Land of Rich Heritage

Dotting the banks of the winding Chao Phraya river in Bangkok are some of the city’s most iconic and splendid structures. A centre of royalty since 1782, the Grand Palace encloses a maze of magnificent palace buildings, halls and gardens. Connected to it is Wat Phra Kaew, where you will see the 66-centimetre-tall Emerald Buddha, deeply revered in Thai Buddhism. Depictions of the Thai ‘Ramakian’, derived from our own Indian epic, the ‘Ramayana’, also adorn its walls. Close by is the Wat Pho temple compound, well known for the grand reclining Buddha housed within it, and its centres for the instruction of traditional Thai medicine. Across the river from Wat Pho is Wat Arun, named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna, and featuring an 82-metre high prahng (Khmer-style tower). Bangkok is also synonymous with its many floating markets, from the 100-year-old Damnoen Saduak to the less touristy Taling Chan, all colourful pictures of traditional Thai commerce and culture.