The Buddha's New Clothes

I’ve squeaked into Thailand at the tail end of rainy season. Hot days are exacerbated by some even hotter ones, and one is never quite sure when the heavens will open up for yet another torrential downpour.

Yesterday, I scrapped my evening plans in favor of watching an explosive lightening storm from my hotel. Today dawned bright but cloud-filled, and I took my chances visiting the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

The Emerald Buddha was found encased in plaster in the mid-1400s. Many Buddhas were similarly disguised to dissuade looting during the many wars that claimed the area. The monk that finally realized there was plaster flaking off the Buddha thought the green stone beneath was emerald, when it was, in fact, jade, but the name stuck.

For all the hype that surrounds this Buddha, I was expecting something, well, bigger. Housed in the royal monastery, it stands just a couple feet high in its throne of gilded, carved wood, called a busabok. When he was moved from his place of discovery in northern Thailand to his current home in Bangkok, the ever fashionable Thai king had some outfits made for this esteemed Buddha. At present, he is still wearing his rainy season costume, which will be soon changed to the winter costume and then on to the summer costume, thus properly attired for the three seasons in Thailand.

The gaudy opulence of the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha complex is without compare, even in Bangkok where all things golden and shiny are revered and generously disseminated. Everywhere you turn in the complex, the buildings and statues are bathed in gold leaf, covered in brightly colored mosaic tiles and mirrors and adorned with ornate carvings of flora and fauna. Simplicity isn’t really part of Thai architecture or art, and the walls, ceilings, rooftops and interiors of celebrated buildings hold as much ornamentation and decoration as they can bear.

There are a few exceptions – buildings built in the Victorian style popularized by King Chulalongkorn aka Rama V – the one from the King and I – who fell in love with Victorian England. And there are few structures, the Grand Palace included, with blended styles – think Western walls and windows with tiered, golden spires.

And then the rains came. There was a long, rumbling clap of thunder, and then it was as if God turned the tap on full blast. I hid out under a food vendor’s tent, grabbing some lunch of fish ball curry over nice noodles in the process. The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun, and a brilliant sun shone down through the now clear skies.

I wandered through the busy streets, stopping in at the less touristy Wat (Temple) Suthattepwararam, where I happened on the evening prayer service. I sat demurely at the back of the temple watching the monks sitting on their legs, methodically and soothingly chanting their prayers. Their voices lulled me into a semi-hypnotic state. It was a very peaceful way to end the day.

Check out my photo album, “Bangkok, City of Angels – Week 2” on my facebook page.