In my last visit to Bangkok, 15 years after my previous visit, I also went to visit all the good old highlights, and Bangkok has quite a few remarkable attractions. Two of them, at the center of the city are the Royal Palace and Wat Arun Bangkok.
The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings dating back the 18th century Siam empire serving as the royal palace till early 20th century. It’s fascinating, and quite unique from what you might imagine as a palace from elsewhere in the world. Feels more like a temple complex than a palace, though there are areas that are not available for public viewing. It is always packed, and requires special respectful clothing (no shorts, etc.). Lots to see and do, you can easily spend a couple of hours in there going around the different buildings and doing some people watching.
Wat Arun Ratchavararam is a large temple in the Bangkok Yai district, the Temple of Dawn. It’s on the river bank so can easily be reached with a boat trip from/to the Grand Palace (+ 10 min walk). It’s a lovely temple complex with gardens and spires/pagodas you can climb. It’s even older than the Royal Palace, dating back to 17th century, and was in the older royal complex.
Let’s go in and have a look…
Royal palace Bangkok
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Wat Arun Bangkok
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