The Golden Palace and it's Temples

Sawatdee Kah!

A little update about our whereabouts- we're spending 2 weeks in Chiang Mai, Thailand which is just an hour plane ride north of Bangkok. The 787 is flying back and forth from here to Bangkok three times a day so Alex is a busy guy leaving the hotel around 8 am and returning around 9:30 pm! Sometimes he gets a break in the middle, right now he's taking a nap next to me between the first and second flight. Chiang Mai is much smaller and more rural but quite similar to Bangkok with awesome markets and temples everywhere. There is one big improvement though, there are mountains here! We feel a little more at home, Seattle home that is. Before we left Bangkok we went to the Golden Palace and all the temples that surround their not so humble abode. It was so beautiful that it deserves it's very own blog post.

The official residence of the king and queen in Bangkok

and their trusty guards

The temples, or wats, around the palace are so beautiful! Construction started in the 1780's and continued into the early 1900's. I think Thailand invented the bejewler! This is one of the more famous temples, Wat Phra Kaeo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha (which is actually made of jade) but out of respect no pictures are allowed inside where the statue is. You also have to take your shoes off to enter...the smell of sweaty feet is a small price to pay though because it was so incredible!

I loved these snakes/feet!

j

 

The ornate detail on these buildings is just amazing! Every nook and cranny is covered in beautiful ceramic tiles, marble, colored glass, and gold teak. Here are some close-ups!

I'm off to scour the street market for avocados and mascara :)

xoxo, Jenna