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Exploring the home of Thai kings
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Li Dan
ON the caravan from Battaya to Bangkok, the local guide used his not-very-fluent mandarin to remind us that short pants and mini-skirts must be replaced by more conservative attire to enter the Grand Palace we were to visit in the afternoon. "The place is sacred for us Thais, with the emerald Buddha -- a national treasure of Thailand -- located within," he said. "You will not be allowed in if dressed too casually, and then you regret it for the rest of your journey."
In the hot afternoon sun, another sturdy and tanned tour guide waited for us at the gate, where scores of faces from every corner of the earth glittered with sweat. The group of buildings, gilded with gold, shone brilliantly and reflected the dazzling sunlight under the blue sky, creating a vision of heavenly splendor.
Walking through a corridor fully decorated with luxurious paintings, the guide told us the legend depicted on the wall. "The brilliant monkey sent by an ancient Brahman king fought with demons to rescue the beautiful queen, who had formerly been kidnapped on a safari tour," he smiled. "Isn't it similar to your monkey king story?"
Taking off our shoes beside the bronze lions that have guarded the sacred place for over 200 years, we stepped quietly up the stone stairs and followed other tourists into the temple where the emerald Buddha is enshrined. Many visitors already sat on the floor. Four young monks and a few disciples in the front row murmured Buddhist sutra; several students at the back tried to paint and take down what they saw on notepads; most of us just sat quietly, marvelling at the golden statues, wall paintings, and of course, the emerald Buddha that overlooked everything in the hall high above our heads.
Carved from a monolith of green jade, the Buddha has three outfits made of pure gold for different seasons. "Rama the Ninth, the present king, chairs the ceremony of changing the costumes for the Buddha three times a year," explained the guide. "A lucky few will get lustral water sprayed by the king during the ceremony."
Among all the structures in the Grand Palace, a white-walled, red-topped building stands out facing the front gate. Constructed under the reign of Rama the Fifth, it modifies the Renaissance Italian style with a Thai style roof. Legend has it that the improvisation was made to soothe the public dispute on an exotic building within the walls of royal palace.
From time to time, we exclaimed with joy at finding a Chinese-style stone statue standing at roadside. "That's a proof of early trade exchanges with China," the guide explained. "The statue was often carried on board a trading ship full of silk and tea as ballast." So these statues were not appreciated in Thailand for their grace and beauty, but merely their weight. Somehow, that explanation made me unhappy. But outside, the sun gleamed off the golden roofs regardless of my feelings.
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