The King and I

Hello again, Reader!  Actually I should say sawatdee ka. We had an early start to our day this morning, departing the home base at 8:00am for our guided tour of the Grand Palace which includes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha followed by Wat Pho.

Our tour guide's English name was Steve and he was a walking, talking fountain of knowledge.  I wish I could share all of my new found knowledge of the Kingdom of Thailand and it's monarchy with you; however, I'd rather not spend my entire time in Thailand in front of a screen!
I would also love to share the sights with you but my phone overheated and shut off.  Not cool!  ;)
Here are some facts I found interesting:
The Grand Palace:
King Rama I had the palace built in 1762 when he made Bangkok the capital city of Thailand.
King Rama IV added many new structures to the palace grounds during his reign. 
Royal babies are announced at one month of age after the fire shaving ceremony. I missed the official name of the Royal Crib.
The current King Rama IX is the longest reigning current monarch. The Thai people love him tremendously.
The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is inside the Grand Palace grounds.
The Emerald Buddha has three seasonal outfits. He is currently wearing his summer attire. The other seasons are rainy and winter.
Wat Pho:
King Rama I  restored the temple from an old monastery from the Ayudhya period and had it re-established as the royal monastery located near the Grand Palace. Some ashes of King Rama I were kept under the pedestal of the principal Buddha image.
It takes the equivalent of approximately $12,000 US dollars to restore a Buddha statue.  Each statue is covered in black lacquer before the gold leaves can be applied.
There are 99 chedi (pagodas) inside Wat Pho. Steve says that 9 is a special number to Buddhists.
It served as one of the first teaching facilities. There are illustrations on the walls in one of the pavilions showing pressure points used in Thai massage and medicine. 
There are large Chinese statues which came to Thailand as ballast in a trading ship.
Buddha is getting a pedicure - we could not see the soles of the Reclining Buddha as they are being restored at the moment.