Frustrations Photographing in Bangkok

Wednesday, May 25 we did some sight-seeing at two of Bangkok’s most famous temples. First, we visited Wat Arun also known as the Temple of the Dawn. We see it from the river every time we take the Chao Phraya Express so it was time to go and see it up close. One reason Karl wanted to come to this temple is because it offered a stunning view of the river and Wat Phra Kaew on the other side of the river. This view was from the upper terrace of the temple and to our dismay tourists were no longer allowed to climb the stairs to the terrace. Karl made the most of the situation and took this picture from the highest point he was able to reach. The roof in this picture belongs to Wat Pho which is just south of Wat Phra Kaew and directly across the river from Wat Arun.


While we were at Wat Arun, I admired the creative use of dinnerware. From a distance, it appears that the temple is covered in colorful mosaic tiles adding texture and interest. A closer look reveals plates cut into flower petals and teacups cut into the flower center.

After our visit to Wat Arun, we crossed the river and went to Wat Phra Kaew. Again we were disappointed because we quickly discovered that the main temple which houses the famous Emerald Buddha was under construction. The temple was still open for people to pay their respects to the Emerald Buddha but the beautiful exterior was covered by scaffolding and blue net. The Emerald Buddha has an interesting story. First, it is a jade sculpture not emerald and for a time it was covered in plaster and gold leaf. This was a common practice to hide valuable artifacts. Apparently, invading armies don’t really care for plaster Buddha images covered in gold leaf. The Emerald Buddha came out of hiding some time in the 15th century when it was dropped during a move to a new location. It was in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand at the time and its history before that time is a bit of a mystery. From Chiang Rai, it went to Chiang Mai and then the Laotians captured it and took it to Luang Prabang. It was moved to Vientiane before the Thai waged war against Laos and took back the Emerald Buddha. It resided in Thonburi before reaching its current location.

I first saw the Emerald Buddha during our trip to Thailand in 2004. What surprised me is how small the Buddha actually is. However, the presentation is quite grand. With tall standing Buddha images on either side, it sits on a pedestal high above everyone’s heads. This Buddha image also has its own wardrobe. He has three suits of golden clothing; one for each season: hot, cool and rainy. At the beginning of each season the King of Thailand changes the clothes. Pictures are not allowed inside the sanctuary but in the picture above you can see the Emerald Buddha behind me through the sanctuary door. With his zoom lens, Karl was able to get this picture from where we were.



Wat Phra Kaew is a compound which contains several temples and stupas so there were other beautiful buildings that we could admire. The exterior walls and pillars are covered with reflective mosaic tiles creating wonderful shimmering patterns. The stupas that were painted gold were surrounded with statues representing characters from the Ramakian legends.

The Ramakian legends were also represented in the murals that lined the interior wall. Following the wall, you can walk around the compound and see the entire Ramakian epic illustrated in meticulous Thai style painting. We particularly liked viewing the murals because they were in the shade. It was a very hot day and the shade was quite pleasant in comparison.





The Grand Palace compound joins Wat Phra Kaew on the south and was included in the admission. Since many of the buildings in the Grand Palace are either not open to tourists or don’t allow photographs, there wasn’t much for us to do there. As you might have guessed the Royal Family doesn’t live in this Palace. I’m sure with the number of tourists that go through it would be quite impractical. We did get to witness the changing of the guards which was interesting. Particularly because after the guards changed places the guard who was leaving straightened out the uniform of the guard who was staying. The leaving guard spent quite a bit of time making sure everything looked just right. Once the changing of the guards was finished, we decided it was time for dinner.



We continued our sight-seeing on the following day by visiting the Royal Barges Museum. It was quite a journey to get there. The Chao Phraya Express didn’t stop at the pier closest to the Museum so we tried to get a taxi to take us the rest of the way. Only the taxi drivers we asked didn’t know where the Royal Barges Museum was. We gave up on getting a taxi ride and started walking. We walked quite a way before reaching the bridge we had to cross. While on the bridge we could see the Museum down the canal a short ways. Once on the other side we couldn’t figure out how to get to the museum. After stopping to ask directions at least twice, we found a sign pointing us down an alley way. The alley zigzagged through a compact neighborhood with occasional signs pointing the way to the museum. As we went along the alley way got rather narrow but that didn’t stop the residents from driving motorcycles through the passages.

When we finally reached the museum, Karl was once again frustrated to find that we would have to pay an extra fee to take pictures. After being told so often that he couldn’t take pictures, Karl protested by not paying the fee and not taking pictures. The picture you see here is one that Karl took 20 years ago when there was no fee. The bows of these boats are elaborately carved into mystical creatures from Thai mythology. While in storage, the boats don’t have all the decorations they would have when part of a procession down the Chao Phraya River. The museum displayed some of the decorations including beautifully embroidered silk canopies and five tiered umbrellas.

When we grew tired of walking around, we made our way back through the neighborhood maze, across the bridge and to the nearest pier. It was late afternoon and the only boat we could catch from this pier was a ferry. We took it to the other side of the river where we could wait for the Chao Phraya Express. We hadn’t been there long when it started raining. It was a torrential downpour! We slipped into a nearby restaurant before the rain got too bad and we were soon joined by many tourists trying to escape the rain. It was so bad that rain was coming through the windows and a large puddle developed on the floor. We waited until the worst of it was gone and then ventured out to catch a boat before service was halted for the night. I was happy to get back to our hotel. As hot as it had been during the day, getting wet and riding on a boat really chilled me!

Friday and Saturday we had to get serious about souvenir shopping. On Friday, we first went to Jim Thompson’s house to have a look around. As soon as we saw the no photography sign we decided not to go on the house tour. We did visit the gift shop (a little pricey) and the art exhibit (a little weird). Jim Thompson assembled his house from traditional Thai houses that he purchased and relocated to Bangkok and you can see some of the architecture represented in the picture. We were allowed to take pictures in the entry area where the gift shop and art exhibit are located.

There are so many places to shop in Bangkok, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to figure out where is the best place to go to find everything that you are looking for. We decided to go to the Silom area partly because it was near our hotel and because we had wondered through there on an earlier excursion and saw some interesting things. In Bangkok just walking around is an adventure, particularly when it comes to crossing a street. We quickly learned to imitate wildlife and move as a herd. The more people who were crossing the street with you, the more likely the traffic would stop for you.

That evening we were back at Wat Phra Kaew taking more nighttime pictures. Karl was trying the pictures from different angles to see what he could get. He talked a few more tuk-tuk drivers into posing for a picture and even got the guards at the temple entrance to let him take a picture of the Grand Palace through the gateway. With only one more day left in Thailand, Karl was trying to make the most of the remaining time.



Saturday we returned to Jatujak to finish our souvenir shopping. We tackled the market with a strategy this time. We went directly to the area where handicrafts were sold and we systematically went through each aisle. Even with that “time saving” plan we were there most of the day. We were successful in purchasing all of the souvenirs we thought we would need. The temperature was milder than our previous visit and that made things easier. Even so, I often wanted to stop at the stores with air conditioning and pretend to be interested in what they were selling. Regarding the statement that you can find anything at Jatujak, you will be happy to know that they have several places where you can buy a figurine of your favorite science-fiction monster made from spare parts and scrap metal. Do you recognize this famous monster?

We finished our day with a trip to our favorite riverside restaurant; S&P Bakery and Restaurant. We enjoyed a relaxing meal watching the sun set and talking about all the wonderful experiences we’d had on our trip. There was definitely some sadness to be leaving Thailand and so we also talked about when we could make our next trip. It may take us a few years to save up enough vacation time and money but we’ll come back.

There was one item we wanted but hadn’t been able to find. That was a famous picture of the King of Thailand with an old woman. We like the picture because of the compassion that it shows. On our way to our hotel, we passed a lady selling pictures. We described the picture and she said she had it but not with her. We arranged to meet her in an hour and we would buy the picture from her. We were so happy to have found it!