ROYAL GRAND PALACE & EMERALD BUDDHA TEMPLE WAT PHO (THE RECLINING BUDHA TEMPLE) WAT ARUN (THE TEMPLE OF DAWN WAT TRIMIT (TEMPLE OF THE GOLDEN BUDDHA) WAT BENCHAMABNOPHIT (THE MARBLE TEMPLE) BANGKOK CITY PILLAR SHRINE (SAN LAK MUANG) This is the most famous place that is a must for all tourists. It is a large compound located near Sanam Luang in the very heart of Bangkok. The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha were built after King Rama I ascended the throne as the founder of the Chakri Dynasty on 6 April 1782 and have undergone several repairs and renovations. The Grand Palace consists of several buildings with different styles of architecture. Wat Phra Kaeo is renowned as the most beautiful and important Buddhist temple in Thailand. It houses Phra Kaeo Morakot (the Emerald Buddha), the most highly revered Buddha image carved from a single block of fine jade. Open Daily : 08.30 - 15.30 hrs. Admission fee : 350 baht to Wat Phra Kaeo and the Grand Palace Compound. The fee includes entry to the Royal Thai Decorations & Coins Pavilion (in the Grand Palace Compound) and to Vimanmek Mansion and Apisek Dusit Throne Hall (Ratchawithi Road). For taxi : พระบรมมหาราชวังและวัดพระแก้ว Please Note that; *** Proper dress is required. Women visitors must wear long pants or long skirts. Men in short pants are not allowed to enter the temple. Photography inside the main temple is forbidden. *** Located next to the Grand Palace on the south side, this is the oldest and biggest temple with the largest number of pagodas (95 in all) in the city. Wat Pho is well known for its huge Reclining Buddha, 46 m long and 15 m high. Besides, it was the first open university of Thailand which used to offer courses in several branches of knowledge like literature, archaeology, astrology and medicine. Nowadays Wat Pho is famous among foreign visitors for its Thai Traditional Massage School which offers three kinds of massage services namely, body massage, body massage with herbs and foot massage. The massage service opens daily from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m. For learning courses, there are three courses, i.e. general Thai massage, therapeutic and healing massage and foot massage. For more information about the massage services and courses, please call 0 2211 2974 Information : Tel. 0 2225 9595 Open Daily : 08:00 to 17:00 hrs. For taxi : วัดโพธิ์ ถนนเชตุพน ใกล้สนามหลวงและวัดพระแก้ว Wat Pho located on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River with Arun Amarin Road at its back, it can be reached by boat from Tha Chang Pier near Wat Phra Kaew or Tha Tian Pier near Wat Pho. Constructed in the 17th century, it is attractive in its striking prangs (a kind of pagoda) which are decorated with millions of pieces of Chinese porcelain. Its central prang, at a height of 82 meters (20-storey building) is the tallest prang of Thailand. Visitors can climb up to a high level to have a good view of the Chao Phraya River and the nearby surroundings. Anyway, the most beautiful view of it is from the east bank of the river at sunset. Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, is one of Bangkok's best know landmark. It stands on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in Thon Buri. Wat Arun is best seen from the opposite bank of the river; it glistens in the sunlight during the day and stands dark and noble at dawn or dusk. A visit to the beautiful, peaceful monastery complex surrounding the familiar towers is very worth-while. These towers, the "Phra Prang," although best known, the only part of Wat Arun. It also contains narrow lanes; elegant, old white buildings; shrines, pools of turtles Open Daily : 08:00-17:00 hrs For taxi : วัดอรุณ ริมแม่น้้าเจ้าพระยา ใกล้หอประชุมกองทัพเรือ History of the Golden Buddha at Wat Traimit Named Phra Sukhothai Traimit, this statue is placed in Wat Traimit near Chinatown in Bangkok. In the traditional sitting poster, it measures 3.10 m. across the lap from knee to knee and 3.91m. from base to top. A peculiarity of the statue is that it can be taken to 9 pieces. The purity of gold is 40 % from the base up to the neck, 80 % from the chin to the forehead, and 99 % for the hair and the topknot, weighing 45 kg. It was estimated that the gold Buddha was built in the Sukhothai period (1238-1438). But there are no written records of its origin. Later, Wat Phraya Krai became dilapidated and was ordered closed by King Rama V(1868-1910). And this statue was moved to Wat Traimit. The abbot of the temple then asked other monasteries for a possible transfer. But nobody was interested because of its huge size and plain look. So the abbot decided to keep the statue in his own temple and built a special vihara to house it. On the eve of its scheduled removal, a heavy rain soaked the stucco covering. In the act of moving, the statue was accidentally dropped and the stucco cracked, revealing the shining gold inside. Nobody knows the true reason for the cover-up of the gold Buddha. It was presumed that the statue was covered up just before the invasion of the Burmese in the mid-18 century, so as to conceal its true value from the enemy. Open Daily : 08:00-16:00 hrs For taxi : วัดไตรมิตร วงเวียนโอเดียน เยาวราช Wat Benchamabophit or the Marble Temple is one of the most beautiful temples of Thailand. Built by the order of King Rama V in 1899, its ordination hall was built of white Carara Italian marble. The engineer and architect were Italians namely Carlo Allegri and Mario Tamagno in that order. Standing in front of the ordination hall, you will enjoy an impressive view of the light-coloured marble building with a graceful multi-tiered roof covered with yellow glazed tiles, and a pair of white marble lions standing guard at its front door. The visit to the temple cannot be ended in a short time for it offers several other things of great interest to tourists. Along the veranda are placed 52 Buddha statues in different postures representing classical styles of Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and Japan, including two stone images of the Dvaravati Period (7th-11th century). Opening Hours : 08:00 - 17:00 Location : 69 Rama V Road, Dusit For taxi : วัดเบญจมบพิตร ถนนศรีอยุธยา เลขที่ 69 พระราม 5 เขตดุสิต Many towns in Thailand have a city pillar shrine (Thai: หลักเมือง Romanized as Lak Mueang or Lak Muang), which marks the center of the town. It is considered to be the home of the guardian spirit of the town and highly revered by the town’s people. According to an old Thai tradition, a city pillar had to be built upon the establishment of a new city. King Rama I had the Bangkok city pillar erected near the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on Sunday, 21 April, 1782, with the city’s horoscope inside. The original pillar was made of cassia wood known as Chaiyaphruek, measuring 75 cm. in diameter and 27 cm. high. In the reign of King Rama IV, the old dilapidated pillar was replaced by a new one made of the same kind of wood, measuring 270 cm. high and standing on a base of 175 cm. wide, sheltered by a Prang-shaped shrine as it appears today. The shrine also houses images of protective deities including Thepharak ( or angle), Chaopho Ho Klong, Phra Suea Mueang, Phra Song Mueang, Chaopho Chetakhup and Phra Kan Chai Si. Location : at opposite of Royal Grand Palace Open Daily For taxi: ศาลหลักเมืองกรุงเทพมหานคร DAMNOENSADUAK FLOATING MARKET ROSE GARDEN (THAI VILLAGE SHOW) TIGER TEMPLE SRIRACHA TIGER ZOO SNAKE FARM BOAT TRIP TO KOH KRET) Floating Market at Domnern Saduak, the best program tour for one day trip from Bangkok Thailand is here to see the original floating market; all the people will do their activities in the paddle boat on the canal. The main transport for local people here is by boat; long-tail boat or paddle boat. Their house was surrounded by the canal, so this makes the charm for all to visit to see their culture the water of lives. The Floating Market is routinely crowded with hundreds of vendors and purchasers floating in their small rowing boats selling and buying agricultural products and local food, which are mostly brought from their own nearby orchards. Therefore, it is a very attractive place for tourists to see this old style and traditional way of selling and buying goods. Around this area, boat trip services are available for sightseeing along smaller canals branching off from the Damnoen Saduak canal. Visitors can observe Thai traditional houses and the way they live as well as tasting exotic fruits, local food and refreshing drinks along the waterway. There are bus services to Damnoen Saduak from the Southern Bus Terminal on Borommarat Chachonnani Road starting at 6 a.m. Duration of visit : About 2-3 hrs. Open Early morning daily from 06:00 till noon time. Most boats will be there up to about mid-morning. Accessibility Recommended to contact tour agent Covering an area of over 20 hectares, it is a beautiful flower garden resort, noted for its scenic riverside landscape. At the resort, there are a Thai cultural village and a restaurant. It also stages cultural shows, Thai Boxing demonstration, folk dances and martial arts at 14.30 every day. Information : Tel. 0 2295 3261 to 4 Duration of visit : Half day - Full day Open Daily : 08.00 - 18.00 hrs.