Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn (Royal Pantheon)
This building is the most important on the upper terrace and aligns with the entrance gate surmounted by a Thai-style stucco and porcelain crown. The two giants guarding this entrance are Indrajit in green with a bamboo shoot finial to his crown and Suryapop who is red with a similar crown. Behind may be seen the top of the Sawadee Sopha Gate (which is only opened on Buddhist holy days).
Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn was constructed by King Rama IV with the intention of housing the Emerald Buddha as he considered that the Ubosot was too low. However once the building was completed it was too small for royal ceremonies and, accordingly, other relics were installed instead. Later towards the end of the Fifth Reign a fire entirely destroyed the superstructure of the building necessitating its repair. Subsequently it housed statues of the five Chakri kings from the First to the Fifth Reigns. It acquired the name of Phra Thep Bidorn, translated in English as Royal Pantheon, during the reign of King Rama VI (1910-1925).

Phra Mondop (Library)
This building is situated to the rear of Phra Thep Bidorn on the same base. King Rama I ordered its construction to the north of the Ubosot to replace the former Phra Monthien Tham which was burnt. This earlier building had been constructed in the middle of a pond to prevent attack by termites - a common practice during the late Ayutthaya and early Bangkok period. Its purpose was to house the Tripitaka (Buddhist scriptures) which he had revised at Wat Mahathat in 1788 (the previous edition having been lost in the sack of Ayutthaya in 1767).
The library was extensively restored during the reign of King Rama III to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bangkok. The cruciform building has a mondop-style roof. Originally it was on a higher base which raised it above the Ubosot. Accordingly when King Rama IV built Phra Thep Bidorn and Phra Sri Rattana Chedi, this building was seen to be too tall and was lowered.

Phra Sri Rattana Chedi
This is situated behind the Mondop on the same base. King Rama IV ordered its construction in order to house a Buddha relic. His original plan, as mentioned above, was that the Emerald Buddha would be rehoused in Prasat Phra Thep Bidorn, with the Mondop housing the Buddhist scriptures behind it and this stupa at the back, thereby echoing the classic arrangement of stupas in a straight line which had been characteristic of Buddhist architecture since the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya period.
The bell-shape of the chedi is based on the larger ones at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet in Ayutthaya. On each of the four sectors of the circular base are four protruding porches allowing access to the interior. Miniature chedis are placed on top of the porches. The chedi is covered with gold mosaic which was added by King Rama V and was originally ordered from Italy. The mosaic has recently been replaced.

The Ubosot (Chapel)
The Ubosot is located in the southern sector of the temple compound and is the principal building, being larger than all surrounding structures. To enter the Ubosot, the visitor must pass through two walls. These separate the building from the rest of the compound, thereby emphasizing its sacred nature. The wall is topped by double sema stones covered with gold leaf. Such stones traditionally designate a Buddhist building where the ordination of monks may be carried out.
The chapel was built during the reign of King Rama I in 1783 in order to house the Emerald Buddha statue which the King had taken from Vientiane in 1779. Previously it had been housed in the nearby Emerald Buddha hall on the Thonburi side of the river. Today this hall has been transformed into the chapel of Wat Arun on the opposite bank of the river. The Emerald Buddha was installed ceremonially on 22 June 1783.

The western side has three doors. The first (where you enter the temple compound) aligns with the rear of the Ubosot and is guarded by two giants whose crowns are topped by cockerel’s tails. The white giant, Chakrawat with four heads and eight arms is paired by Asakornmarsa who is dark purple and has a double tier of heads. The second aligns with the western side of Phra Sri Rattana Chedi.The white giants Sahasadeja has one thousand heads arranged in five tiers and two thousand arms. He stands with Tosakanth who is green. He has three tiers of three heads and one on top. His crown is topped with a chai. The thirds door aligns with the northern side of Phra Sri Rattana Chedi and is once again guarded by giants with cockerel tail crowns-the navy coloured Virunchambang and his companion the pale mauve Mayarap.

Thai Food

Papaya salad (Som Tam)

Ingredients
1 cup coarsely grated papaya
2 tomatoes, sliced
½ cup grated carrot
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1 tablespoon ground dried shrimp
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice
2-3 chillies, chopped

Mix all the ingredients together. Season with garlic salt, lime juice and sugar to taste. Sprinkle with ground dried shrimps and chopped chillies. Serve with roast chicken.

Green papaya salad is the most popular dish among women in Thailand according to a survey I heard on TV there. It is a Northeastern food that is eaten with sticky rice and other Northeastern dishes such as laab, beef salad and bamboo shoot salad. The two most popular types of green papaya salad have either dried shrimp or salted crab. Green papaya salad with dried shrimp and peanuts is called som tum thai. The green papaya salad with salted crab is called som tum pbooh. The majority of the ingredients are the same. My mother likes it with both dried shrimp and salted crab.

Korat Folk Song (Phleng Korat)

Thai Korat folk, with their outstanding cultural and dialect identity, have performedPhleng Korat or Korat folk songs. This is their unique regional performance unlike anywhere else. Witty repartee between a group of men and women principals in this performance can represent the culture of local language in
combination with a unique style.The attractive performance is always touched by humour and intensified with local wisdom. Songs are about a wide range of subject matters which can be either worldly or religious. Singing these songs is anart that reveals the wit of the singers. A good singer must be intelligent as each must sing a form of extemporized verse, in which the singer must compose or improvise his or her own verse at the moment of singing in reply to bold verses sung by another singer. This is an antiphonal singing performance is really unique as it is not accompanied by music. It involves just singing and dancing. Sometimes singers may clap hands to keep rhythm. The language used is Korat dialect, which sounds similar to that of standard Central Thai but a little different in accent or tone. At the beginning, vocalists perform a short song called Korm, an Isan and also a Koratword, which means “short.”
Phleng Korat is verysimple folk entertainment. The only requirements are a group of men and women vocalists.

Professional vocalists are dresses in local costumes. A male vocalist wears a silk, panung and a short-sleeved round-necked shirt and fastens his waist with a loincloth for bathing. A female vocalist also wears a silk panung and ashort-sleeved round-necked blouse. They perform the show on a 4-columned wooden stage called “Rong Pleng” . The 3x3 metre wooden floor is 1 meter above the ground with the ground with the roof made of coconut leaves.
Traditionally the performance is from 09.00 p.m. until 06.00 a.m of the next morning. It begins with paying respect to their teachers. Then a male singer will start with verses
telling the audiences about the occasion
the host and the purpose of this performance, and also usually apologize to the audience for any mistakes during the performance. Next he will invite the female vocalist to sing. After that, a female singer will get on the stage and
defend herself for being late by stating that a woman needs time to dress up.Then the performance start with enquiring of personal information like birthplace, and occupation and followed by sarcastic verses. Then they pay respect to teachers and the Triple Gems. They then woo each other. When they are inlove, they agree to elope or enjoy the beautiful natural scenery. After praising the natural beauty, they continue with Jataka Tales like Wet Sandorn Chadok, or fables like Chanthakhorop, Phra Rot Meri,etc. Next, they test each other’s intelligence by asking about knowledge on something until nearly at daybreak, they woo, say goodbye and comfort each other since it is time to bid farewell.Finally,the last songs are for blessing the host and saying goodbye.
In the past Phleng Korat was widely popular because it was sung in avillage’s ceremony. It was the highlight of the celebrations. Many audiences could affod the time to enjoy the performance from dusk till dawn. It can be apart of auspicious occasions like merit-making, ordination, and tonsure (top knot shaving) ceremonies, and also inauspicious occasions like a funeral ceremony. Phleng Korat has also evolved with the faith and belief of Korat people. The performance in front of Lady Mo statue serves as a fulfillment of a petitioner’s vow ( a serious promise ) sine it is believed that Phleng Korat is her most preferable votive offerings. Thus, Phleng Korat will exist as long as the statue stands.
The performance is divided into two types:professional and amateur (just for pleasure not as their job). The professional costumes of Mor Phleng (a Korat song performer), and a ceremony of showing respect to teachers, whereas the amateur performance is just for fun and enjoyed by local villagers in their free time.