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 makes me want to run to the bathroom 🙂
While in a fairly weak state, I finally managed to get around and see the Vimanmek Teak Mansion — which is a bit hard to reach by public transportation, so I had been putting it off.
It seems that years ago, the King of Thailand visited 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 briefly used as the Thai White House (so to speak) and continues to be used to entertain foreign dignitaries. You need to walk barefoot to protect the flooring. All wood, everywhere.
There were plenty of other interesting little buildings to snoop around in the compound, most of which contained 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.
