Say hello to the beautiful Thai Palace - Grand Palace and Vimanmek Mansion

 

*OTW to the palace, nice decoration and plants everywhere*

We went there on Sunday, because the palace is closed the next day (to celebrate the King's 84th birthday).  Certain buildings may be closed due to holidays or royal ceremonies, so remember to do some research before going there!

Beware of tuk-tuk / taxi driver telling you that the palace is closed because they just want to bring you to some other random place or shops, which they earn commission when you purchases anything from them.

The Grand palace used to be the official residence of the Thai Kings, but now they moved to The Chitralada Palace. Right now it is open to the public, but they have a strict dress code, so please follow the dress code, else you have to rent the sarong from them to get inside.

The gate opens for foreigners at 8:30am, but we reached the palace a little bit too early, so just we srolled around outside the palace.

Try to reach there earlier to avoid the crowd, and also apply sunblock / sunscreen!

*Waiting for the guards / army to let us in*

*While waiting, we saw the army changing shift*

We went there a day before the King's birthday, because on his birthday the palace will be closed for the ceremony. Not only were there lots of tourists, even the locals and buddhist monks chose to visit the palace on that day too. As usual, from far we already can hear some tour guides yelling, don't leave the team, don't walk too far, let's take this picture and etc, which is really annoying. Some of the people will even push you away when you are taking picture because they think you blocked their view (as if their ticket came attached with the Grand Palace). Thank God, most of the tourists from the tour spent only 30mins, then left us alone.

* Solider, monks and tourist*

We spent about 2 hours at the palace, took a lot of photos and walked a lot. Luckily we had our water bottles with us, because there aren't much shops inside. At the ticket check counter, they will hand out a free copy of palace map to everyone. They listed all the temples and palaces, so that we won't get lost or missed anything nice before leaving there.

*View before getting the tickets and the get in to the temples*

*The Upper Terrace*

 

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha also known as Wat Phra Kaew is just beside The Upper Terrace, which is way too huge to capture it all.

*Another temple outside the Wat Phra Kaew*

*Snamchand Pavilion*

*Dusit Maha Prasat Hall*

After visiting the temple, we went to the the Dusit Park. The national parliament as well as the royal palace (Chitralada Palace) are located in this district. Beside some museums / halls, there are also some palaces and temples are open to the public. 

Before we start another hardcore photoshooting session, we had our lunch at the Vimanmek Palace's cafe. Most of the visitors there are locals. In my opinion, the Dusit District is a must go if you had never been there before. This place includes structures such as the Vimanmek Palace (the world largest golden teakwood mansion), Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Dusit Zoo, King Rama V Equestrian Monument, Wat Benchamabophit, and a lot a lot of beautiful buildings.

*The entrance to the Vimanmek Mansion*

After lunch, we visit the Vimanmek Palace (or Vimanmek Mansion). It used to be the former royal palace too. Before entering the mansion, there are staff that will ask you to leave your belongings at the locker. You can only bring along your wallet with you while visiting the palace. No cameras or any electronic devices are allowed in the palace. Most of the palace, halls and museums in this area has the same rules. No shoes and any electronic devices allowed.

Today, the Vimanmek Palace is used as a museum to showcase the Thai national heritage. The interior of the mansion is really nice, time just stops at the 1900s' with vintage furniture, old pictures, old school typewriters, everything ancient is there.

After that, we went to the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, which is my favourite building after shopping malls. It was used exclusively for state occassions, and now displays arts and crafts produced in Thailand.

*Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall*

A lot of buildings actually blends with European-style buildings. Like the Chakri Maha Prasat Throne Hall in the Grand Palace, Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall and Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. Which is really unique. After King Rama V returned from Europe, he was fascinated with western architecture and hired different European architects to design for their buildings.

*super detail pattern, colorful and symmetrical shapes celling and walls which im so in love with*

After leaving Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, there is a path way that leads us to Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall which I also love it very much. It was constructed in the Italian Renaissance and Neo Classic style of architecture. The exterior is decorated with marble from Italy.

In front of the throne hall is the Royal Plaza, where King Rama V Equestrian Monument is located.

*King Rama V Equestrian Monument*

We walked more than 6 hours in one day, which is very unusual for me. After looking back to the pictures we took that day, it was worth it! If I happen to be back to Thailand again, I will definitely visit the Dusit Park. We missed so many good stuff after we did our research when we got back to Malaysia.