Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Srisutthiniwat, on the other side of Klong Phayathai and linked to the main building by a
covered walkway. This was used as a reception hall for female members of the royal fam-
ily. Next to this, on the bank of the canal, was a small teak building named Phra Tamnak
Mekalaruje. Looking like a rustic summerhouse, it was used by the king after the royal hair
cutting ceremony. To the rear was a model city, covering about half an acre. Named Dus-
it Thani, it had originally been a smaller venture at Dusit, and here the king enlarged the
concept, the idea being that it could be used for training in how a city should be run. The
miniature buildings were replicas of actual structures, with temples, shops, theatres, ho-
tels and private houses. There were dwarf trees, a special grass imported from Japan, and
a little river running through this Lilliputian paradise. There was even a city newspaper, to
which the king was a regular contributor. Rama
VI
passed away in 1925, just three years
after moving into his royal residence. his was at a time when Thailand's national railway
network was opening up the country, and the State Railway of Thailand asked Rama
VII
for permission to turn the palace into the Phayathai Hotel. Later, when radio broadcasting
was introduced, it briefly became Bangkok's first radio station.
Walk westwards from Victory Monument along Ratchavithee Road today, and need-
less to say there is no sign of any orchards or rice fields. Samsen Canal is hemmed in by
buildings and shaded by overhanging trees. There is a small temple, Wat Aphai Thavaram,
on its bank. But along this humdrum thoroughfare there is a green expanse, and there is
the Gothic turret of Phayathai Palace. What happened was that after the building ceased
to be suitable for radio broadcasts it was presented to the Royal Thai Army to be used as a
hospital. After that it became part of King Mongkut Hospital. All those featureless 1970s-
style buildings in the neighbourhood, and on the other side of the road where the Rong
Na, the royal barn, once stood, are medical buildings of some kind. Wander the grounds
of Phayathai Palace now, and there is still much to be seen. The original mansion in which
Queen Saowabha spent her final years has disappeared under the extensive front lawn, but
the magnificent single-storey wooden throne hall is still there. Klong Phayathai still runs
through the grounds, its flow aided by what appear to be the original water wheels. The
whimsical little teak house where the king would relax after the hair-cutting ceremony is
still perched on the water's edge, but sadly, the model township of Dusit Thani has gone.
Outside Phayathai Palace, on the lawn the visitor is likely to see elderly folks in wheel-
chairs, and attendant nurses, watched paternally by the statue of Rama
VI
, placed there in
1971.
On the eastern edge of Dusit, near to the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, with
its striking lookout tower, is the Priest Hospital. Established in 1949 to care for ailing
