The Emerald Buddha was not as impressive as I expected, though. From all the descriptions, I thought that it would be bigger, and while I'm sure it's very special to those for whom it holds religious significance, it wasn't all that amazing to me.

One of the more amusing sights at the Grand Palace was the line of foreigners outside the door marked "free clothes." I guess many of the foreigners don't read the modest dress requirements for entrance to the Grand Palace before they get there.

This is a vast site, and before entering, we marvelled at the colours and variety of the buildings as they were silhouetted against the clear blue Bangkok skies. This sense of wonderment did not leave us from the time we entered the site to the time we departed. At the entrance I stood awe inspired as I was confronted with a mass of gold leaf and immense statues brightly coloured and often grotesque in appearance. All visitors are dwarfed by the grandeur of individual buildings, and like a procession of ants, we all trail round the site, pausing to be amazed by the sight around the next corner.

Make sure that you walk through the cloisters and take time to admire some of the 150 murals that adorn their walls, and consider the story of the triumph of good over evil as told in their allegorical images. Walk around the model of Angkor Wat – it’s the only time you will tower over one of these buildings.

Of course, no visit to the Grand Palace is complete without a view of the Emerald Buddha. You must leave your shoes outside (this is the case when you enter any holy place) and there was a ceremony, which involved a flower and water, that you were encouraged to undertake before admission. Don’t be tempted to photograph this Buddha, as it is viewed to be offensive, but just enjoy the spectacle. This 26-inch jade Buddha, discovered in the early 1400s after lightening struck an ancient "stupa", sits above the ornate wooden throne in the Wat Phra Keo and is viewed as the principal Buddha image of Bangkok. You can actually feel the reverence that this building commands.

Outside of the inner palace, marvel at the Dusit Maha Prasat, one of the original Palace buildings, and its four-tier tiled roofs and magnificent seven-tiered golden spire. This area of the grounds has an amazing collection of ancient topiary, which would happily be portrayed in the surreal work of Dali.

The Grand Palace represents a range of structures and is a three-dimensional "textbook" of Thai decorative techniques, including mosaics of glass or porcelain, painted murals, richly carved and gilded roof supports, doors and windows adorned with mother-of-pearl inlay or gold and black lacquer work, multi-coloured tiled roofs, huge brightly decorated statues, bronze statues. All of this lovingly restored in 1982 for the Bangkok bicentennial celebrations.

It’s hard for me not to enthuse about this site, and I’m sure you will too!

The Grand Palace definitely shook my occidental prejudices; the dazzling colours and ornateness of the monuments reminded me of how wealthy and advanced Siam was.

The entrance fee is $400 baht if I am not mistaken and extremely well worth it. The pagodas are detailed to perfection. On a sunny day, the gold leaf walls are very bright and shining. Quite magical. The whole place is very religious (Buddhism) and shorts/short skirts/bare legs are not recommended.

We went in March, it was very busy and the weather was great. Outside the Grand Palace was a statue, which the guide told us has clothes on to represent the season change. They are changed by the king (if I remember correctly) and is a big celebration with gifts of statues and flowers presented, all of which we could see on tables outside. We were lucky to have gone when we did so we could see all this.

Although there were a lot of international tourists visiting the temples, It didn't feel too rushed or organised. We strolled around the grounds taking photos of the temples. I went inside one of them. From floor to ceilimg was marble and gold with paintings and jewelled statues. We had to take our shoes off at the entrance and creep along at the back of all the people on their knees praying.

It was cool to kneel on and the atmosphere was calming. We lay a flower by a statue as a mark of respect, and although I'm a Christian, I did this out of respect to the Thai people.

At night these buildings are so picture perfect. Many lights illuminate temples along the river, oranges, pinks and purples. I saw this when we went on a river cruise along the river Kwai, as recommended by a Thai girl working at our hotel. This was not aimed at tourists. *for more info see my entry 'River Cruise at night'.