Perhaps it us me, or maybe it was the weather and the fact that I was suffering from not having drunk enough water in the days just past, but the temples of Bangkok left me rather cold.
It has to be said, we travelled there over a period that coincided with Chinese New Year and Valentines Day and it seemed that everyone form China had turned up in a coach at the very same we chose to pay our entrance of 500 Bhat (£10) per person to enter The Grand Palace in a bid to get a sighting of the Jade Buddha.
Wat Phra Sri Rattana Satsadaram or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is regarded as the most important Buddhist temple in the whole
of Thailand.
You can get there by boat from The Siam rather easily because it is located in the historic centre of Bangkok, close by the river.
The Grand Palace, enshrines Phra Kaew Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the highly revered Buddha image meticulously carved not from emerald as was originally thought but from a single block of jade.
Rather ridiculously you are not allowed to wear sandals on your feet for fear of causing disrespect but before you go inside the temple you must take off your foot coverings! Go figure!
I understand (and we adhered to) the rules about not having bear arms or wearing clothing considered too short but the no sandal rule has me baffled!
Having shuffled through the temple and having avoided being trampled to death by Chinese tourists it makes sense to go visit Wat Pho, home to the country’s longest reclining Buddha, which is not too far away. Before you go take a few minutes to look around at the many other buildings that surround the temple. Their intricate construction and fine embellishment is a true treat for the eyes.
To get into Wat Pho you need to shell out another 100 baht and having done so you are now likely to get a black eye or worse when yet even more Chinese and everyone else who shops at Tesco’s endeavours to remove your eyes with their selfie-sticks