US President George W Bush and his wife today, sunday visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Wat Phra Kaew during his visit to the Apec 2003 summit in Thailand.
After the bilateral discussion with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, and a visit to the Royal Thai Army Headquarters, the United States President George W Bush and his wife Laura visited the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok.
Upon arriving at the Wat Phra Kaew temple, they signed the Visitor's Book and then posed for a photograph in front of the Emerald Buddha temple's Chapel.
The Wat Phra Kaew temple in Thailand is situated in the compound of the Grand Palace, the same way that Wat Phrasi Sanphet previously existed in the former Grand Palace, in Ayuddhya, when this was Thailand's capital city.
King Rama I ordered the construction of the temple at the same time as the construction of the city of Bangkok, in 1782. The temple of the Emerald Buddha undergoes a major restoration about every 50 years.
