Ayutthaya - Bang Pa In Palace

This royal palace is located a bit more than an hour’s drive north of Bangkok. Although the history of the palace stretches back to the 1600s, the buildings that can be seen today were mostly constructed during the period 1872-1889 under the reign of King Chulalongkorn.

Most famous (and most photogenic) is probably the Aisawan-Dhipaya-Asana Pavilion, which is located in a large pond in the so-called outer palace area. It is a copy of a pavilion in the Grand Palace in Bangkok and a great representation of traditional Thai architectural style.

In the inner palace, the Uthayan Phumisathian Residential Hall clearly resembles a Swiss chalet and the (smaller) buildings for the ladies of court are also in Western architectural style. However, Wehart Chamrun Royal Residence (a grand mansion) and Ho Withun Thasana (an observatory tower from where the picture is taken) are in Chinese architectural style.

However, apart from seeing the multitude of architectural styles, I mostly enjoy strolling around the lush gardens.