The Grand Palace in Bangkok is far and away its most visited site, and the day I was visiting it was sizzling hot. There is no shade in the walled-off palace and temple complex, and all the metallic gold reflects the heat as well. No wonder there were so many people with umbrellas with no rain in sight. First of all, there is the traditional king’s residence, though in fact he has many residences (and in fact he spends a good deal of time in Germany for various reasons). 
There are statues in front of the palace of ancient warlords or rulers… Thailand became a haven for Chinese fleeing the communist revolution, to the tune of millions and millions of immigrants. We will visit Chinatown in Bangkok in a later post. Here are the statues….
Somehow the palace seems less ornate than the many Buddhist temples which surround it, for instance this one….
In the next post we will discover how Angor Wat shows up in the Grand Palace precincts.
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