Bangkok's Grand Palace


I haven't had the chance to see the royal palaces in Denmark and in the UK but I finally was able to see the Thai Grand Palace. This was where the royal family used to live in this building. From 1926 onwards, however, the royals have taken up residency in other palaces, leaving the Grand Palace as the venue for various official events.

I was hoping that we'd be able to see the interiors but it appeared to be closed to the public when we visited. Instead, Reianne and I drooped by one of the buildings in the outer court which featured Queen Sirikit's collection of clothes designed by Parisian couturier Balmain. While everybody else typically tries to pack light to avoid excess baggage charges in flights, the royal luggage on display was extensive. There were 24 Louis Vuitton trunks containing clothes, coats, hats, shoes, jewellery, and other accessories. Balmain and his collaborators definitely did not scrimp on the details. Of course, the royal family probably did not fly commercial so there's no strict rule on luggage weight limits. The number of trunks reminded me of one of Kris Aquino's airport check-in Instagram photos where there was a lot of Rimowa luggage strewn on the floor waiting to be checked in. 

Another building was made public. It was transformed into a museum for Wat Phra Kaew, where documentation of the restoration process is on display. It showed that the royal family is committed in keeping Thai culture alive and constantly relevant. 

The visit to the Grand Palace and the other buildings definitely gave me a glimpse of what royal life must be like. Is it like living the life of the Disney princesses? Probably not. I have seen Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn in IRRI. I've seen her open the FAO conference last year too. And I've seen her name associated with the Bangkok Herbarium. In these occasions, she demonstrated that she's an intellectual.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for dropping by!

Before moving on, please share your thoughts or comments about the post. :)

Thanks again!

Popular posts from this blog

10 things I learned while driving on Marcos Highway to Baguio City

I went on a day trip to the City of Pines, which was around a 700-km drive from my house. I drove  going up there and then from the city to Victoria, Tarlac. After that, my dad took over the driving duties. It was day trip with Tita Ising and Tito Sibing with us. Anyway, this trip was my first time to go to Baguio City with me behind the wheel. As everyone who drives up knows, there are three main routes to Baguio from the lowlands: Kennon Road, which ascends from Rosario, La Union. It was out of my options because it's too dangerous to use that road in the rainy season. The second route is via Naguilian Road, which makes my trip a lot longer because the beginning of the ascent is in Bauang, La Union (further north). The last route, and the one I took, was the Marcos Highway, now known as the Aspiras-Palispis Highway. This 47-km road starts from Agoo, La Union and is touted as the safest route among the three.  As I drove up and then down (on the same day; we were in Bagu
Read more

How MALDI-TOF-MS makes mycobacterium diagnosis faster and more accurate

The laboratory I work in has plenty of instruments that help us characterise and identify microorganisms causing diseases in patients. One of my current projects is to validate an instrument called "matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer" (MALDI-TOF-MS) in identifying members of the Mycobacterium  species. Many of these organisms are opportunistic, meaning they only cause illnesses in people whose immune systems are not strong enough to fight infections. Mycobacterium leprae  is known for causing leprosy, but we cannot grow this bacterium in culture media, so we cannot isolate it. Mycobacterium tuberculosis  complex, on the other hand, is a group of several species of Mycobacterium  that causes tuberculosis. Tuberculosis is a disease that killed 1.6 million people in 2021 alone. It is a leading cause of death globally, second only to COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Identifying the Mycobacterium species that has infected a patient is
Read more

a crash course on traditional Filipino houses

Image
On Dr Jose Rizal's birthday this year, I was back in historic Manila with Ate Bing, Ate Mary , and Manuel . But instead of visiting him, we opted to soak up on Philippine culture. Our first stop: the Cultural Center of the Philippines ' (CCP) Museo ng Kalinangang Pilipino .  Aside from the musical instruments, I noticed the dioramas about Filipino homes. Filipinos living by the sea (the 'sea gypsies', Sama Dilaut or Badjao ) have boathouses; those who live in the mountains, like the Bagobos , have developed interconnected houses in the trees; Filipinos who live along the path of the strongest typhoon winds, such as the Ivatans , have developed houses of thick limestone walls; and people who live in calmer conditions used bamboo and nipa to construct their houses, like the lowlanders and the Agtas . Sama Dilaut 'lepa' and houses on stilts (in the background) Ivatan limestone house nipa hut Ifugao 'fale' Maranao '
Read more