Wat Phra Kaew generally known to the foreigners as the temple of Emerald Buddha, is perhaps the must see destination. Despite the fact that there is so full of tourists you spend half the time trying to avoid getting in people's photos, it's still a pretty amazing place to visit.

          Wat Phra Kaew was built as the royal temple within the Grand Palace, same as the Ayutthaya tradition. The temple has no residing Buddhist monks. It was meant as the spiritual center of the kingdom and the site for major royal ceremonies. So the temple was built and maintained by hands of superb artists and craftspeople of the country. It was refered to as "heaven on earth".

The main elements of the temple are as follows:

1. Ubosot	2. The Emerald Buddha	3. The Main Stupa
4. Phra Mondop	5. The Royal Pantheon	6. The Gallery
7. The Scripture Hall	8. Ankor Wat Model	9. Wihara
10. Ho Phra Nak	11. Stupas	12. Prangs

1. Ubosot that houses the Emerald Buddha

          The main building is the central Ubosot, which houses the Emerald Buddha. There are three main doors used to enter the temple, however only the King and Queen are allowed to enter through the center door. Even though it is small in size it is the most important icon for Thai people.

          This large hall was construct in 1782. The walls were redecorated with stucco mouldings, gilt and decorated with glass mosaics. The six doors of Ubosot are each guarded by a pair of Khmer-style lions. Although the lions have been very much restored it is believed that they belong to the Khmer Bayon style period of the early 13th century.

          It is so elaborately decorated on its outside walls with hundreds, if not thousands, of small golden statues of mystical figures. Pictures inside the chapel are not allowed, however the real beauty also is outside.

2. The Emerald Buddha

          The Emerald Buddha sits atop a huge gold altar in the center of Ubosot. It is a rather small, dark statue, just over 2 feet tall, made of green jasper or perhaps jade ("emerald" refers to the intense green color, not the specific stone).

          Like many other Buddha statues in Thailand, the Emerald Buddha is covered in a seasonal costume , which is changed three times a year to correspond to the summer (crown and jewelry), winter (golden shawl), and rainy months (gilt robe and headdress).

          The costume change is an important ritual and is performed by the Thai king , who also sprinkles water over the monks and the faithful to bring good fortune during the upcoming season. The two sets of clothing not in use at any given time are kept on display in the nearby Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and Thai Coins on the grounds of the Grand Palace.

3. Phra Sri Rattana Chedi (The Main Stupa)

          Erected in 1855 by King Rama IV, the Main Stupa contains relics of the Buddha and is regarded as the most sacred of all stupa in the Royal Chapel. The bell-shaped stupa, with a series of ascending circular mouldings and four porticoes with miniature stupas on top, was built in imitation of one of the three stupas at Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the Royal Chapel in the Grand Palace at the former capital, Ayutthaya.

Stupa in Royal Chapel, Bangkok	Stupas in Royal Chapel, Ayutthaya

          It was later covered with golden mosaic tiles imported from Italy at the command of King Rama V. In the hollow interior of the stupa is a smaller stupa containing the sacred relics, while around it stand four small square redented stupas.

4. Phra Mondop

          The name "Phra Mondop" derived from the Sanskrit "Mondopa" which originally meant an antechamber of a sanctuary, but in Thai means a square structure with a tapering roof. The Phra Mondop of this temple is noted for its beautiful proportions and refinement of detail. The Magnificent seven-tiered roof is topped by a soaring glass-decorated spire, supported by twenty glass-inlaid stucco pillars with lotus capitals. Five-headed Nagas with human faces form the banisters of the staircases that lead to the doors of the Phra Mondop-- one on each of the four sides of the building.

          Not to be missed are the four pairs of demons that stand guard at the top of the stairways, for they are work of the First Reign and have the distinction of being regarded as the most perfectly proportioned of all existing classical sculptures of Rattanakosin craftsmanship.

          The walls of the Phra Mondop are covered in green mirrored tiles inlaid with gold medallions depicting Buddha. The base of the walls are lined with two rows of small gilded guardian angels, each one slightly different.

          The floor of the Phra Mondop is lined from wall to wall by a mat woven from strips of pure silver. Also noteworthy are the fine mother-of-pearl inlaid door panels and the double rows of gilded metal figures of demons, garudas and angels around the base of the exterior of the building. Outside the building are replicas of four erly ninth century Dhyani Buddhas from Candi Plaosan in central Java. The originals are now kept in the Museum of the Royal Chapel.

5. Prasart Phra Thep Bidorn (The Royal Pantheon)

 

          The construction of Prasart phra thep Bidorn or the Royal Pantheon commenced in the first year of Bangkok founding. King Rama I intended to use it for the enshrinement of the Emerald Buddha. However, it was not completed until after his death, and his successor, King Rama V, did not move the palladium to the new building which he considered too small to accomodate the congregation at royal ceremonies.

          The Royal Pantheon was built on a cruciform plan with four porticoes and a corncob shaped tower-like superstructure known as "prang" , in 1903 the gilt stupa together with part of the edifice was destroyed by fire. After the repair of the building King Rama IV, the then reigning king, made use of it as the Royal Pantheon of the Chakri Dynasty, bestowing on it the name Prasat Phra Thep Bidon (meaning the Shrine of the Celestial Ancestors). Life-size statues of the five preceding kings from King Rama I to King Rama V were initially installed: those of King Rama VI, King Rama VII and King Rama VIII were installed later, after their deaths, and the Royal Pantheon was opened to the public to pay homage to their past sovereigns on April 6, the anniversary of the Founding of the Chakri Dynasty.

          The Royal Pantheon is noted for its eye-catching gilt lacquer angel-motif designs on the outer panels of the doors and windows, and for the decorative motif based on the emblems of each of the first five sovereigns of the Dynasty on the side panels of the outer recesses of the doors and windows. On the lintels are stucco gold designs composed of royal decorations.

          Inside the Royal Pantheon, stands the mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet for the canonical texts. The cabinet with its tiered roof is one of the most exquisite examples of the early Rattanakosin work of art whose creator, one of King Rama I's highest ranking courtiers, evidently strove to rival the best of Ayutthaya inlay workmanship. The dimensions of the cabinet in relation to those of the doorways of the building shows conformation to the convention of making the scripture cabinets larger than the exits so that thaey could not be removed from the place where they rightly belonged.

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