The Grand Palace; this was our next stop after visiting Wat Pho (read blog here). We did not know what to expect, especially after being enchanted by Wat Pho. Well, we were blown away by what we got to see!

First some history about the Grand Palace. It used to be official residence of the Kings of Siam for a very long time. At present, I believe the King does not reside in it. However it is still used for official events. It is not a single structure. It is made up of several buildings, halls, pavilions, gardens and courtyards. These were added during the course of reign of the various kings over 200 years.

There is enough material on the internet on the specific history of the structures in the Grand Palace. So I will not spend time on that here. Instead this post is a photo based one to show you a glimpse of what we saw and hence know what to expect. So here are some of the images from around the Grand Palace complex.

Grand, isn’t it? This is a site that is not to be missed if you have time in Bangkok.

Video

Here is a short video that I put together from our visit. Hopefully it will be a virtual tour of the place.

Recommendations

Here are some aspects to keep in mind when visiting:

  • It is a popular destination for locals as well as foreigners. So get their early in the day to face less crowds
  • It can be hot and humid. Take water and a hat
  • There can be dress code restrictions. So read up on it upfront
  • If you want to see everything or most, you have to give the place lots of time. So plan accordingly