One of the most prominent attractions in Bangkok — perhaps the most prominent attraction — is the Grand Palace. So it was inevitable that we end up there sooner or later. They tried to keep us away once, when we showed up with bare legs. So we come back with our luscious calves covered, and this time we are allowed inside.

Of course, just outside the entrance are people selling stretch pants (to fit over your clothes) for those who did not come prepared. There are also vendors of flowers, incense and candles to leave as offerings in the temples in case you feel strongly that the gods haven’t received enough of your money already.

And there are reportedly hustlers and scammers lurking about, though we never interacted with any. Some of them tell you, falsely, that the palace is closed today, and offer to take you somewhere else just as interesting. But what they do is take you somewhere where you’re pressured to buy a bunch of stuff.

On the inside of the complex, there are people. Lots and lots of people. So there’s always competition to get the best angles for selfies and photos in general.

As a rule, we’re not particularly excited about palace tours and royal museums; we consider the whole concept of royalty to be overrated to say the least. So it doesn’t make a lot of sense to spend our hard-earned cash for a glimpse of how the ruling class lives. But sometimes these places offer rewarding displays of art, architecture, history and culture that make them worth a visit. And given the historical significance of the Grand Palace, and its connection to a culture very different from our own, we thought it worth a few bucks to check out.

The oldest parts of the complex were constructed in 1782 as the residency of the king of Siam, as the nation was then called. It served that purpose until around the turn of the Twentieth Century, when the royal family relocated its digs to the Dusit Palace. These days, the Grand Palace is used only to host ceremonies and tourists.

It was here, however, that back in the 1860s British author, educator and activist Anna Leonowens, with her son in tow, served for six years as a teacher of western culture and knowledge to the king’s 39 wives and concubines and 82 children. (His Majesty couldn’t do it himself; he was a busy man.) Her memoirs were the basis of the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam, which was adapted into one of the most popular Broadway musicals ever, The King and I.

The palace complex layout is rather confusing, even with map in hand, but it features an Outer Court. a Middle Court and an Inner Court. Interestingly, many of the defensive walls, forts and gates around the Palace have names that rhyme.

The Middle Court contains the hall where coronations are held. The Outer Court once featured a royal theatre, royal barracks for the royal guards, and royal stables for the royal elephants. It also contains the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is considered the crown jewel, as it were, of the complex. So naturally no photos of the Buddha are allowed — one of our pet peeves about many places like this. (To see the Emerald Buddha, you have to take off your shoes and go into the temple.)

The Inner Court was where the royal residence was located, the home of the King and his many wives, consorts, and offspring. (At about the time the residence was moved elsewhere, the king at that time outlawed the traditional practice of polygamy, and since then kings have had only one anniversary to remember.) Nowadays, the buildings in this part are used for… well, nothing. They stand dormant and, apparently, vacant. We say apparently because nobody is allowed inside. You have to content yourself with admiring the architectural splendor from the outside — which is really the primary reason to visit the Palace anyway.

On the day we visit, some of the various murals on the walls in some sectors of the complex are being refurbished by artists, which is something we’ve seen happening in several of the historic sites we’ve toured in Asia. It’s interesting to see them at work.

One of the most surprising things we see is a model of Angkor Wat, about 20 feet long. Yes, the Agkor Wat we recently visited. Yes, the one in Cambodia. It was constructed in the Nineteenth Century. And as odd as it is to find it here, the reason for it is even odder. One of the Siamese kings wanted to actually move Angkor Wat to Thailand. Yes, you read that right. But when his advisors finally told him that such a plan was, um, a bit impractical, he decided to settle instead for an accurately detailed miniature. It was, apparently a symbolic gesture of his assertion of dominance over the Khmer empire, sort of making himself the Putin of his day.

No doubt there are many other such curiosities and fascinating tidbits of information to be gleaned from the Grand Palace. For that reason, it’s advisable to tour it with a guide, as we did not — we generally prefer to hit an attraction on our own the first time, and engage a guide or audioguide on a subsequent visit. But this is one time that we regretted that approach.

One other thing we regret is that we were unable to partake of a bonus available to visitors to the Palace — a performance of a traditional Thai theatrical production, included in the price of performance. But it is staged at another site, and guests have to be bused there from the Palace. And we were not up to adding this onto what we’d already done during the day. So again, maybe next time.

9/16/2024