The Royal Grand Palace + Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)

The Grand Palace located in the old city of Bangkok on the banks of the Chao Phraya river is one of the must-see sites of Thailand. This complex is one of the most famous landmarks of the country and offers spectacular buildings and sacred sites.

PRIVATE GROUP: 2,500 THB / PERSON (2-person Minimum for Booking)

Itinerary:

08:00 AM Pick up from hotel. Visit Royal Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha. The architectural plan of the new Grand Palace in Bangkok is almost identical in every detail to the Royal Palace in the former capital of Ayutthaya. It was built close to the river facing north, with the river on the left, and the sites of various Royal Residences, Throne Hall, and the Royal Chapel within the compound all remind one of the layout of Ayutthaya's Royal Palace Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The magnificent Royal Chapel, Wat Phra Kaew in the same compound enshrines the Emerald Buddha Image, most revered by people. Across the Chao Phraya River by boat to visit Wat Arun, (Temple of Dawn). Wat Arun was restored during the brief Thonburi period to be the Royal Chapel of King Taksin.

12:00 PM At the end of tour will be visit to local product store.

Dress Code for Grand Palace

• Unsuitable clothes are
• Short trousers (long trousers must reach the ankles), miniskirts, culottes, tights and fisherman trousers.
• Sleeveless shirts and undershirts as outer garments
• Rolled up shirt sleeves, whether long or short
• Sleeping suits, see-through clothes, bare shoulders
• Sportwear
• Sandals (including every type of shoes without heel straps or closed heels), except Buddhist Monks, novices and Thai People from countryside)

Visitors who are dressed as mentioned above can borrow free clothes and shoes at the Grand Palace's changing room.

No Show Policy:

• If you have any last-minute changes, please feel free to contact our reservation team 24 hours in advance, if not a no-show rate of FULL PRICE / pax will be charged for the tour

Inclusions:

• Round trip transfer to the hotel (city hotel only)
• Transportation for tour
• Admission fee

Exclusions:

• Other optional or other tour & meal than mentioned in the program
• Personal expenses

General Terms and Conditions:

• The given time frame is an estimate of timing only, and can deviate due to traffic, road conditions, weather, pace of tourists and/or any unforeseen circumstances.

GRAND PALACE:

The Grand Palace is a magnificent complex of buildings of great significance. Construction of the complex began in 1782 when King Rama I decided to move the capital of Thailand from Thonburi to an area known as Rattanakosin Island on the East side of the Chao Phraya river.

The complex is surrounded by 1,900 meters long walls and houses among others, the Royal residences, the throne halls and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It housed the center of government and the Royal Court and became the center of the Kingdom.

The Grand Palace served as the official residence of Thai Kings until the reign of King Chulalongkorn (Rama IV) at the end of the 19th century. Today the Palace is used for several Royal rituals, state banquets and other official functions. Some parts of the Palace like the Inner Court are not open to the public. Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall & Borom Phiman Mansion

The two oldest buildings are the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall and the Phra Maha Monthian. The main function of the Dusit Maha Prasat Throne Hall, built by King Rama I, is to host the lying in state ceremony for Kings, Queens and members of the Royal Family. During this ceremony many people can pay their respects to the deceased.

One of the most recent buildings is the Borom Phiman Mansion which was built early 20th century by King Rama V. This building is built in a western style and was built as a residence for future Kings.

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha:

The Wat Phra Kaew or “Temple of the Emerald Buddha” on the grounds of the Grand Palace is one of Thailand’s most sacred places. The small Buddha image is believed to be more than 2000 years old and was created in India. Since then it was moved several times and in 1434 it was re-discovered in a temple in Chiang Rai in Northern Thailand.

Although people back then believed the Buddha to be made from emerald, it is made from green jade. With the changing of the seasons (summer, rainy season and cool season), the robes of the Emerald Buddha are changed by HM the King of Thailand.

The walls of the Hall are covered with mural paintings depicting several events in the Life of the Lord Buddha, including birth, death and Enlightenment.

The surrounding galleries

The Royal Monastery is surrounded by walls covered with beautiful and very detailed paintings of the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Indian epic Ramayana. Large parts of the Ramakien were written by King Rama I and King Rama II. Many of the paintings tell scenes about the battle between good and evil. They were first created when the Palace was built in the 18th century and since then restored several times.

WAT ARUN (TEMPLE OF DAWN)

One of Bangkok’s most famous landmarks and known from many postcards, the Wat Arun is best known for its massive prang, a tower on the Chao Phraya river bank built in Khmer architectural style. The prang with its height of more than 80 meters is the highest in Thailand.

The Wat Arun, commonly known as “the Temple of Dawn”, is one of only six temples of the highest grade of the first-class Royal Temples, and therefore one of Thailand’s most revered temples.

One of Bangkok’s oldest temples.

It is also one of the few temples that predates the founding of Bangkok and the start of the Rattanakosin era in 1782. Its prang dominated the skyline around the Chao Phraya river during the early days of Bangkok and today is still one of the most impressive sights on the river.

After the destruction of the former capital Ayutthaya by the Burmese in 1767, King Taksin the Great established Thonburi on the West bank of the Chao Phraya river as the new capital.

The area where the Wat Arun stands, which is almost directly opposite of the Grand Palace on the other side of the river, was chosen as the location for the new capital of the Thonburi Kingdom. The temple that was originally named Wat Jaeng was built on the remains of an older temple named Wat Makok dating back to the Ayutthaya era.

With the death of King Taksin in 1782 came the end of the Thonburi Kingdom and the start of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, that established Bangkok on the other side of the Chao Phraya river as the new capital.

During the reign of King Rama II, the temple was renovated and renamed Wat Arun Rajwararam or Wat Arun for short.

The prang of the Wat Arun

The prang was raised to its current height of over 80 meters. The Khmer style tower is decorated with millions of small pieces of colorful Chinese porcelain, which was in those days used as ballast on ships from China.

A steep stairway on the side of the prang leads up to a terrace. You can climb the stairway giving a nice view of the river and surrounding area. Because the stairs are very steep and narrow it is not possible to go all the way up. Around the main prang are four similar smaller prangs.