Palaces and Temples

We visited several palaces, temples and padodas throughout Thailand. Our entire group was amazed by the beauty and detail of these old structures. There have been 9 generations of King Ramas in Thailand.

Bang Pa-In, THE SUMMER PALACE used as a summer retreat of King Rama V and King Rama Vl. It is located about 37 miles north of Bangkok.  The palace buildings date from e late 19th century to the early 20th century.  They came to this palace to retreat the summer rains in Bangkok.

The grounds were beautiful with manicured lawns, flowers and topiaries.

The military was marching about and some were on guard. The guards are at their posts for 3 hours at a time.

The GRAND PALACE has the most exotic splendor, I found it to be absolutely breathtaking, even though the "glitz" is not my style at all.  The ornate and colorful buildings actually glisten in the sun.  The site, with several buildings, is spread out over 400 acres of land.  It was initiated by King Rama l in 1782.  

One of the buildings, Wat Phra Kaew, houses the Emerald Buddha, the country's most revered religious image and sacred structure. This building serves as the royal chapel of the Grand Palace.

Amarin Vinitchai was originally the royal residence and has the bed chamber of King Rama l.  It was designed by British architects after Buckingham Palace. The Thai spires were added in the 11th hour, however, following protests that it was improper for a hallowed Thai site to be dominated by a European style building.

The guards stand out front, similar to Buckingham Palace.

It's incredible to me, the money, time and planning that went into these places!