Wat Benchama-bo-bitr in Bangkok

Benchama-bo-bitr, popularly called the Marble Temple, is one of the loveliest wats in Bangkok. It was erected in about 1899 by King Rama V (Chulalongkorn), the snow-white marble being shipped to Thailand from Tuscany in Italy. Thais also refer to the wat as "The Wat of the Fifth King", Rama V, crowned soon after his 20th birthday, having spent part of 1873 as a "bikkhu" (monk) in the old monastery south of the temple.

Wat Arun in Bangkok

When, having fallen to the Burmese, Ayutthaya was reduced to rubble and ashes, General Taksin and the remaining survivors vowed to march "until the sun rose again", and there to build a temple. Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, stands on the spot to which they came and where later the new king built his royal palace and with it a private chapel.

The wat, with its 79-m (259-ft) high central prang surrounded by four smaller ones, has become a

Vimarnmek Palace

Open once again to visitors following major restoration, Vimarnmek Palace is located at the rear of the park which surrounds the National Assembly (west of Dusit Zoo).

The four-story teak building houses the extensive royal art collection of furniture, paintings, jewelry, much of it acquired by King Rama V.

National Museum / Wang Na Palace

Bangkok's National Museum provides a splendidly comprehensive introduction to the history of Thailand, at least half a day being required to do it anything like justice. The extraordinary size of the collection is explained by the fact that, until the mid seventies, this was Thailand's only museum.

Since then the Thai Department of Fine Arts has established additional branches throughout the country. The Department's policy is for archaeological and art historic finds to be put on display as near as possible to their place of origin, so there are plans for even more museums in the future.

An excellent catalogue is available at the entrance. There are guided tours in English and virtually all

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exhibits are labeled in English as well as in Thai.

The old Wang Na Palace built by Rama I remains essentially as it was, as does the original nucleus of the collection made up of King Chulalongkorn's bequest and household effects from Wang Na: regalia, religious and ceremonial artifacts, ceramics, games, weaponry, musical instruments and the Viceroy's throne.

The older buildings in the museum contain some particularly interesting exhibits. They include a collection of presentation gifts to the king, a collection of curiosities, the royal barges and state coaches and hearses, etc. Principal attraction in the new wings is the fine collection of Buddha figures, arranged according to period.

Jim Thompson's Houses

The story of the American-born James ("Jim") Thompson reads like an adventure novel. Having made Thai silk famous throughout the world he suddenly disappeared without trace, at the peak of his business career, in 1967 while taking a short break in Malaysia.

The extraordinarily beautiful old Thai houses that Thompson found near Ayutthaya and brought by river to Bangkok have not vanished however. Now owned by a charitable trust, they are used to display the splendid art collection the American had built up. All the proceeds of admission go to various charitable institutions in Thailand.

The seven wooden houses - which every visitor should try to see - are now almost unique in the country

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and contain treasures representing every period of Thai art. They are picturesquely situated in Soi Kasem San, in a pretty garden by the side of a klong on the opposite bank of which the silk weavers once worked.

Once inside, the cultured taste of the former owner is everywhere apparent. As well as old pictures in Thai silk, and Buddha figures from nearly every major epoch, there are numerous everyday items and many other works of art. Note in particular the sideboard, once part of a Chinese altar, and the miniature palace which children of some rich family would have used for keeping pets. A Buddhist by conviction, Jim Thompson moved into his house only when temple astrologers deemed the moment auspicious. Even so, he was granted but a short time in it. Just seven years later he left Bangkok never to return.

Grand Palace

The tour of Bangkok's Grand Palace and the sight of the Holy of Holies within - the Jade Buddha (also known as the Emerald Buddha) in Wat Phra Kaeo - are among the highlights of any visit to Thailand. Each of the buildings making up the 21.84-ha (54-acre) palace complex evinces not only the ethos of a period but, above all, the spirit of the monarch ruling at the time.

The whole of the holy precinct still preserves the pure undefiled style deriving from the time of its inception, notwithstanding many alterations and refurbishments - the last of these in 1984. When undertaking this restoration work, which has largely been carried out by students of the Bangkok Academy of Art, the utmost emphasis has been placed

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on being true to the original details, notably regarding the extensive murals which have been adversely affected over the passing of the years, not least by the high levels of air pollution to be found in Bangkok.

The palace is entered via the main or Wiseedtschairi Gate ("Gate of Wonderful Victory"), beyond which a wide roadway leads through the outer courtyard. On either side are modern buildings housing government offices. Anyone whose mode of dress is considered improper by the guards on duty will be asked to don a sarong, issued free of charge (although on production of some form of security, such as one's passport).

After obtaining an entrance ticket (the ticket office is at the start of the access roadway to the actual palace precinct), the visitor goes past a building standing slightly back, in which the Museum of Royal Regalia and Coins is housed. On display on the first floor are carved wooden furniture and interior furnishings of considerable interest (extra admission charge).