Bang Pa-In

Sage's Lookout

 After a few walks in the city I was keen to go somewhere a little quieter for my next outing and so I took the train in the other direction from normal to go to Bang Pa-In, a small village about an hour north of where I live.  Predominantly this was so I could visit the Summer Palace there and walk around the grounds.  After a journey of only an hour I alighted at Bang Pa-In station, one of quite a number to do so.  As I got off my eye was drawn to a rather palatial looking building at one end of the platform and discovered on closer inspection that it was the Royal waiting  room, no doubt built for the King when he wanted to visit the palace by a quicker route than the Chao Praya river.  I imagine his appetite for going by boat diminished after the tragedy that befell his Queen.  More about that later.

Royal Waiting Room

Outside the station were a few tuk tuk drivers willing to give me a ride around to the palace but they were rather half-hearted in their attempts to persuade me.  I certainly didn't want a ride as the walk was only 25 minutes from the station and besides which they had plenty of other takers.  The first obstacle was the main road with four lanes of traffic to negotiate.  Luckily this wasn't nearly as busy as a Bangkok road and I was soon across and walking down the rather less busy road into the village.  I was pleased to see a pavement; something that we would rather take for granted in Britain but which in Thailand isn't always a given.  I passed a school, not obvious from the buildings but from the large den which is characteristic of most schools I have seen here.  The purpose of these buildings is obvious when you have been here only a short time - they allow children to play outside but stay protected from the climate extremes including lightning, heavy rain and probably the sunshine during the hot season.

Buddhist Temple

As I walked down the road I was struck by the relative opulence of the houses.  This looked like a much more affluent place to live than the area of Bangkok where I am based.  Most of the houses had gardens and many even had drives.  There were few people about and even a lack of soi dogs.  In fact it was all very quiet from what I am used to.  The street lights looked somewhat royal with their golden design and the hedges were full of bougainvillea flowers, which seem to be the latest seasonal offering.

Any bites?

As I rounded the first corner I passed by the House of the Rising Sun, an unusually well-appointed local restaurant that boasted live music, craft beers and perhaps the first clue that I was firmly on the tourist trail.  Just past there and I crossed a small river by way of a narrow bridge and came upon a Buddhist temple.  I love the colour schemes of the temples; a mixture of white, gold, red and green.  I think religion should be colourful and Buddhism in Thailand manages to reflect the colours of the surroundings.  The depiction of the Buddha inside the grounds looked so serene, in keeping with the mood of the country.  Even where it is chaotic and busy there seems to be a calm atmosphere - no-one seems to get very stressed.  The lions guarding the front gate looked a little fierce however - woes betide anyone who tries to get past them!

Pimp My Ride

Around the next corner and I met the river.  This isn't the main Chao Praya River but a side channel that cuts off a corner and creates an island on the opposite bank.  I paused briefly here to take a look - there appears to be a small ferry that takes passengers across but there wasn't much activity today.  All I saw was an old woman fishing from a small boat, a motorbike taxi lacking a driver and a few vendors getting ready for whatever trade they can get during the lunchtime period.  All in all it was probably the quietest settlement I have been to thus far in Thailand.

Deluxe Tuk Tuk

The path alongside the river was quite short-lived as I came upon a large wall that goes all the way around the perimeter of the palace.  I took a sharp left hand turn and headed all the way around the wall to the entrance, which was at the far end.  By now the sun was getting pretty hot and by the time I reached the entrance I must have had that sweaty tourist look about me.  Once in the gate the military guard took one look a me and pointed me inside the building to get some long trousers.  Having been into every Buddhist temple I have ever visited dressed with knee length shorts in never occurred to me that I might have a problem.  Nevertheless in true Thai style there is a solution to every problem and 100 baht later I had some Thai style long trousers replete with elephants all the way round that I could pull over my shorts.  I paid my 100 baht extra to get in the Palace grounds and everyone was happy.

Ho Hem Monthian Therawat

Inside the grounds and I could immediately see this was a special place indeed.  Beautifully manicured and still fit for the royal family although I'm not sure it is used much by them these days. The original palace was built here in the 1600s but was left to rack and ruin after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.  By 1807 it was neglected and ruined only to be revived by King Rama IV and King Rama V in the late 1800s and especially during the period 1872-1889 by which time most of the present buildings had been completed.

Devaraj-Kunlai Gate

Judging by the lengthy queue of unused golf carts by the entrance I wasn't sure there were many visitors today, something that suited me perfectly.  I walked along the straight tree lined walkway immediately in front of the visitor centre and was passed by some Chinese tourists on a golf cart.  Unfortunately for me that meant that when I got to the first point of interest, Ho Hem Monthian Therawat.  This is a small Khmer style prasat built by Rama V and dedicated to a former king of Ayutthaya.  I had to wait for some time until the Chinese folk had finished with their picture taking before I could have my turn.  Fortunately this was the first and last time we tripped over each other.

Phra Thinang Aisawan Thiphya-Art

I was now in the outer part of the palace.  Most royal palaces in Thailand have an inner and outer area and in days gone by I would not have been allowed into the inner part of the palace - no male members of the court were allowed in.  As I got the what looked like a pavilion at the far end of the straight drive I could see where the inner and outer palace were divided using the waterways that were constructed within the palace.  Anyone wanting to enter the inner palace would have had to cross by bridge.  I took a look inside Devaraj-Kunlai Gate, which I had taken to be the pavilion.  There was a small catering facility inside but I was drawn to look outside on the steps principally because I wanted to get a closer look at the carp swimming around in the water and also at the beautiful Phra Thinang Aisawan Thiphya-Art in the middle of the water.  This Thai-style pavilion has four porches and is home to a statue of Rama V placed there by his son Rama VI.  The reflections in the water were lovely although a hint of a breeze meant that this was rippled rather than mirror like.

Princess Saovabhark Nairiratana Monument

I went back through the coffee shop and headed straight across the roundabout outside and back across the waterway where I passed an enormous Thai school group.  Luckily most of them were moving on from the next port of call, the two royal monuments.  The first obelisk is dedicated to Princess Saovabhark Nairiratana, who was one of the many consorts (116 including concubines) of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V), and three of his children who all died in 1887.  The second is perhaps more poignant as it is dedicated to his Queen, Sunanda Kumariratana, who died at the palace in a somewhat bizarre and tragic accident when arriving by boat at the palace in 1881.  At that time it was punishable by death to touch any of the royal family, a law that was to have dire consequences for the 19 year old pregnant Queen.  The royal barge capsized and the locals did the only logical thing and watched her drown, helpless (and even instructed not to in some stories) to offer any assistance since to do so would have resulted in the death penalty.  The devastated King changed the law not long after this and dedicated the memorial to her, even including an epitaph in English.

Palm Stand

The full majesty of the site could really be appreciated from here.  Across the waterway was the eye catching Sage's Lookout, from where King Chulalongkorn would look out over the surrounding countryside.  It is painted in a very fetching red and gold, befitting its royal usage.  At the back of the Lookout is a Chinese looking building.  This was presented to King Chulalongkhorn by the equivalent of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and is currently undergoing some extensive renovations.  I walked along past the minor royal residences, some of which it is possible to see inside.  Many of them have an Alpine look about them, supposedly because King Chulalongkhorn was a great admirer of European architecture.  Each look very comfortable but nothing like as grand as those reserved for the King and company.

Queen Sunanda Kumariratana Memorial

At the back of the palace was a rather strange looking building, the nine room mansion.  This was off limits to go inside sadly but it clearly had some colonial influenced architecture as it looked like it could have been copied from one of the buildings in the British Raj.  Alongside the building was what looked like the main nursery area for the plants that adorn the grounds.  Ther were large numbers of bougainvillea plants of all available colours.  No doubt these will replace some that founder in the hot tropical weather.  I continued around the path and discovered a whole area of topiary animals, including a herd of elephants and what I took to be reindeer.  By now I had the place completely to myself apart from a young Thai guard who very studiously avoided looking at me.  I don't doubt that he was keeping me under observation to make sure I didn't do anything naughty.

Nine Chamber Mansion

I had arrived now at Phra Thinang Uthayan Phumisathian built in a Swiss style and supposedly the favourite residence of King Chulalongkhorn.  The building that is here now is actually a replica, for the original burned down in 1938 but was reconstructed by Queen Sirikit (now the Queen Mother of Thailand).  Bizarrely the water tower survived and is disguised as a neo-Gothic crenelated tower.  I didn't linger too long here as there was much in the way of restoration activity going on and the building was largely off limits.  I soon realised that I had looped back around to the cafe and when I got there I walked across the bridge in the other direction.  This brought me to the very grand looking neo-Classic style mansion that served as main residence for King Chulalongkhorn and also housed his throne room.  Beyond that was the royal floating house and although this was possible to visit, taking photos was forbidden and there was a guard stationed there just to make sure you obeyed.

Throne Building

The proximity of the palace to the river could now be understood and it was easy to see why the preferred method of transport here by royalty was by boat until the railways came.  I walked alongside the river until reaching the final building on my tour; Saphakan Ratchaprayan.  This is now a museum and I whiled away some time here looking at many of the artefacts collected by the royal family.  In particularly I enjoyed looking at the model boats on the first floor.  Much of the stuff looked like gifts that no-one really knew what to do with.  As with most of the building interiors it wasn't possible to take pictures and a rather stern lady instructed me to put my shoes and camera in a locker before I could enter.  I was rather relieved when I didn't have to interact with her on the way out.

Elephant Herd

Thus concluded my whistle stop tour of the palace.  It is a fascinating place and well worth spending a whole day there including have some lunch in the cafe.  I had an evening appointment and under-estimated how long it would take but now I have been I am almost certain I will go back for it really is stunningly beautiful and I imagine looks different in every season.  It will also be good to go back when the renovations are complete for they are extensive.  The other thing I would like to see is the curious temple on the island facing the palace for the only way of getting there is via an aerial ropeway.  I watched a monk heading over there but wasn't sure how to deal with it myself and worried also about getting back.  That is something for next time!

The Road to Salvation