Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This history is symbolised in concrete form at Ratchadamnoen Klang, for as the
boulevard approaches the second moat the Democracy Monument has been built right in
the centre of the way, forming a massive roundabout at the junction with Din So Road.
Whether or not this spot was chosen symbolically, as a huge change in the way of kings,
or if it was simply chosen for the majestic views one has of the monument from either side
of the boulevard, is unclear. But the entire structure is founded on symbolic values. The
Democracy Monument was built in 1939, at the same time as Siam became Thailand. It
commemorates the actual date of the political change, 24
th
June 1932, when the form of
government ceased to be an absolute monarchy and became a democracy, with the king
as head of state. The height of the four wings is consequently 24 metres (78 ft). The radius
of the base is also 24 metres. The seventy-five cannon at the base represent the year 2475
of the Buddhist Era, 1932 by the Western calendar. The traditional Thai tray and vessel
carrying the constitution is 3 metres (9.8 ft) high, representing the month of change, June;
the third lunar month in Thai reckoning. There are six ritual daggers, standing for the six
principles of democracy: independence, internal peace, freedom, equality, economy, and
education. The panels at the base of the four wings depict the roles of ordinary people in-
volved in the revolution. The monument is far more impressive when surveyed on foot,
rather than when dashing past in a taxi. Go onto the island, and the bas-relief sculptures
tell a story, while the wings soar above and the marble and stone is softened by a blaze of
floral colours.
Mahakan Fort, built to guard a strategic canal junction on the northeastern side of the city.
A hundred metres or so is the moat and the only other remaining fort, Mahakan, to-
gether with a 200-metre (650-ft) stretch of the city wall. Built of brick coated with ce-
ment, as is the fort, the wall is 3.6 metres (11.8 ft) high and a robust 2.7 metres (8.8 ft)
thick. Smaller than Phra Sumen Fort, Mahakan has three levels with an exterior staircase
for the first two, and six cannon are located between the battlements. The fort protects
the city's northeastern flank at the point where the Mahanak canal branches away from
the second moat. Directly opposite Mahakan Fort is a large temple that, without walls,
