The Grand Palace was huge. One of the the holiest or most valuable statues of Buddha reside here. It is called the Emerald Buddha, but made of Jade. No pictures are allowed inside the temple. Before you go in, you can dip a lotus blossom into the holy water and tap your head three times. So I did.
Inside the temple, you have to sit on the floor cross-legged or in a kneeling position. You cannot have the soles of your feet facing the Buddha. It was a neat experience to just sit and admire the gold, sparkly shrine w/ the Emerald Buddha at the top. This Buddha has costumes for each season that the King or the King's assistant has to change out, depends on who is available. Honestly, I enjoyed the temples more than the Grand Palace. Oh, it also had 2 platforms for the King to get on an elephant.
More Thailand Tidbits:
Thailand used to be called Siam, which was a Monarchy rule. The name changed in 1932 to Thailand meaning Land of Freedom.
All kids have to wear uniforms to school. The boys have to wear really short hair cuts, less than 5 centimeteres long. Everyone is to look alike. It is mandatory for kids to go to school up to 9th grade, from there the parents pay for extra schooling.
Many Japanese factories here bc of low labor costs. 60% of Thai people are farmers who are typically quite poor, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor, similar to Mexico. Main exports include seafood, crops/fruits and jewlery. Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never to colonize.
You can tell Thai people apart from Chinese or Japanese bc they have tanner skin and larger eyes.
Lots of Chinese defected to Thailand after WWII. Most of the war history of Thailand occurs with Burmese.
Language is based on Sanskrit and has 44 consenants, 32 vowels and one word can have 5 meanings depending on the tone. Ka, ka, ka, ka or ka. Mai, mai, mai, mai or mai. Could be stuck, legs, silk etc.
Very family oriented. Grandparents live w the families to care for the children bc the parents are working. Free to chose your own spouse, no arranged marriages like India.
Street vendors sell drinks in clear plastic bags bc you can put ice in the bags, drink it w/ a straw.
Thai and most asians love white skin, they actually sell "white" lotion to make your skin whiter, unlike Americans or Europeans who think a tan looks healthy.
Lady Boys--cabaret shows, transvestites put on a good show apparently. They are called Lady Boys.
Thai also drives on the left hand side.
64 million people in Thailand, 9 million in Bangkok.
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