Feb 03 - Bangkok | Naveen's Travel Blog

Feb 03 - Bangkok

Thursday, April 17, 2008 – 9:33 pm

Its a Sunday and only a day after my landing in Bangkok. My plan was to cover the most significant landmarks of Bangkok, the Grand Palace and Temple of Emerald Buddha.

At 9 AM, i’m standing within the walls of Grand Palace with several hundred tourists, waiting. The King doesn’t live in this Palace anymore but its used for various ceremonies and today was one of them to mourn for a deceased Princess. Few canopies which were temporarily erected in the Palace grounds gave shelter to a large gathering of Thais dressed in black and seated calmly. Volunteers were freely distributing mineral water bottles and fruit juices to everyone including the equally large flock of tourists.

The atmosphere was cloudy, humid yet interspersed by hot sun. All visitors are waiting for the ceremony to end and to let them get inside. Patience is running low and the Thai policemen were finding it difficult to maintain their discreet moral policing. No photographs, no hats over head, no noise…

Suddenly a voice crackles in the radio, the police remove the barricades and all the seated Thais arise at once to leave. The King has left the palace. Infact vanished into thin air ! Instead of relief, we were all disappointed because we expected to catch a peek of the King or atleast his motorcade. As a swarm of tourists invaded into the Palace, i decided to retreat and defer my palace visit for tomorrow.

Wandering away from the Palace, i come across the vast tracts of Sanam Luang, the Royal Grounds. This 30-acre open area is surrounded on all sides by roads and highways bordered with greenery and wide shaded walkways. Sanam Luang is the site for royal cremation ceremonies but also now for the annually celebrated Ploughing ceremony. On this rather busy Sunday, the central grounds looked more like a massive parking lot with several vehicles spread-in and temporary food courts serving the appetite of local Thais.

On one side of Sanam Luang lies the Wat Mahathat, Thammasat University, National Museum, National Theater etc.

Thammasat University was one of the oldest and prestigious universities of Thailand.

A Giant Thai flag fluttering above all from the Thammasat University. Like the Indian one, its also called as a Tricolour flag (Trairanga in Thai). The Thai tri-color, red-white-blue stand for nation-religion-king.

Recently Princess Galyani, sister of the King of Thailand passed away. This portrait was displayed near the Thammasat University for the public to pay respects. Such banners were seen all over thailand and in Bangkok, the main roads were lined in never-ending lengths of black & white drapery.

The National Museum stands in its own serenity and i make my choice instantly to visit it. The details of the museum trip will to be posted in a separate post. Surprisingly more than half-day was spend in its sprawling premises. Afterwards i catch a tuk-tuk whose driver talks nonchalantly proposing to drive me to his own destination. Sensing that my polite denials were making no effect, i strongly order him to drive me to where i wanted.

Lak Meuang, the City Pillar shrine was my next destination. Lak Meuang is the spiritual centre of Bangkok and houses the wooden City Pillar which represents the city’s guardian spirit, Phra Sayam Thewathirat. King Rama I erected this pillar founding the capital city of Bangkok around it. Many cities of thailand have a city pillar shrine for their respective guardian spirits.

Milky white stupa of Lak Meuang

Entrance to City Pillar shrine draped with Thai national flags. Eventhough no signs were displayed to prevent photography inside, i obliged myself to respect the sensitivity of streams of Thai people who were dutifully and piously offering their respects to their city spirits with lotus buds, incense sticks, candles etc.