At the Outer Court of the Grand Palace, there are 3 important sets of buildings, namely the Phra Maha Monthien group, Chakri Maha Prasat and Phra Thinang Dusit Maha Prasat.
According to the guide, Phra Maha Monthien group is where some of the most important ceremonial occasions are held. One of it is the Coronation of King. It is still customary for new kings to spend at least one night here after their coronation.
Chakri Maha Prasat is the only building in the Grand Palace with western style. Grand lunch and dinners are held in Chakri Maha Prasat. At the base of the building, there are royal guards guarding the building. Too bad I went on a Sunday and certain parts of the building is closed.
However, I managed to take a photo of a royal guard on duty. This lucky guard gets to be in the shade while others are standing under the scorching sun.
The cruciform Dusit Maha Prasat throne hall was built by Rama I in 1790. The north face has a porch with a type of throne known as a busabok used by the king when giving public audiences. The building is one of the least altered and most elegant public buildings of the center court. Although the building has been used as a residence and audience hall, its primary purpose which survives to this day is as the lying-in-state place for kings, queens and favored members of the royal family.
The throne hall is open to the public on weekdays only. Inside you can see a large mother-of-pearl throne set just off the very center of the hall. To your left as you look at the throne is a large mother-of-pearl bed used for relaxing between audiences. Off to the west side of the throne hall is a small sort of garden which represents Mount Krailas. The garden was once the site of the royal tonsure ceremony, when boys had their heads shaved for the first time. This was also generally the time when boys had to leave the inner palace, since no man other than the king was allowed to live there.
Extracted from bangkokforvisitors.com/ »
This concludes the Grand Palace tour. Do visit the Grand Palace when you're in Thailand folks! Kapun Krap (thank you)!
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