The
city occupies 1,568.7 square kilometres (605.7 sq mi) in the Chao Phraya River
delta in Central Thailand, and has a population of over 8 million, or 12.6
percent of the country's population. Over 14 million people (22.2 percent) live
within the surrounding Bangkok Metropolitan Region, making Bangkok an extreme
primate city, dwarfing Thailand's other urban centres in terms of importance.
The construction
of Bangkok's Grand Palace began in 1782 during the reign of King Rama I, the founder
of Chakri Dynasty, to become a royal residence, and it has been the utmost
architectural symbol of Thailand ever since. The Grand Palace served as a
significant royal residence until 1925 and is now used for ceremonial purposes
only.
The Grand Palace
is divided into three main zones: The Outer Court, home to royal offices, public
buildings and the Temple of Emerald Buddha; the Middle Court, which is where
the most important residential and state buildings are; and the Inner Court,
which is exclusively reserved for the king, his queen and his consorts.
The major
attraction of the Outer Court is the Temple of Emerald Buddha, the residence of
Thailand’s most sacred Buddhist sculpture: Phra Kaeo Morakot (the Emerald
Buddha), which was carved from flawless green jade, situated amid gold-gilded
sculptures and ornaments, and fresco paintings of the main ordination hall.
The museum houses a precious collection of historic barges, some of which
were built during the reign of King Rama I, more than two hundred years old.
These barges are made of high-quality wood and beautifully decorated with vivid
colors, mirrors and gold leaves. Each barge’s figurehead was crafted to
represent a different kind of animals, which are vehicles of Rama god according
to the Hindu belief. (Thais belief that the kings are avatars of Rama god).
Probably the most remembered barge
as it’s part of the logo of Tourism Authority of Thailand, the figurehead of
the 46-meter-long Suphannahong royal barge features the shape of a mystical
swan. It was built in 1911 during the reign of King Rama VI and is one of the
four main royal barges which are the vehicles of the king.
Bangkok’s
Chinatown, Thailand’s largest Chinese community, is commonly known among Thais
as Yaowarat, according to the name of the road where it is located. The Chinese
community dominated trades between Siam (ancient Thailand) and China since the
reign of King Rama I, centered around Ratchawong Pier, while the construction
of Yaowarat Road hadn’t begun until 1891 during the reign of King Rama V.
Today,
Yaowarat is widely known as the kingdom’s largest center of gold trade and a
great foodie destination. Yaowarat simply has two faces: If you visit Yaowarat
during the day, what you see along both sides of this one and a half kilometer
road are shops selling gold, Chinese herbs, fruits and Chinese restaurants
serving authentic cuisine. But if you visit Yaowarat after sunset, the road
turns into a street food heaven where a number of food trucks prepare you
marvelous food, from Chinese fried noodles to iced Chinese dessert.
Wat Phra
Chetuphon Wimonmangkalaram or Wat Pho, as it's commonly known, was built in the
16th century and regarded as the royal temple of the reign of King Rama I, is
famous for two things: (1) the 46-meter-long Reclining Buddha built in 1832
featuring the feet beautifully inlaid with mother-of-pearls and (2) the Thai
massage.
Wat Pho is
also regarded as the country’s first public university as when King Rama III
ordered a restoration of the temple, he demanded a revision of lost sciences,
segmented into eight categories and engraved them onto several stone
inscriptions (later been registered the UNESCO Memory of the World since 2008)
so people were free to read and learn—and Thai massage was one of eight the
categories. After wandering around wall paintings, you can stop by at the
massage pavilion to try traditional Thai massage using ancient techniques to
release muscle tensions.
LIFESTYLE
Bangkok is a
city of contrast, fragant, colourful, chaotic but most of all lively. It offers
loads of opportunities to relax and indulge as Bruna Silva explains in the video below from the Insider TV.
Definitely a dream destination, thanks for sharing such interesting information!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a dream destination, thanks for sharing such interesting information!
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts about the history of Thailand, thanks for posting!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree, this city is a must-visit!
ReplyDelete