Rattanakosin, the name King Rama I gave to this place is reminding of the famous Emerald Budha statue. According a chronicle written by a Thai mong, the statue was found in Chiang Mai in 1517. It is said that King Tilok brought it there on 1481. However, on  1552 the statue was moved to Laos and remained there till 1778 when the future king Rama I took it and left it in the Wat Arun, which was the royal temple during that time. Only in 1785 the Emerald Budha took his actual place, in the Wat Phra Kaeo.

It is prohibited to take photos in the temple, but the statue may be photographed from outside, using your zoom. A more performant camera than mine would have done a better job…

At the entrance in the temple a nice pair of lions represent very well the Khmer art. The walls outside are adorned with garudas and nagas, and you see everywhere gold and colors.

Very attractive is the closed gallery called Phra Rabiang, with murals depicting stories of Ramakien (the Thai version of the Indian Ramayana).

The kings of Chakri dynasty have added something new in the courtyard of the temple. So is the nice belfry or the small Budha chapel (Ho Phra Khanthara Rat) used to invoke rains.

Una dintre primele directii spre care se indreapta calatorul venit prima data la Bangkok este Rattanakosin, pentru a vizita Marele Palat si Templul lui Budha de Smarald, care se afla in interiorul sau.

In 1782, regele Rama I a numit capitala Siamului Rattanakosin, care inseamna “Pastratoarea imaginii din piatra pretioasa”, o referire clara la Budha de Samarald care fusese recuperat din Laos in urma unei campanii militare si instalat la Wat Arun. Conform unei cronici scrise de un calugar Thai din Chiang Mai in 1517, statuia cioplita dintr-un bloc de jasp a fost adusa acolo de Regele Tilok, in 1481. Mai tarziu, in 1552 ea a fost dusa la Luang Prabang si apoi la Vientiane, in Laos, unde a ramas pana in 1778, cand viitorul rege Rama I a dus-o la Thon Buri, in Wat Arun care era, pe atunci, templul regal al palatului regal. In 1785, statuia a ajuns in locul in care poate fi vazuta si astazi.

Ca peste tot in palat si aici este aglomeratie. Credinciosi, calugari si turisti se amesteca la intrarea in templu. Descaltatul este obligatoriu, iar in interiorul templului fotografiatul este interzis.

Exteriorul ubosotului este inconjurat de un brau de garuda si naga, foarte fotogenice.

De jur imprejur, tot ce vezi te uimeste. O risipa de aur si culoare te fac sa te crezi in 1001 de nopti.

Nu mai putin impresionant este Phra Rabiang, o galerie dubla, inchisa cu splendide picturi murale avand subiecte din Ramakien, varianta thailandeza a Ramayanei.