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Top Attractions in Bangkok

Khaosan Road

Khaosan Road or Khao San Road is a short street in central Bangkok, Thailand. It is in the Banglamphu area of about 1 kilometre north of the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. "Khaosan" translates as "milled rice", a reminder that in former times the street was a major Bangkok rice market. In the last 20 years, however, Khaosan Road has developed into a world famous "backpacker ghetto". It offers cheap accommodation, ranging from "mattress in a box" style hotels to reasonably priced 3-star hotels. In an essay on the backpacker culture of Khaosan Road, Susan Orlean called it "the place to disappear". It is also a base of travel: coaches leave daily for all major tourist destinations in Thailand, from Chiang Mai in the north to Ko Pha Ngan in the south, and there are many relatively inexpensive travel agents who can arrange visas and transportation to the neighbouring countries of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Khaosan shops sell handcrafts, paintings, clothes, local fruits, pirated CDs, DVDs, a wide range of fake IDs, used books, plus many useful backpacker items. During late evening, the streets turn into bars and music is played, food hawkers sell barbecued insects, exotic snacks for tourists, and there are also locals flogging ping pong shows. There are several pubs and bars where backpackers meet to discuss their travels. The area is internationally known as a center of dancing, partying, and just prior to the traditional Thai New Year of 13-15 April, water splashing that usually turns into a huge water fight. One Thai writer has described Khaosan as "...a short road that has the longest dream in the world". A Buddhist temple under royal patronage, the centuries-old Wat Chana Songkram, is directly opposite Khaosan Road to the west, while the area to the northwest contains an Islamic community and several small mosques.

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is a potent religio-political symbol and the palladium of Thai society. It is located in Phra Nakhon District, the historic centre of Bangkok, within the precincts of the Grand Palace. The main building is the central phra ubosot, which houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha. According to legend, this Buddha image originated in India where the sage Nagasena prophesized that the Emerald Buddha would bring "prosperity and pre-eminence to each country in which it resides", the Emerald Buddha deified in the Wat Phra Kaew is therefore deeply revered and venerated in Thailand as the protector of the country. Historical records however dates its finding to Chiang Rai in the 15th century where, after it was relocated a number of times, it was finally taken to Thailand in the 18th century. It was enshrined in Bangkok at the Wat Phra Kaew temple in 1782 during the reign of Phutthayotfa Chulalok, King Rama I . This marked the beginning of the Chakri Dynasty of Thailand, whose present sovereign is Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX. The Emerald Buddha, a dark green statue, is in a standing form, about 66 centimetres tall, carved from a single jade stone . It is carved in the meditating posture in the style of the Lanna school of the northern Thailand. Except for the Thai King and, in his stead, the Crown Prince, no other persons are allowed to touch the statue. The King changes the cloak around the statue three times a year, corresponding to the summer, winter, and rainy seasons, an important ritual performed to usher good fortune to the country during each season.

Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall

The Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall is a former reception hall within Dusit Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. It now serves as a museum and is from time to time employed for certain state occasions. One year after the completion of the Amphorn Satharn Villa within the Dusit Palace in 1906, King Chulalongkorn commissioned the construction of a reception hall to replace the one built during the reign of King Mongkut . The building in Italian Renaissance and Neo Classic style was commissioned to the architects Mario Tamagno and Annibale Rigotti. Marble from Carrara, Italy, and other foreign materials were used. Italian sculptor Vittorio Novi, who would later also work on the Mahadthai udthit Bridge, was employed with his nephew Rudolfo Nolli. The Throne Hall is a two storey construction with a large dome in the centre, surrounded by six smaller domes. The domes and walls are covered with paintings by Professor Galileo Chini and Carlo Riguli depicting the history of the Chakri Dynasty, from the first to the sixth reign. King Chulalongkorn died in 1910 and the building was finally completed in 1915. It was used as the headquarters of the Peoples Party during the four days of the 1932 Revolution, which transformed the countrys political system from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. The first National Peoples Assembly convened on June 28, 1932 in this throne hall. After that, it was used as the Parliament House until 1974 when the new Parliament House was opened to the north. However, the old Parliament House is still used for the State Opening of Parliament marking the first assembly in consequence of a general election for the House of Representatives. Otherwise it is open to the public every day except on Chulalongkorn Day, the Kings birthday and the Queens birthday . In front of the Hall is the Royal Plaza with the equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn .

Phra Racha Wang Derm

Phra Racha Wang Derm, also known as Thonburi Palace, is the former royal palace of King Taksin, who ruled the Siamese kingdom of Thonburi following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and up until the establishment of Rattanakosin in 1782. It later served as the residence of several high-ranking members of the Chakri Dynasty until 1900 when the palace became the site of the Royal Thai Naval Academy. The palace is now within the grounds of the Royal Thai Navy headquarters in Bangkok, and is open for group visits pending advance appointment. Following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 and subsequent Burmese withdrawal, the military leader Phraya Tak succeeded in reclaiming the cities of Ayutthaya and Thonburi . He then established himself as king and made Thonburi his new capital. He had a royal palace built within the old city walls, near the Wichayen Fort on the western bank of the Chao Phraya River. The palace lay to the south of Wat Chaeng and northeast of Wat Thai Talat, both Buddhist temples which were included within the palace grounds. Taksins reign ended in 1787 when he was overthrown by the general Chao Phraya Chakri, who became king . Phutthayotfa Chulalok relocated the capital city proper to the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya, and had a new royal palace, the Grand Palace, built there. Taksins palace then became known as Phra Racha Wang Derm, or former palace, and the two royal temples were excluded from the palace grounds. As Thonburi was still strategically important, guarding Rattanakosin against invasions from the west, the king would place important royal family members, mostly their sons or brothers, at the palace. This tradition continued until the death of Prince Chaturonrasmi in 1900. King Chulalongkorn subsequently granted ownership of the palace to the Royal Thai Navy, and the palace became the site of the Royal Thai Naval Academy until its relocation in 1944. The palace is now within the grounds of the Royal Thai Navy headquarters, and is jointly managed by the Phra Racha Wang Derm Restoration Foundation. In contrast with the Grand Palace, Phra Racha Wang Derm is much smaller and simpler in its construction. Apart from the older Wichai Prasit Fort, the only original building from the Thonburi period is the Throne Hall, a Thai-style building consisting of two segments forming a T shape. Later additions include two Chinese-style residences, King Pinklaos residence, King Taksins shrine, the Whale Head Shrine, and the Green House.

Wat Pho

Wat Pho, also spelt Wat Po, is a Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace. Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm Rajwaramahaviharn The temple is first on the list of six temples in Thailand classed as the highest grade of the first-class royal temples. It is associated with King Rama I who rebuilt the temple complex on an earlier temple site, and became his main temple where some of his ashes are enshrined. The temple was later expanded and extensively renovated by Rama III. The temple complex houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand, including a 46 m long reclining Buddha. The temple is considered the earliest centre for public education in Thailand, and the marble illustrations and inscriptions placed in the temple for public instructions has been recognised by UNESCO in its Memory of the World Programme. It houses a school of Thai medicine, and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage which is still taught and practiced at the temple. Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I. It was originally named Wat Photaram or Podharam, from which the name Wat Pho is derived. The name refers the monastery of the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India where Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment. The older temple is thought to have been built or expanded some time during the reign of King Phetracha (1688–1703) of the Ayuthaya period on an even earlier temple site, its founder unknown. After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese, King Taksin moved the capital to Thonburi where he located his palace beside Wat Arun on the opposite side of the river from Wat Pho, and the proximity of Wat Pho to this royal palace elevated it to the status of a wat luang (royal monastery). In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho. In 1788, he ordered the construction and renovation at the old temple site of Wat Pho, which had by then become dilapidated. The site, which was marshy and uneven, was drained and filled in before construction began. During its construction Rama I also initiated a project to remove Buddha images from abandoned temples in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, as well other sites in Thailand, and many of these Buddha images were kept at Wat Pho. These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex. The rebuilding took over seven years to complete. In 1801, twelve years after work began, the new temple complex was renamed Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklavas in reference to the vihara of Jetavana, and it became the main temple for Rama I. The complex underwent significant changes in the next 260 years, particularly during the reign of Rama III (1824-1851 CE). In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete. The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 22 acres, and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt in this period, including the chapel of the reclining Buddha. He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects. ] On 21 February 2008, these marble illustrations and inscriptions was registered in the Memory of the World Programme launched by UNESCO to promote, preserve and propagate the wisdom of the world heritage. Wat Pho is regarded as Thailand’s first university and a center for traditional Thai massage. It served as a medical teaching center in the mid-19th century before the advent of modern medicine, and the temple remains a center for traditional medicine today where a private school for Thai medicine founded in 1957 still operates. The name of the complex was changed again to Wat Phra Chetuphon Vimolmangklararm during the reign of King Rama IV. Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since. Repair work, however, is a continuing process, often funded by devotees of the temple. The temple was restored again in 1982 before the Bangkok Bicentennial Celebration. Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats in Bangkok with an area of 50 rai, 80,000 square metres, and is home to more than one thousand Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images at 150 feet (46 m) in length. The Wat Pho complex consists of two walled compounds bisected by Chetuphon Road running in the east–west direction. The larger northern walled compound, the phutthawat, is the part open to visitors and contains the finest buildings dedicated to the Buddha, including the bot with its four directional viharn, and the temple housing the reclining Buddha. The southern compound, the sankhawat, contains the residential quarters of the monks and a school. The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner). The temple grounds contain 91 small chedis (stupas or mounds), four great chedis, two belfries, a bot (central shrine), a number of viharas (halls) and other buildings such as pavilions, as well as gardens and a small temple museum. Architecturally the chedis and buildings in the complex are different in style and sizes. A number of large Chinese statues, some of which depict Europeans, are also found within the complex guarding the gates of the perimeter walls as well as other gates within the compound. These stone statues were originally imported as ballast on ships trading with China. Wat Pho was intended to serve as a place of education for the general public. To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas, namely history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion. These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustration on medicine, Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple, for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions. Dotted around the complex are 24 small rock gardens (Khao Mor) illustrating rock formations of Thailand, and one, called the Contorting Hermit Hill, contains some statues showing methods of massage and yoga positions. There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry.

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