It amazes me how many times I’ve visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok, considering how often it is closed. On my first attempt, some thirty years ago, a friendly local man told us we’d come on a Buddhist holiday and the palace was not open to lay visitors. But he did know of a once in a life time special gem sale the government was sponsoring. Wow. What luck. But there were three of us, and each of us suspicious by nature, so we passed on both the gem sale and the palace and headed over to Wat Pho instead. Which in retrospect was the smart move. In those days the Grand Palace Is Closed scam was still in its infancy, it was a blatant come-on lacking the finesse and multiple roles and steps that it has evolved into today. And we ignored it on our second attempt, making it inside the palace despite the place being closed.

The Grand Palace is on the top of every first-time visitor’s list. With good reason. It’s a one-stop religious / historical attraction that can fill most touri’s need for Thai culture. Kinda like the Patpong night market can fill most touri’s need for a risque night out and a bit of sleaze. Despite believing that Wat Pho’s interactive viewing opportunities make it the better choice between the two, I usually pencil in a visit to the Grand Palace via the Chao Phraya riverboats for the first day of any first-time visitor’s trip. Not yet knowing what a wat is, that way you can sneak in an extra one or two before they declare they’ve seen enough Thai temples. As if.

All things considered, the Grand Palace is pretty grand. Anywhere inside its grounds, standing in one spot and turning in a circle you’ll see an amazing amount of temples and chapels, ubosot, and statuary. Most covered in gold. You’ll see a lot of tourists too. And, if you are lucky, a few Buddhist monks. But you’ll also see many Thais visiting the palace, many praying in the temples or preforming merit making activities. It’s probably the one place in the country where no one should bitch about a dual pricing scheme for admission being in place.

Trying to capture the palace’s grandeur through your lens is near impossible. There’s too much to fit into one frame to do it justice. But then I tend to focus my lens on details anyway. And on each subsequent visit, those details worthy of capturing seem to get smaller and smaller. Except for the de rigueur shot of whoever I’m with stylistically posing in front of a row of demons – which always results in every other tourist in the area mimicking that shot (which is another reason why no one should bitch about a dual pricing scheme for admission being in place at the palace).

Doing is always more enjoyable than just looking (unless you are a voyeur) so I usually convince visitors to drop 20 baht for some incense and lotus buds as a merit-making activity. And then offer up my own prayer of, “Please. Don’t” when they want to kneel before the Emerald Buddha (unless their spirituality can properly pull it off). And while it is not quite at the level of harassing the guards at Buckingham Palace, trying to get one of the boys in uniform on duty at the Grand Palace to crack a smile is better than just standing there and ogling them. Fortunately, if you make the rounds along the usual route those guys are at the end of your visit so if someone gets a bit too carried away with their admiration, the exit is near.

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