Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Highlight 1) Grand Palace: What is it?
Bangkok'smostpopulartouristattraction,the
Grand Palace
istheformerresidenceofthe
Kingandisbuiltadjacenttoandmoreorlessintegratedwith
Wat Phra Kaew
(alsoknown
as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha). The palace was originally built together with the
establishment of Bangkok by King Rama I and has been expanded ever since. It covers a
widerangeofarchitecturalstyles,rangingfromthepureAyutthayanstyleofthetemplesto
ablendofThaiandWesternstylesforlaterstructures.WhiletheKingnolongerliveshere,
alargepartofthecomplexisusedforroyalresidencesandceremoniesandisoff-limitsto
tourists.
Combinedentryisasteep400baht,plusanoptional200bahtforatwo-houraudioguide;
Thaisgetinforfree.TheGrandPalaceisopen
every day
from08:30to16:30,withthelast
tickets sold at 15:30; it cannot be said enough, do
not
believe any scammers who attempt
toconvinceyouotherwise.ItisbesttoattendtheGrandPalaceduringweekdays,assome
thronehallsareclosedintheweekendsforceremonialpurposes.Beawarethatastrict
dress
code
appliesforvisitorstothepalace.Ladiesmustcovertheirupperarmsandlegsdownto
thethigh,whilemenmustwearlongtrousersandatleastat-shirt.Sarongscanbeborrowed
forfreeattheentrance,butyoumustleaveadeposit.Onsomeholidaysthedressingroom
maybeclosed,inwhichcaseyoucanrentclothesacrossthestreetforafee.Thaisseemto
follow even tighter dressing regulations, such as wearing black during royal funeral cere-
monies, but they understand it when foreigners do not follow those.
It can get
very
crowded (and hot) once the tour buses start to roll in, so getting an early
start might be a good idea! There are free English tours four times a day, just look for the
signafteryoupasstheticketgate.Thepalacegroundscaneasilybeexploredonyourown
though.
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