Bang Pa-In Palace

From the old to the new…we traveled on to the Bang Pa-In Palace, a spectacular palatial grounds that is still in use by the Thai King, Rama IX and his Queen for a quiet retreat or a place to host dignitaries in style. Fortunately, they were not in residence at the time so we were able to explore the grounds.

The original palace here, now long gone, was actually built during the 1600’s, at the time that Ayutthaya was still the capital. It is said that King Ekathotsarot had been shipwrecked on the island of Bang-Pa-In and there had a son with a local woman, a son who was destined to be the next king, King Prasart Thong. This king founded a monastery there on land that belonged to his mother, digging of a moat and finally building a palace south of the monastery. The grounds that are now present have, of course, been added to and changed through the many long years and succession of kings to a spectacular showcase that is fabulous to be able to view and enjoy.

There are some interesting buildings here, showing influence from all over the world. There are several buildings that strongly suggest a western European influence. There’s a building that is called the pagoda, though it’s unlike any Asian pagodas I’ve ever seen. There is also a Chinese Pavilion that seems, at one time at least, was used as the residence of at least one of the kings who spent time at the palace (it also contained some of the fabulous carved furniture we saw earlier – confirming my suspicion that they were indeed built for a king).