DUSIT PALACE PARK

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok

ESCAPING HYPERACTIVE BANGKOK AMID A PALACE OF VICTORIAN GEMS

No other spot in Bangkok is as pretty and peaceful as DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok) three-dimensional scrapbook made by Rama V of his European tour. Ushering in a new millennium,Rama V moved the rayal residence from the ancient confines of the Grand Palace to this European-inspired complex,which is now open to the public and filled with museums honouring the former king and Thai cultural traditions.Beyond its historical attributes,DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok)is a muchneeded respite from Bangkok 's teeming energy.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok)

The most famous palace building is the enormous golden-teak mansion,Vimanmek Teak Palace ,which aws used by the king and his wife,children and concubines as their primary home.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok)

Vimanmek Teak Palace's 81 rooms are elegant and overwhelmingly pastel. But the highlight,besides the architecture,is seeing Rama V's personal effecta and antiques-among them,grand pianos,Ching dynasty pieces and the first menu in Thailand-and getting an insight into how the royals lived.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit bangkok

Reflecting the king's ingenious use of Western influences,Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall is a tasteful melange of Moorish and Victorian influences with a distinctly Thai character.Today the hall is used to exhibi a collection of regional handicrafts.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

Near the Th Ratchawithi entrance,two risidence halls display the HM King Bhumibol Photography Exhibitions,collections of photographs and paintings by the present monarch. Among may loving photos of his wife and children are also hitoric pictures of the king playing the clarint with Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong in 1960 .Further

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

Traditonal Dance

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

Forge the canned dinner theatres with Thai dancing and dull dishes. Free daily per formances of traditional dance are held at 10:30am and 2pm beside the Vimanmek Teak Palace.In this relaxed setting,you'll see several authentic dances form the different regions of Thailand without feeling like a captive tourist

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

along is the Ancient Cloth Museyn and tucked away beside the Th U-Thong exit is the Royal Thai Elephant Museum

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

The domed neoclassical building at the foot of Royal Plaza is Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, also hosted the first meeting of the Thai parliament until their meeting place was moved to a facility nearby.Visitors can explore the arcdhitecture of the building and view rotating exhibits.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

Because Dusit Park is royal property ,visitors must dress appropriately (long pants or skirts,and shirts with sleeves) sarongs are available if your lower half isn't covered enough.

DUSIT PALACE PARK (dusit Thai)

CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET

chatuchak market

CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET

SHOPPING AT THE BEHEMOTH OF ASIAN-STYLE MARKETS

A rambling flea market of bargains,Chatuchak Weekend Market is Bangkok's biggest and most intense market. Imagine supersizing the average Thai market with its narrow passageways lined with merchandise,and you've got a close approximation of Chatuchak.Silks.

chatuchak market

extra-small fashions,fighting cocks and fighting fish,fluffy puppies ,and souvenirs for the insatiable farang-if it can be sold in Thailand,you'll find it here.From everyday to clubby,clothes dominate most of the market,where young desingners unveil their wares. Look out for secondhand clothes that have obviously emigrated from Western closets.

chatuchak market

Your wallet may already be champing at the bit,but go prepared and go early as there are hundreds of thousands of visitors per day,crowding and sweating in the precious open spaces. In theory,Chatuchak is organised into logical,numbered sections but good luck trying to decipher this while pointy elbows nudge you along.

chatuchak market

Do some reconnaissance work with Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok,available at English-language book shops such as Asia Books

chatuchak market

Be warned that there's no air-conditioning and you'll likely suffer extreme claustrophobia. If dehydration sets in,head towards the clock tower where there is a concentration of cafes or duck outside for a refreshing bowl of khanom jiin(rice noodles with curry sauce).In the evenings,local musicians serenade the crowds who are capping off their shopping spree with happy hour.

chatuchak market

WAT ARUN

WAT ARUN

wat thai

SURVEY THE MONUMENT OF THE RESURRECTED THAI CAPITAL

WAT ARUN
wat thai

Standing sentra alongs the Mae Nam Chao Phraya river bank,Wat Arun

commoands as much visual respect as its history would demand.It was here,

on the Thonburi side of the river,that General Taksin resurrected the Thai capital after the fall of Ayuthaya.What was then Temple of Dawn (so named for Taksin's literal and metaphoric arrival in 1767) lost its bid for monarchical monogamy with the crowning of a new king and new capital across the river in Bangkok.

wat arun

What stands to day retains a sense of martial superiority with a towering phallic-shaped stupa that rises to a height of 82m and mimics the aggressive architectural style of Angkor Wat. This central tower is symbolic of Mt Meru,centre of the universe in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.

wat arun

Some argue the Wat Arun is more stunning from a distance,but a close-up reveals a colourful floral-motif mosaic of porcelain once used as ballast in Chinese sailing ships.

WAT ARUN
wat thai

Aflight of steep stairs is open to the public for better views of the tiered layer's decora-tive Hindu figures:the kinnari(half human0half bird) and Indra (god ofthe sky) astride Erawan (Indra's elephant mount).A pair of yaksha (giants) stand guard at the main chapel'and Phra Pai'the god of wind,is frozen on his horse in the minor prang (corn-cob-shaped stupa).

WAT ARUN
wat thai

CHINATOWN

CHINATOWN

chinatown bangkok

PERFECTING THE ART OF GETTING LOST WITH THE EMPEROR OF COMMERCE

Chinatown is pure energy bundled into blazing neon signs belching buses and full-on commerce .
chinatown bangkok
Each block specialises in a certain product:rubber bathplugs here,guns and ammo there, painted signs and coffins.Not much is souvenir-worthy but all of this small-scale industry in one place is

The main artery,Th Yaorarer these days than bound feet.chinatown bangkok warat,lends,its name to the district and is crowded with gold shops - sealed glass-front buildings looking more like Chinese altars than download jewellers.Wat Mangkon Kamalawat venerates both Chinese and Thai deities.Another revered t Traimit famous for its golden Buddhha.
chinatown bangkok
There's more life behind the cacophonous arteries. Sampeng Lane is now a wholesale market,but it used to be a red-light district.
chinatown bangkok
Trok Itsaranuphap is the shortest,greatest stroll in the city,the alley begins near Talat Gao (Old Market),which claims mythic longevity,and eventually leads to stalls selling ritual offerings for the deceased.
chinatown bangkok
Tucked behind River City Shopping centre,the area known as Talat Noi (Between Th songwat and Th Si Phraya)is a labyrinth of maching repair shops and pencil-thin footpaths.

Talat Gao(Old Mar

chinatown bangkok

WAT PHO thai wat

thai wat

WAT PHO

JOSS STICKS AND MASSAGE:BANGKOK'S TEMPLE OF TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

Wat Phra Kaew(thai wat) gets all the spotlighe,but Wat Pho (thai wat) is everyone's favourite.Rarely crowded,the rambling grounds of Wat Pho claim a 16th-century birthday,pre-dating the city itself.

WAT PHO(thai wat)

It is also the country's biggest temple .Still not impressed? How about Wat Pho's primary Buddha-a reclining figure that nearly dwarfs its sizable shelter.

WAT PHO(thai wat)

Symbolic of Buddha's death and passage into nirvana,the reclining Buddha measures 46m and is gilded with gold leaf.Lining the soles of the feet is a magnificent mother-of-pearl inlay depicting the 108 auspicious laksana (train) that signify the birth of a pre-destined Buddha.

During the reign pf Rama lll (King Nang Klao,r1824-51),Wat Pho(thai wat)was dedicated as an open university and continues to serve as the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine and massage.

WAT PHO(thai wat)

On the temple grounds, there are un-air-conditioned massage pavilions(see p53),while the training school is nearby nwith air-concitioned massage .

WAT PHO(thai wat)

On the temple grounds,there are un-air -conditioned massage pavilions ,while the training school is nearby with air-con rooms.

The granite giants that decorate the courtyard of Wat Pho are perhaps Thailand's oldest immigrants. These statues arrived aboard Chinese ships as ballasts in the empty hulls and were left behind on the return trip.

WAT PHO(thai wat)

Some are warriors,others philosophers and one is said to be Marco Polo.Other statuary includes

visual teaching tools such as the hill of hermits depicting different healing yogic poses.

WAT PHO(thai wat)

MAE NAM CHAO PHRAYA

thai tourist

tourism thai

MAE NAM CHAO PHRAYA

Travel with the commoners along the river of Kings

Central Thais are river people,building their homes ,livelihoods and capitals along the waterways.One such artery is the Mae Nam Chao Phraya (literally the River of Kings) ,thai tourist which starts in the mountains of northern Thailand ,sweeps past the former capital of Ayuthaya and defines the western boundary of Bangkok before it reaches the Gulf of Thailand some 370km away from its source.

tourism thai

The river is always teeming with activity:hulking freighter boats trail behind dedicated tugs. elegant long-thai boats skip across the wake,and children practice cannonballs into the muddy water .The residents claiming a waterfront view range from world-class hotels to sweaty warehouses and auspicious temples.

tourism thai

As evening sets in,cool river breezes mellow the harsh temperatures and the blinding sun slips into serene streaks of reds and golds.From this vantage point,sooty Bangkok suddenly looks beautiful.

tourism thai

The best way to exploer the watery side of Bangkok is aboard the river express boat (p200),which sprints from Wat Ratchasingkhon in the south of the city to Nonthaburi in the north.

tourism thai

At docks along the way,the ferry discharges crowds of map-toting tourists,commuting office clerks and groups of monks.(The back of the starboard-side is reserved for monks,women should opt for the port-side.)tourism thai

Start an upriver journey from Tha Sathon,accessible via the Sky-train Saphan Taksin station.On your right is the old farang (Westerner) quarter-what we refer to as Riverside-first inhabited by seafarers and multinational shipping companies.thai tourist The Oriental Hotel and other neoclassical buildings are a few of the remaining memorials to this era when the water was the main thoroughfare.

thai tourist

Around Tha Ratchawong,the river brushes up against Chinatown (p15)and its cubby-holed warehouses where goods are unloaded the old-fashioned way-by hand.

thai tourist

After a while,striking Wat Arun (p16)looms on your left and then ornate Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew (p10)on your right - forming a Triangular convergence of sacred sites.

North of Saphan Phra Ram Vlll ,thai tourist an elegant suspension bridge,the concrete dissipates into greenery and sunburned temples. The final stop is Nonthaburi,thai tourist the launching point for boat trips to sleepy KoKret(p156)

thai tourist

GRAND PALACE&WAT PHRA KAEW

Wat Phra Kaew

GRAND PALACE&WAT PHRA KAEW

wat phra kaew wat phra kaew

wat phra kaew
Temple Thailand
Make a Pilgrimage to Thailand's Princely Buddha
wat phra kaew is an elaborate and colourful temple that
easily distracts first-time visitors from the namesake figure:heEmerald Budda diminutive statue carved of nephrite (a type of jade,not emerald)housed in the main hall. This is one of the most revered of the Thai Buddhas,representing the legitimacy of the reigning dynasty and claiming a swashbuckler's history.The dazzing figure was discovered in northern Thailand in the 15th century when a stupa was split open by lightning.To conceal its lustre the figure was covered in plaster (a common practice during the .days of wars and bandits). Succeeding generations eventually forgot what the plaster hid inside until an accidental fall revealed the contents.In the mid-16th century ,Laotian invaders stole the sacred Buddha but the thais retrieved it in battle and used it to bestow divine approval on General Taksin who assumed the throne after the fall of Ayuthaya. the figure was placed in its present location during the reign of Rama I (King Buddha Yodfa:r 1782-1809)

wat phra kaew

Temple Thailand

The first king in the Chakri dynasty,when the capital was moved across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok in 1782

wat phra kaew

Temple Thailand

Because of its royal status,.the Emerald Buddha is ceremoniously draped in monastic and Western architectu robes,which are changed every season (hot,wet,and cool) by the king himslf.

Next door to Wat Phra Kaew is the Grand Palace (p46),a vast compound where successive kings,their families and attendants lived until Rama V (King Chulalongkorn:r1868-1910)moved the royal seat to what is now known as Dusit Palace Park (p18).The primary buildings display a fusion of Thai and Western archiectural styles and are occasionally used for official functions, but the formal grounds lack the vibrancy of the neighbouring temple.

wat phra kaew

Temple Thailand

A strict dress code is enforced at the temple:see p46 for guidelines and information

THIS IS BANGKOK

This is Bangkok

Bangkok is excess in all of its unrestrained glory.
Bigger,better,more:the city is insatiabel and a monster that feeds on concrete,shopping malls and diesel exhaust.
The Bangkok city demands that you be in the present and in the moment'notnecessarily for a religioud sanuk epiphany,but because the city is self-absorbedand superfical. blissfully free of wrinkle-inducing self - reflection. smilles.and sanuk (the Thai word for'fun') are the key passports into Bangkoksociety.A compliment hear ,a joke there-the demands of social lubrication in this megalopolis aremore akin to a small village than an anonymous city and a necessity for survival.As Bangkok for cefully kneads out of you all cemands for order and predictability,you 'll understand the famous thai smile.It is the meta-phorical brakes on the urban overdrive.Packed into these concrete corridors are religious spectacle,unapopogetic consumerism and multi flavoured hedonism-corrupting and purifying souls sithin footste ofeach other . Bangkok a tragicomic confluence of human desires and as pirations best viewed through a detached smile.Of the famous and infamous attractions,Bangkok's best feature is its intermingling of opposites.A modern world of affluen simple acts of kindneddce orbits around a serene traditional core.Step outside the four-star hotels into a typical Siamese village where taxi drivers knock bacj energy drinks andupcountry transplants grill chicken on a streetside barbecue.Hop the sktrain to the glitzy shopping malls where turst-fund babies examine luxury brands as carefully as the housewivesinspect produce at the open-air markets . Or appreciate the attempls at enlightenment at the
Bangkok city's famous temples ,doorstep shrines,or simple acts of kindness amid the urban bustle,You can jump between all of these worlds-wining and hobnobbing at a chic club,eating at a streetside market,geting plucked and pum melled into something more beautiful,or sweatingprotusely on a long unplanned march.Bangkok is an urban connoiddeur 's deram come true. Bangkok

Kaeng Tana

Kaeng Tana

National Park

It holds a beautiful scenery and torrential current.

Kaeng Tana is abundant in fish and located near the National Park Office.

Hillocks of diverse sizes are widespread. National Park An outstanding place is Kaeng Hua We.

Thung Non Son

Thung Non Son

National Park

This is a savanna alternated with pine forest,

situated in the middle of the Nationsl Park. At the end of

rainy season towards cold season there are several flowers blooming

such as Dusita.(Utricularia delphinioides),National Park Ma Wing (Doritis pulcherrima)

Kradum Ngoen (Eriocaulon henryanum),Ya Bua (Xyris indica)National Park

Ueang Nuan Chan (Spathoglottis plicata),Yitho Pnang (Arundima graminifolia),

Ngon Nak (Murdannia gigantea),Mokhao Mokaeng Ling(Nepenthes mirabilis),and National Park

Yat Nam Khang (Drosera burmanica).National Park This is a good place for trekking and camping.

Thung Nang Phaya

Thung Nang Phaya
National Parks
This is a savanna of about five square kilometres.
The vegetation is hill pine and evergreen forests National Parks.
In the middle there is a pond, which is dried up during
summer,attracting a variety of wild animals National Parks.
National ParksThung Nang Phaya is located southwards, aboout 70 kilometres,of the park.



















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