I seemed to have some sort of stomach virus over my last few days in Bangkok. Either that or food poisoning. The thought of certain Thai foods still make me want to run to the bathroom 🙂
While in a fairly weak state, I did finally manage to get around and see the Vimanmek Teak Mansion — which is a bit hard to get to on public transportation so I had been putting it off.
It seems that years ago, the King of Thailand made a visit to Europe where he met other heads of state and decided he too needed a royal palace (like they all had). It was very impressive, I must say. Built in the 1800’s, it’s the largest teak mansion of its kind in the world with over 80 rooms. It was used briefly as the Thai White House (so-to-speak) and continues to be used for entertaining foreign dignitaries. You need to walk around in your bare feet to preserve the flooring. All wood, everywhere.
There were plenty of other interesting little buildings to snoop around in the compound that mostly contain artwork or Thai crafts. It was a nice place to get away from the usual hustle and bustle of Bangkok. I had to keep taking sit-down breaks to regain my strength, however.
