The Kenniverse is Pinoy: The Grand Palace

The Grand Palace (Thai: Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang) is a complex of buildings in Bangkok, Thailand. It served as the official residence of the king of Thailand from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. After the death of King Ananda Mahidol in the Baromphiman Palace, King Bhumibol moved the official royal residence to Chitralada Palace. Construction of the palace complex began in 1782, during the reign of Rama I.

The palace complex sits on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River. The other approaches to the palace are protected by a defensive wall of 1,900 metres in length, which encloses an area of 218,400 square metres. Further out from the wall is a canal, which was also created for defensive purposes, making the area surrounding the palace an island, known as Rattana Kosin.

Here are a selection of photographs taken inside the Grand Palace:

Once you walk through the main entrance you're greeted by this guy. From here you turn slightly to your right and are greeted by two huge statues...

These two huge statues are Dhosa Kiridhorn. They are half elephant half demon (Yaksha). They guard the entrance/exit to the Grand Palace.

Another view of Dhosa Kiridhorn.

The sunlight reflects strongly on all the gold buildings at the Grand Palace. Sunglasses were a definite necessity.

One of the many walkways of the Grand Palace that leads to various buildings.

More walkways.

Behind Aimee and I are gold statues called Kinnorn. They are mythological creatures, half bird, half man. They guard one of the entrances to a building called Phra Mondop. This building was built by King Rama I that replaced the original building that was destroyed by fire. The original Canonical Library was surrounded by water which was customary at the time to prevent damage to the manuscripts by fire and termites. Ironically, the original building was destroyed by fire on the day of its inauguration caused by fireworks. However, the manuscripts and the mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet that contained them were miraculously saved. The King had the pond filled in and built a high platform to house the first fully revised edition of the Buddhist Canon of the Rattanakosin Era know as the "Royal Golden Edition". The revision of the scriptures was one of the first tasks undertaken by King Rama I on his accession to the throne.

The four pairs of demons that stand guard on top of the stairways, a pair at each entrance, are the work of the King Rama I period and regarded as the most perfectly proportioned of all existing classical sculptures of Rattanakosin craftsmanship. The floor of the Phra Mondop is lined from wall to wall by a woven mat from strips of pure silver.

This is me doing my best Kinnorn impression. Sadly my impression looks more like a silly rapper pose than the pose of a mythical creature.

Before you could enter certain buildings in the Grand Palace you had to remove your shoes. There is something liberating and relaxing about walking around museums and other tourist sites in only bare feet. In my mind it felt like everywhere we went was an extension of my home since home is the only place (besides the beach) I have bare feet. Try walking around a Canadian museum with bare feet. You will probably get kicked out. In Thailand, you will kicked out for not being in bare feet.

Giving myself a little blessing... I remember what I was thinking here: I was wondering why they asked you to remove your shoes where they did. It was 12 noon, bloody hot, and the shoe removal racks were placed over the top of an extremely blistering hot concrete sidewalk. I took my shoes off, squealed in pain, and hobbled up into this building. The marble flooring here was cooler than the concrete but the damage was done. I took this flower, dipped it into some water (as I watched everyone else do) and blessed myself, and more importantly, my feet in the hope the pain would go away.

On the left, a statue of Demon (Yaksha), a character from the Ramakien epic, at golden chedi. Beside him, is me, your friendly Kenniverse is Pinoy correspondent, and beside me are more characters from the Ramakien epic.

A close up of Yaksha.

Here's me with another Grand Palace statue. This one reminds me of the Davy Jones character from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The Phra Si Ratana Chedi anchors the west end of the upper terrace. It was built by Rama IV in the mid nineteenth century at the same time as the Royal Pantheon. The chedi essentially balances the structures on the upper terrace, but it also recalls the monumental chedi of the old capital in Ayutthaya. The chedi is faced with small gold mirrored tiles, making it a bit shinier than other chedis that are 'just' gilded. The chedi houses a piece of the Buddha's breastbone.