Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

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Bangkok, Grand Palace, Thailand

Buddhist monks at the Grand Palace were gracious and allowed me to photograph them. However, they wouldn’t trade their clothing for mine.

This is my next to last day in Thailand and I wanted to visit the Grand Palace in Bangkok. What a “cluster . . . ” I have never seen so many tourists in one place. Add heat and humidity, I was miserable (I am certain everyone else was too). I took the public boat “bus” from Pier 3, near my Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel and journeyed down the Chao Phraya river with a gazillion other tourists. I was wondering (almost out loud), “HEY, CAN WE FIT MORE SARDINES . . . UHH, PASSENGERS ON THIS DEATH TRAP WAITING TO HAPPEN?”  How lovely. Everyone was “ripe” by the time we reached our destination at Pier 9. But wait, there’s more . . . To access the Grand Palace, you have to first walk through this food stand market, where the nauseous food smells combined with the heat/humidity to make me almost throw up. Sorry, for the graphic description, but I call them how I see them. Admittedly, I should have eaten breakfast, but I decided not to. My empty stomach certainly didn’t help me combat the nauseousness I was feeling. I probably should have read TripAdvisor or some other review site, where I would have known what to expect. My bad.

Immediately exiting Pier 9, you negotiate numerous food stands in extreme heat. I took this picture while the taking was good, since there was barely room to walk (much less breath) through this area. People smoking and cooking, combined with the heat, made this short walk one I almost didn’t make without getting sick. I held my breath most of the way,

Once you exit the food stands, then you have to run the gauntlet of buses, tuk tuks, and cars to cross the street to where the Grand Palace is. No, there are no traffic lights. Almost like musical chairs, except if you don’t get across the street (i.e., “find a chair”), you get flattened by a vehicle. Ha!

Prior to entering the complex of buildings that comprise the Grand Palace, this grassy area sits at the entrance to the Grand Palace.

There were literally thousands of tourists lined up waiting to enter the Palace grounds. Almost like a conga dance line that stretched into infinity. Eventually, I entered the grounds and found a tree where I could rest a bit and get my 2nd wind. I also reapplied sunscreen to my noggin and arms. The line was horrendous, but it looked like I was close to the Palace gates, where you actually could observe the numerous complex of buildings that comprise the Grand Palace. Wrong.

This line awaited me if I wanted to access the Palace grounds. Yuck!

There was one line for tickets at 500 baht per person and then after purchasing your ducat, you waited in another line (above). I asked myself, “Do I really want to go in and see this?” I know you’re thinking, “Stop being a cry baby and get the frickin’ ticket.” However, besides talking to myself – usually a clear red flag that someone is delusional (HEHEHE), I was still feeling queasy. In short, my answer to myself was a definitive NO . . . I would take pictures from outside the gate and then make a retreat back to some place with air conditioning.

Line going no where fast.

Grand Palace as seen from outside the palace grounds gate.

The guy who took this picture was someone that had the same idea I did . . . I am not going to be uncomfortable and fight the hoard of people trying to enter the Grand Palace.

Almost like the “knothole” experience that San Francisco Giants fans get at AT&T Park. You have to be a Giants fan to understand that.

Thai army has a contingent of soldiers that guard the palace. This is some sort of machine gun training.

I wasn’t shot when I got closer and had someone take this picture.

My charm and good looks only would get me so far. I was practically arrested for entering this NO ENTRY gate. LOL.

Another part of the area outside the Palace.

No idea what temple this is, but on the way back to the hotel, I took this shot.

Probably the best picture I got of this place.

Path that leads to the Palace exit.

On public boat bus back to hotel. Smiling because the boat was empty and I was relieved to get out of the heat.

Construction of the Grand Palace was begun in 1782 by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I), founder of the Chakri dynasty. Since then, numerous buildings, temples and other structures have been added on to the complex.  It’s my understanding that the King, his court, and Royal government lived and worked here until 1925.

Per Wikipedia, “Throughout the period of absolute monarchy, from 1782 to 1932, the Grand Palace was both the country’s administrative and religious center. As the main residence of the monarch, the palace was also the seat of government, with thousands of inhabitants including guardsmen, servants, concubines, princesses, ministers and courtiers. The palace’s high whitewashed castellated walls, full of forts and guard posts, mirrored those of the walls of Bangkok itself, and thus the Grand Palace was envisioned as a city within a city. For this reason a special set of Palace Laws were created to govern the inhabitants and to establish hierarchy and order. By the 1920′s a series of new palaces were constructed elsewhere for the king’s use; these included the more modern Dusit Palace, constructed in 1903, and Phaya Thai Palace in 1909. These other Bangkok residences began to replace the Grand Palace as the primary place of residence of the monarch and his court. By 1925 this gradual move out of the palace was complete.”

Since then, the Palace complex is used only for official functions. That boys and girls is the extent of my knowledge about this place.

Tomorrow, I leave for a short stay in Kuala Lumpur, then I am off to Kathmandu, Nepal. Until then . . .