Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mai directed it be taken to the Lanna capital, but the elephant carrying the image refused
to take the trail to the city, and repeatedly tried to take the road to Lampang. This was
regarded as an omen, and the image was housed in Lampang for thirty-two years before
finally being taken to Chiang Mai, where it was placed inside Wat Chedi Luang, where it
remained for eighty years. King Chai Setthathirat, the son of a Luang Prabang king and
a Chiang Mai princess, ruled Chiang Mai briefly from 1546-47, and then went back to
Luang Prabang, taking the Emerald Buddha with him. Later it was taken to Vientiane, and
stayed there for 218 years before King Taksin dispatched Chao Phraya Chakri to quell the
Lao rebellion and bring the image back to Siam. It resided in Wat Arun before Chakri,
now Rama
I
, took the image across the river to Bangkok, where it remains to this day, ven-
erated by all Thais. As with its origins, the actual material from which the image is made
remains a mystery, for no one has ever tested it. Jasper or jadeite are the two most likely
contenders.
The Front Palace, residence of the deputy king, was the second centre of government,
and equalled in size the Grand Palace. The two were ready for occupation at the same
time, in 1785, when there was a combined celebration. The palace faced east, with its back
to the Chao Phraya, and fortified walls surrounded the compound, with a wall along the
river serving as the palace back wall. The compound was, like the Grand Palace, divided
into distinct sections: an Outer Court for officials, a Middle Court for the royal residence,
and an Inner Court for women only. The only difference was the lack of a chapel. The two
palaces were connected by one of the very few roads in Bangkok, which ran alongside
Sanam Luang.
The position of deputy king was not a consistent one, unlike that of the reigning mon-
arch, and there were times when the Front Palace was unoccupied. Even so, as with the
Grand Palace, successive incumbents added new buildings. When Rama
III
ascended the
throne the Front Palace had been vacant for seven years. He appointed an uncle, Maha
Uparaja Sakdibalaseb, to the position. There had earlier been a mansion used for housing
monks, but it had fallen into disuse and was eventually pulled down, Rama
II
using the
plot of land to breed rabbits. The new deputy king decided the Front Palace had to have a
temple, and so he built Wat Bovornsathan Sutthawat on this site. Rama
IV
decided to elev-
ate the position of deputy king to second king, having the same powers as himself, and his
brother, Chutamani, was appointed as Second King Pinklao. This time, the Front Palace
had been empty for eighteen years. “I was fine and happy, and then all of a sudden I was
made the abbot of a long deserted monastery,” the second king grumbled in a private cor-
respondence. Many new buildings were added during this period.
