Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that is a vivid ochre in colour, designed in a Khmer style. It looks as if it should be import-
ant, yet there is a discomforting blankness about it, not helped by the parked tour buses
that obscure the frontage, belching out diesel fumes as they idle over to keep their air con-
ditioners working. This is the Thawornwatthu Building. Crown Prince Vajirunhis was the
first son of Rama
V
and his highest consort, Queen Savang Vadhana. The king had decided
to abolish the position of deputy king and to instead create the position of crown prince,
a role that the talented young man seemed destined for, but Vajirunhis died of typhoid
at age 16. The king's second son, Vajiravudh, became crown prince and eventually ascen-
ded the throne as Rama
VI
. Rama
V
decided it would be inappropriate to continue with
the old tradition of constructing a large funeral building for a single purpose, and instead
ordered Prince Naris to build Thawornwatthu, which after the royal funeral was to be giv-
en over for the education of monks and novices. In 1916, under the decree of Rama
VI
,
the Vajirunhis National Library, an amalgamation of three royal libraries, was housed here
and made accessible to the general public. Over the years various collections were added
to the library until it outgrew its premises. A new National Library building was opened
in Samsen Road in 1966, and today Thawornwatthu is home to the Naradhip Centre, a lib-
rary and research centre for the social sciences.
Maharat Road passes between the palace and the river, a long walk with only the
high white crenellated wall on one side and a screen of trees with occasional glimpses
of the river on the other. Opposite the fortress-like entrance gate of the palace is the
Ratchaworadit Royal Pier and Ratchakit Winitchai Throne Pavilion, built in the reign
of Rama
IV
and used exclusively for royal ceremonies. Next to this, in the curious way
in which prosaic buildings are so often found rubbing shoulders with the splendid, are
the buildings of the Naval Welfare Department, the Navy Wives Association, the Public
Warehouse Organisation, and offices belonging to the Department of Internal Trade. Op-
posite the southern corner of the Grand Palace wall there used to be a stone-crushing
plant, a
rongmohin
, and the name is remembered in the name of the Tha Rong Mo pier,
a concrete structure encased by rickety timber buildings, from which ferries ply across
to the Temple of the Dawn. Next to the pier is another handsome parade of Rama
V
era
shophouses, still awaiting the restoration paint but solid enough and with green shutters
and fanlights over the windows. This is Tha Tian, the building housing a wet market that
is well-known for its salted fish, the name adopted after a fire during Rama
IV
is reign that
completely destroyed the previous buildings, which had been used for accommodating
foreign visitors;
tian
meaning “flat” or “clear”.
