The Grand Palace

Some pictures of The Grand Palace. The original palace (all pics except number 6) was built in 3 years in 1782 under the 1st king: Rama I. It's an incredible place to walk around and the fact that you can practically go anywhere and touch anything is quite refreshing. No jobsworths in sight! A very calm and tranquil place to be, away from the bustle of Bangkok.

The sixth pic is another part of the palace that was built by a later king, he had been influenced by his trips to Europe and brought lots of new ideas and designs to Thai life. The current king is Rama IX (9) who was coronated on June 9th aged 19. He has done more for the country than anyone has ever done anywhere! He revolutionised Thailand and is treated like a god. Every morning at 8am at school the kids sing the king song and wherever you are you must stop what you're doing, stand up if you're sitting and listen (or sing) to the song. He is ill at the moment though and the country is very worried. No Thai will ever talk about him though so we simply refer to him as 'he who can't be mentioned'. Long live the King, a very positive and powerful influence on the Thai people and their culture.