the ponds around the temple. For 10 baht (about £0.14) you can buy a plate of fruit or bread, borrow a long stick (to protect nips on fingers) watch them swim up and feed them.

The local belief is that doing so gains special merit. The oldest – their shells covered in moss – are old hands at this but it’s the younger ones – trying to keep from drifting off in the current –that’ll have you reaching over the water with your piece of fruit and braving falling in. Great fun for all ages!

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Address: Soi 1, Thanon Thetsaban, Thornburi
Directions: Walk over Memorial Bridge then you should see the Pagoda on the right hand side. Two snapping turtle statues stand guard outsofde the entrance.
Open daily: 9am-6pm

The newest of Bangkok's night markets Suan Lum not only offers the more usual fare of fake designer goods, Thai silk scarves and incense sets but also small shops selling arts and crafts from local designers and artists. The pottery and paintings are particularly worth a look. There is also a large food court and beer garden area featuring live music (the Thai equivalent of Busted when we were there!) and - more bizarrely - re-runs of three year old Premiership football matches on a big screen.

In the beer garden either go to the bars or look for the waiters selling Chang or Tiger beer, which are at fairy reasonable prices (50 to 100 Baht, 0.70 to 1.40 sterling per bottle). Otherwise you may be offer Western imported beer at an exorbitant price (Erdinger and Heineken for the equivalent of about 5.00 stertling per litre)

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Address: Lumpini MRT Station

Wandering around the beautifully decorated chedi of Wat Pho you can almost forget you are in the bustling city of Bangkok, the rambling complex can sees more suited to a rural rather than urban setting. That is not to say that it doesn’t get busy but the largest wat in Thailand does allow you to find space for yourself.

You are most likely to encounter other visitors and worshippers around the magnificent reclining Buddha. The statue is 151 feet (46m) long and covered in gold leaf, as you wander along its length you pass smaller shrines until, reaching the feet, you can let your gaze travel back towards the head and appreciate what a truly amazing object it is. The soles of the feet are inlaid with mother of pearl, and on the other side of the Buddha are 108 bronze bowls. Placing a coin in each of them is supposed to be auspicious and bring merit, if you don’t have 108 coins on you then for a small donation you can buy a pot of coins allowing you to complete the ritual.

Take time to enter some of the smaller temple buildings surrounding the Reclining Buddha. In one we were invited to join other worshippers to shake fortune sticks, a memorable experience.

Wat Pho exudes a sense of calm and contemplation, the perfect antidote for fraught senses. And for fraught bodies the complex is also a centre of traditional Thai medicine and massage. A great place to revive both body and soul.

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Phone: 02-221-991
Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River, Bangkok
Directions: The entrance to Wat Pho is on Chetuphon road. Entrance is 20B. It's open every day, opening hours are from 08.00am to 5.00pm, with a break from 12.00pm to 1.00pm.
Website: http://www.discoverthailand.com/

Dwarfed by the modern buildings, next to a busy road and in the shadow of the Skytrain the Erawan Shrine is one of those wonderful contrasts that you find in Bangkok. Step inside the small complex and it is easy to set aside the modern concrete city around you and concentrate on the traditional customs of worship.

The shrine was built as a spirit house ? home to the guardian of the place/building ? for the Erawan Hotel. Now it is a busy focus for worshippers who come to making offerings of flowers and incense or who commission short performances by the traditional dancers and musicians to give thanks for their good fortune. Outside the shrine caged birds are sold ? releasing them is supposed to bring good luck ? and tickets bought from the lottery sellers are also considered lucky.

Incense drifts lazily across the shrine like mist, its heady smell combining with the sound of instruments to create an almost dreamlike atmosphere, heightening emotions. Walk away from the shrine and back into the bustling city and it?s easy to imagine that the shrine is a mirage. This was one of the first places we visited in Bangkok and it was an evocative introduction to the city.

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Address: Chitlom Station, Bangkok
Directions: Near the Sogo Dept. Store
Website: http://www.discoverthailand.com

If you want to define the word "bustling" take a walk through the streets of Bangkok's Chinatown. On the wider roads dodge the traffic as you step off the pavement to make way for food stalls that line the pavements or the pushcarts of goods being trundled along, on the narrower lanes simply go with the ebb and flow as a sea of people envelops you.

Indeed walking - or should that really be jostling - down Soi Wanit 1 (Sampeng Lane) it almost seems as if the whole of Chinatown has joined you looking for bargains at the shops which line the narrow street. Edging out of the human, and sometimes motorcycle, traffic to have a look at the variety of goods on offer can be a tricky manoeuvre. As for what you can buy it seemed mainly to be a mixture of knick-knacks, jewellery, cloth, toys, household goods and "Hello Kitty" memorabilia, often sold in bulk. I still regret not getting the ten "Hello Kitty" mobile phone holders!

Tha Yaowarat, the district's main street, is home to numerous gold shops, the wares spread out on imposing counters behind large glass windows. Chinatown also contains some fantastic food stalls, particularly seafood, the smell of cooking adding another sensory dimension to the experience of visiting. In fact like a lot of Bangkok Chinatown is an assault on the senses that can leave you exhilarated, exhausted but oh so glad you visited!

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Address: Ratchawongsi Pier, Chao Phraya River Tour, Bangkok
Directions: To view typical China Town scences straight ahead to Ratchawongsi Road until the intersection of Yaowarat Road.

Towards the late 18th Century King Taksin established Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, as the seat of royal power and worship and home to the Emerald Buddha. After the accession of a new king the royal focus moved to Wat Phra Kaew, however, Wat Arun remained an important religious and historical site.

The central praang is approximately 80 metres high and forms a recognisable landmark on the riverside. You can walk up the lower tiers (the steps are quite steep so take care) and see in closer detail the fierce looking statues ?-Kinnari (half bird and half human) and Yakshas (demons) - which support the upper levels and also the Chinese porcelain that was used to decorate the structure. Four smaller but still richly decorated prangs surround this central pillar.

Although the central prang does dominate the complex there is also a wonderful courtyard nearby looking like the sort of landscape where a martial arts fight would take place! Under a rectangular veranda sit a large number of gold coloured Buddhas and in front of this are numerous wonderful statues of monks, beasts and warriors on horseback. In the middle is a beautifully decorated pavilion - not open when we were there - and a fine golden Buddha in another shrine.

The whole complex, with its great views of the river, is a wonderful place to wander around. The anticipation as you cross the river and the prang looms bigger in your view will certainly be borne out by your visit.

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Phone: 02-466-3167
Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River
Directions: From this pier take a cross river ferry to Wat Arun.

When you visit Wat Arun take some tome to look around the lovely and quiet courtyard nearby. A row of gold Buddhas line the periphery covered by a blissfully shady veranda. In front of these is a variety of stone statues – animals and figures and in the centre a beautifully decorated shrine. There are also some interesting views towards the central prang from the courtyard and the terrace outside the shrine.

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Phone: 02-466-3167
Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River
Directions: From this pier take a cross river ferry to Wat Arun.

Get close up to the central prang and other structures in Wat Arun and you will see that they are highly decorated with pieces of porcelain made into different patterns. The porcelain was brought to Bangkok as ballast in Chinese trading ships.

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Phone: 02-466-3167
Address: Tha Tien Pier, Chao Phraya River
Directions: From this pier take a cross river ferry to Wat Arun.

In the middle of a bustling neighbourhood stands Wat Traimit, a small complex of fairly plain, unadorned buildings dominated by one thing - a 3 metre tall, 5 or 6 tonne image of the Buddha made from solid gold.

The Buddha, made in the Sukhothai period (mid 13th to mid 14th Century), was later covered in plaster to protect it from Burmese invaders. It remained in this state for a couple of centuries until in the mid 1950's when, upon moving the statue, the plaster started to crack and the its true nature literally shone though.

It’s a very impressive image - the gleaming colour of the statute surrounded by candles and offerings –-although it somehow seems a little constricted by the small pavilion it is placed on. But then I suppose 5 tonnes of gold is going to overwhelm most things!

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Phone: 623 1226
Address: Thanon Yaowarat
Directions: Near Hualamphong Station