Tackling Bangkok is easy if you stay away from rush hour and dryness. Try to combine and matching this recommendation for a short one night in Bangkok. Wake up an early-morning visit to Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace, Also recognized as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Wat Phra Kaew (02224 1833; entrance fee 250B; 8.30am-3.30pm; bus 508, 512, river ferry Tha Chang) is an architectural wonder and residence to the venerable Emerald Buddha. Next the temple is the past residence of the monarch, the Grand Palace.
This ground was sacred in 1782, the first year of Bangkok rule, and is today a pilgrimage goal for devout Buddhists and nationalists. The 94.5-hectare grounds include more than 100 buildings that represent 200 years of royal history and architectural experimentation. Most of the architecture, royal or sacred, can be classify as Ratanakosin (or old-Bangkok style).
Original Wat Pho The modest hero of Bangkok’s holy temples, Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon; 0 2221 9911; Th Sanamchai; entrance fee 50B; h8am-5pm; bus 508, 512, Chao Phraya Express Tha Tien) features a host of superlatives: the biggest reclining Buddha, the biggest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and the country’s first center for public education.
And the busy Amulet Market, just outside the theological seclusion of Wat Mahathat is a more vibrant submission of Thailand’s diverse religion. A tàlàat phrá khrêuang (holy amulet market; Th Maharat; h9am-5pm) claims sidewalk space and rabbitwarren sois close to Tha Phra Chan, displaying a wide diversity of little talismans carefully scrutinized by collectors. Monks, taxi drivers and people in dangerous professions are the most common customers well versed in the different powers of the images. Also along this strip are good-looking shop houses overflowing with family-run herbal-medicine and traditional massage shops. In the cool season, sellers sell aromatic herbal soups that ward off colds and sinus infections.
Rent a long-tail boat to ride through Thonburi’s canals to Striking Wat Arun (02891 1149; Th Arun Amarin, Thonburi; admission 20B; h9am-5pm; cross-river ferry from Tha Tien) orders a military pose as the third point in the sacred triumvirate (along with Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho) of Bangkok’s before time. After the collapse of Ayuthaya, King Taksin ceremoniously clinched control here on the site of a local shrine (formerly known as Wat Jaeng) and established a royal palace and a temple to house the Emerald Buddha. The temple was renamed after the Indian god of dawn (Aruna) and in honor of the literal and symbolic beginning of a new Ayuthaya. For dinner, head to Ton Pho or Harmonique. Then back to hotel.
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