The King Rama I

KING BUDDHA YOT FA CHULALOK

KING BUDDHA YOT FA CHULALOK [ Rama I ] 1782 - 1809
His Majesty King Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke the first king of the Chakri Dynasty who established Bangkok as the capital of Thailand. He born in Ayutthaya on March 20, 1737, the son of Phra Aksorn Sundara Smiantra, he was formerly known as Thong Duang. Following the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 he entered the service of Phraya Taksin and fought by his side in almost every campaign until the latter became King Taksin, establishing the capital at Thonburi. He was created Luang Yorkrabat, then Phra Rajvarin, Chao Phraya Chakri and eventually Somdetch Chao Phraya Maha Kashatriya Suk by King Taksin, and following the deposition of King Taksin on April 6, 1782 [ at the age of 45 ] was chosen King, becoming the founder and first ruler of the House of Chakri two hundred years ago.

KING BUDDHA YOT FA CHULALOK

On the year of his accession he moved the capital from Thonburi to the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River, thus founding the city of Bangkok. It was during his reign that the Grand Palace was constructed and he installed the Emerald Buddha in the Chapel Royal following its completion. He died in Bangkok on September 7, 1809 and, as many historians have stated, the modern Siam dates from his reign.

King Rama I or King Ramatibodi reigned for 28 years and passed away in 1809 at the age of 74. On the occasion of the Rattanakosin Bicentennial 1982, the government decided to give the tillle of "Maharaj" or the Great to King Rama I. He would be called Pra Buddha Yodfa Maharaj.

King Rama I, whose original name was Duang or Thong Duang was born in Ayutthaya during the reign of King Barommakote. After entering monkshood, he joined the King's service as an officer of the royal household. Later, at the age of 25, he was promoted to be the governor of Ratchaburi Province and played an important part in helping King Taksin restore the country's sovereignty many times. He was crowned King at the age of 46 in 1782 and reign for 27 years, dying at the age of 73.

After his coronation, he decided that Thonburi was unsuitable to serve as capital because of limited space for expansion of the palace grounds as both sides were walled in by two temples, namely, the Temple of Dawn and Wat Tai Talad. Furthermore, the palace being located on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, was subjected to erosion by the content and could one day collapse into the river. So, he deemed it appropriate to move the capital city across to the east bank of the river as the land there was level with vast space for expansion. Besides, it offered excellent security against enemy attacks.

KING BUDDHA YOT FA CHULALOK

King Rama I, after considering the pros and cons from a military strategic and economic point of view, decided to move the capital to the new site. He, therefore, erected the city's sacred foundation post as will as transferred the Lord Buddha's relics to a temporary shrine in a definite indication as to where the new capital city would be located. After the foundation post was officially erected, King Rama I moved to the new site and stayed in a temporary palace made of wood. Soon after, the construction of the new palace building began and included the Grand Palace, Dusit Mahaprasat Hall, Pimarnrattaya Hall, Ammarin Vinichchai Hall, and Chakkrabhat Piman Hall, with residential buildings on both side of the Chakkrabhat Piman Hall.

King Rama I also built the Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha) within the outer compound, east of the Grand Palace. This temple id the most important one in Thailand since it enshrines the Emerald Buddha image.

King Rama I also built the fascinating Wat Po and placed 394 old Buddhist imaged around the main chapel. These images were collected from all parts of the country and restored to their original condition before being installed in their rightful places.

He tore down the Vichayen fortress and the wall on the eastern side of Thonburi in order to make room for the expansion of the city. New canals too were dug during his reign, such as the Rob Krung canal and the Maha Nakorn canal.

In ruling the country, King Rama I was very democratic. He would listen to other people's ideas since he believed that the kingdom did not belong to him alone. Consequently, the people had their say and helped in running the country.

When the new capital city was being built, King Rama I was constantly thinking of the welfare of the people. So after digging canals for the defense of the country, he ordered the digging of the Mahanak canal strictly for the people to use as a waterway.

King Rama I used the same administrative system as that if the Ayutthaya period but formed a special advisory council by combining viziers, civil servants and military personnel. These people were hand-picked from among the top echelon that we must trusted by the king. King Rama I also revised the law making it suitable to the changing times. In a book called "King Phra Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke and his Cultural Revivals" written by HRH Prince Phitayalap Phreuttayakorn, a part reads, "His Majesty the King was worried about the missing law books, nine out of ten of which were destroyed or found missing after the Burmese sacked Ayuthaya. In 1804, King Rama I made a major revision on the laws of the kingdom and came out with a new one called "Laws of the Three Seals" which consisted of civil and military sides.

The City Pillar Shrine

Sao Lak Muang

According to an old Thai tradition, a city pillar had to be built upon the establishment of a new city. King Rama I had the Bangkok city pillar erected near the Temple of the Emerald Buddha on Sunday, 21 April, 1782, with the city's horoscope inside. The original pillar was made of cassia wood known as Chaiyaphruek, measuring 75 cm. in diameter and 27 cm. high. In the reign of King Rama IV, the old dilapidated pillar was replaced by a new one made of the same kind of wood, measuring 270 cm. high and standing on a base of 175 cm. wide, sheltered by a Prang-shaped shrine as it appears today. The shrine also houses images of protective deities including Thepharak, Chaopho Ho Klong, Phra Suea Mueang, Phra Song Mueang, Chaopho Chetakhup and Phra Kan Chai Si.

The original site of the city pillar was at the southwestern corner of Sanam Luang. However, rumor has it that on the day the pillar was raised, four snakes crawled under the shrine and were killed. Soothsayers interpreted this as an ominous sign that Bangkok would only last as the capital for 150 years.In the reign of King Rama IV, these rumors were promptly squashed. Well-versed in astrology, King Rama I chose an auspicious date to rebuilt the city pillar on a more auspicious site. On 05 December 1853, the city pillar was rebuilt in the southeastern corner of Sanam Luang, across the road from the Grand Palace, where it remains to this day.

Lak Muang or the City Pillar Shrine consists of a square building with openings on all four sides. In the center of the room are two gold pillars and six elephant tusks. The roof has three levels of ornate gables on each side and a dazzling white multi-tier square spire.King Rama I also included three guardian angels for the new capital city shrine. Two of these guardian angels are in the Theparat Shrine, just to the right of the main shrine as you enter from Lak Muang Road. At the center of the Lak Muang complex is a simple shed with an altar where it's usual to see devotees pray and make offerings of food and flowers. To the side is a huge table laden with food and four bowls of holy water for people to wash hands and faces.

At the other end of the garden is another building also with an altar where others can be seen praying. Traditional dancers can be seen performing on a nearby stage as part of the thanksgiving ceremony.
Take a rest under the shady sala or pavilion and watch the ceremonies and proceedings. As an auspicious place, it's customary for residents to come to the shrine to make wishes.
When their wishes come true, they reciprocate with prayers and offerings of food and flowers. From the number of devotees and food at the shrine, many wishes must have come true.

Lak Muang or the City Pillar Shrine represents the foundation stone of Bangkok, the start point of the city and the Rattanakosin era. It's the origin of a capital city and a dynasty that's more than 220 years old!
Major restoration to the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine
The City Pillar Shrine or Sao Lak Muang has undergone a major facelift to restore the national monument to its former glory.
This is the first major restoration work in 20 years. Over the years, corrosion and deterioration has caused the shrine to be a dilapidated state. The work was completed in February 2007.

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Khao San Road

 

 Khao San Road
Where the worlds young travelers meet. Khao San Road is a favourite crossroads for the young travelers on a budget. It has evolved over the last two decades from just one small hostel providing low-budget accommodation become one of the worlds most well-known destinations. It has been featured in many movies and television documentaries.

 



During the day, Khao San Road is the scene for back-packers looking for a cheap room while others are arranging transport to their next destination in Thailand or overseas. Some will be just chatting with friends over a cup of coffee or a bowl of noodles.

At night, it turns into a lively thoroughfare lined with street stalls selling cheap clothes, handicrafts, souvenirs and thousands of other items. The lights are on at the many bars where the travelers tell tales of the days adventures and discoveries and the plans for tomorrow. Khao San Road is not just for foreign travelers, many young Thai people like to hang out there, including members of the TV and film production industries.




The location is very convenient for visiting the many tourist attractions on Rattanakosin Island. It is just a 10-minute walk to Sanam Luang and The Grand Palace.

During April when Thais celebrate the Songkran Festival, Khao San Road becomes a fun-filled battleground as everyone, Thais and foreigners indulge in splashing each other with water.The area is also well-known for the wide variety of inexpensive food. This ranges from spicy Thai Tom Yum Gung soup to the ever-popular banana pancake.





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Wat Phra Kaew Morakot

Phra Kaew Morakot

The First Must Visited Temple in Bangkok. Wat Phra Sri Ratana Sasadaram, officially called the temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew, had built in the reign of “King Rama I”, Phra Bat Somdej Phra Phuttha Yod Fa Chula Lok Maha Raja, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty. The construction work had begun in 1782 and completed in 1784. The temple of the Emerald Buddha, the royal chapel, is located east, adjoining the Grand Palace. The temple is particularly built to house the Emerald Buddha, a Buddha image which King Rama I brought from Vientiane when he captured the city.Although it is the most national sacred temple, there is no any resident monk. But, it has only elaborately decorated holy buildings, statues, and pagodas.The Emerald Buddha or Phra Kaew Morakot, the highly revered Buddha image, meticulously carved from a huge block of Jade. It is the Buddha image in the seated meditating position, in the style of the Chiang San School on the north of Thailand.

Wat Phra Kaew

The Emerald Buddha was first discovered in Chiang Rai province in the reign of King Triloknatha (1441-1487). Later, it was taken to several important cities such as Lampang, Chiang Mai, Luang Phra Bang, and Vientiane.When 1778 King Rama I overcame over Laos, he had brought it back at Wat Arun in Thon Buri, the capital at that time. And, in 1785, the Emerald Buddha was transferred from Wat Arun to Wat Phra Kaew and then shrined in the Phra Ubosoth (ordination hall) until now.

The Royal Pantheon or Prasat Phra Thep Bidon, originally called Buddha Prang Prasat, was built in the reign of King Rama IV in 1855. This building is a pavilion with four-square Prangs. It is initially considered to enshrine the Emerald Buddha, but too small to accommodate the congregation at royal ceremonies. Now it is used for keeping statues of deceased 8 kings of Chakri Dynasty.On the four-sides of cloisters like-galleries (Phra Rabiang) around Phra Ubosoth, there are the Mural Paintings depicting Ramakien epic (The Thai version of the Hindu epic, Ramayana). These paintings consist of 178 sections, firstly done in the reign of King Rama I. Later, some parts of Phra Rabiang and paintings were renovated from time to time in the present Chakri Dynasty.

The paintings of Ramayana epic around Phra Rabiang start from north door turn to the west.

The golden Stupa, Phra Sri Ratana Chedi, has a bell shape which is the Ceylonese style. The chedi was built by Rama IV to house a relic of the Buddha. Its form imitates the large chedi of Phra Sri Sanphet temple in Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand. Later, in the time of King Rama V had applied the golden tile mosaics to the Chedi.

Phra Mondop, Ho Tri, or the library, was built in the time of King Rama I, containing the new copy of Tipitaka (important Buddhist scriptures). Phra Mondop is based on the Pillars and located between Phra Sri Ratana Chedi and The Royal Pantheon. However, it is almost always closed to the public.

If you have a free time, you can visit Patron Rub ushi, Gate-keeping Giants, Phra Vihara Yod (The spired Hall), Model of Angor Wat, The lined Pavilions (Sala Rai), etc.

This is the guide of the first Temple in Bangkok in ThaiLook.Blogspot.com
How to getting to Wat Phra Kaew
Located within the Grand Palace, near Sanam Luang, Phra Nakorn District, Bangkok
Tel No. 02 623-5500 ext. 1830, 3100
By Bus - 1, 2, 3, 9, 15, 19, 25, 30, 32, 33, 39, 42, 43, 44, 47, 53, 59, 60, 64, 65, 68, 70, 79, 80, 82, 91, 123, 124, 201, 203, 503, 508, 512
By Air-conditioned Bus - 1, 6, 7, 8, 12, 25, 38, 39, 44, 59, 524
By Chaopraya river - Tha Chang pier



Temple Talk
There are hundreds of Thai Buddhist temples (Wat) in Bangkok. Several of these will vary in styles and sizes but will consist of the principles of Buddhist architecture. Many visitors may not be familiar with the structures inside a temple-compound. Therefore, this part will recommend you the concise meaning of Thai Buddhist temple terminology.

Wat
Other words are Thai Buddhist temple or monastery. In general, Wat is substitutes for the collection of several Buddhist structures within the courtyard and enclosed by walls with several gateways.
Anyway, in Thailand the chief religious architectures are Chedi, Ubosoth, Vihara, Prang, Mondop and Prasat. The other buildings that are not very essential - Kuti, Ho Trai, Sala and Ho Rakhang.

Bot or Ubosoth
Other words are Ordination Hall or Convocation Hall or Assembly Hall. Ubosoth are always used for Buddhist clergy performing ritual of the monastic community or other significant ritual ceremonies. Another meaning, Ubosoth is the heart of the monastery and would be a monk centre.
Besides, Ubosoth will always enshrine the Buddha statue. Ubosoth may generally have three doors, both at the front and one at the rear of Ubosoth. The exterior of Ubosoth will be observed by the six boundary stones (Bai Sema or Sema stones). There will only be one Ubosoth in the temple. Some temples may not give the public permission to enter Ubosoth. Only the monks can be permitted to perform ritual ceremonies.

Viharn or Vihara
The sermon hall or Buddhist Monastery is used for enshrining major Buddha statues. Actually, Vihara is a replica of Ubosoth. In Bangkok and the central of Thailand, most Vihara are usually smaller than Ubosoth.
Viharn always opened to everyone to meet and pray together. There are no Sema stones surrounding Vihara like Ubosoth. Maybe, there are several Vihara within the temple.

Sema (Bai Sema or Sema stone)
The marks of boundary are made of stone slabs and represent the sacred ground of the temple. They are usually in leaf-shaped stone, putting up right from the ground and always surrounded Ubosoth by eight boundary stones. However, Sema in some temples had nicely been decorated.

Chofah
Chofah are the decoration as the horn-like finials (gable apex) on the roof ridges of temples. They represent the ‘Garuda’ head, the mythical bird.

Chedi
Other words are pagoda or stupa. Chedi is generally bell-shaped solid structure. In Thailand, Chedi is the most holy sacred religious structure in Thai temple because the underneath of the interior area of Chedi will always contain some relics of the Buddha and some are built to contain some relics of the magnificent revered Buddhist monks.
The prototype of Chedi originated in central India. In Thailand, we are able to see Chedi or Stupa of the classic type in several various forms. However, the round chedi that were often built in Bangkok and the central of Thailand. It has the same elements as the Indian prototype which was introduced from Sri Lanka - a high drum formed by many moldings of the same design, a bell-shaped dome, a square throne surmounted by a low circular colonade supporting the high and slender Chatra (umbrella)

Prang
The Khmer-style religious architecture (Khmer prang), a vertical tall finger-like spire and usually elaborately carved. Later, this feature was later adopted by Thai important religious architecture. Usually, Prang has three niches and one entrance door toward a very steep staircase. The internal area sometimes contains Buddha statues.In Bangkok, Prangs can be easily found in several Buddhist temples such as Wat Phra Kaew (The temple of Emerald Buddha), Wat Pho, Wat Arun, etc. However, Prangs can be conveniently seen in North-East region of Thailand, such as Phimai Prang, Phanomrung Prang, etc.

Sala
Generally, Sala is any open-sided pavilion. In a temple, these may be used for sermon and resting place to the public.Like magnificent structures, some Sala were ornamented with glazed tiles and beautiful gilded decoration on the gables.

Ho Trai and Mondop
Other words are Ho Phra or the scripture hall or Buddhist library of the temple. Thai Mondop will be similar to Mandapa of Indian temples.Mondop is usually a very small and highly decorated building. However, Mondop may be a quare-shape structure, entirely made of bricks. Their pyramidal upper part is formed by two or three layers of roofing or usually topped with a spire section (spire library). Anyway, some Mondop were made of wooden roofing, decorated with wooden carvings, gilded and enriched with multi-color glass mosaics. Ho Trai or Mondop is the place to contain the Tipitaka (Teachings of Buddha or The Buddhist Scriptures), other important Buddhist religious sacred manuscripts, and some holy objects. Some Mondop may also serve as store room for holy opjects used in religious ceremonies.

Belfry or Bell Tower (Ho Rakhang)
In Thailand, the belfry generally has no special artistic attraction. Normally, belfry is shaped with four wooden or brick poles, and provided a high platform with steps on one or four sides. A pyramidal roof is built over the platform and the bell is suspended within.

Kuti
Normally, Thai temples have the residential section of monks (Sangghavas). Kuti is monks’ living place and varied in several sizes and shapes with simply construction, and no any artistic features.

Bangkok History

The Grand Palace Bangkok

History of Bangkok The town of Bangkok (บางกอก ) began as a small Khmer trading center and port community on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River before the establishment of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, the precursor of modern Thailand which existed from 1350 to 1767. The etymology of the town's name is unclear. Bang is the Central Thai name for a town situated on the bank of a river. It is believed that "Bangkok" derived from either Bang Kok, kok (กอก) being the Thai name for one or more olive-bearing fruits (olive in Thai is makok [มะกอก]); or Bang Koh, koh meaning "island," a reference to the area's landscape which was carved by rivers and canals.

Wat Phra Kaew

Wat Phra Kaew was constructed as part of the Grand Palace complex at the founding of the capital.

After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese Kingdom in 1767, the newly declared King Taksin established a new capital in the area of then-Bangkok, which became known as Thonburi. When Taksin's reign ended in 1782, King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke reconstructed the capital on the east bank of the river and gave the city a ceremonial name (see below) which became shortened to its current official name, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon (which, similarly to "Los Angeles" means "city of angels"). The new city, however, also inherited the name Bangkok, which continued to be used by foreigners to refer to the entire city and became its official English name, while in Thai the name still refers only to the old district on the west bank of the river. The city has since vastly modernized and undergone numerous changes, including the introduction of transportation and utility infrastructure in the reigns of King Mongkut and King Chulalongkorn, and quickly developed into the economic center of Thailand.

Bangkok (Thai: กรุงเทพฯ Krung Thep) is the capital of Thailand and by far its largest city with an estimated population of over 11 million.Bangkok is one of Asia’s most cosmopolitan cities. Created as the Thai capital in 1782 by the first monarch of the present Chakri dynasty, Bangkok is a national treasure house and Thailand’s spiritual, cultural, political, commercial, educational and diplomatic centre.

Geography Bangkok exceeds 1,500 square kilometres in area and is home to more than one-tenth of the country's population. Major tourist attractions include glittering Buddhist temples, palaces, timeless “Venice of the East” canal and river scenes, classical dance extravaganzas, and numerous shopping centres.