Bang Pa In, Thailand
Tourism

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departures daily at 40 minute intervals from 4.30am. Most Bangkok travel agencies arrange excursions to Bang Pa In.

By rail: Bangkok-Ayutthaya line (about 20 trains a day from Bangkok Hualampong; journey time 11/2 hours).

By boat: along the Menam Chao Phraya. An ideal way to see Ba Pang In is to go one way aboard the "Oriental Queen" or "Ayutthaya Princess" and the other way by bus. Day trips can be booked at Bangkok travel agencies.

Now popular with people from the capital, long ago the kings of Ayutthaya made it their summer residence. Originally it was the family home of King Prasat Thong's mother, the king himself being born there. Following his accession to the throne in 1629, Prasat Thong erected the Buddhist temple of Wat Chumphol Nikayaram. He also enlarged the 1.6 sq. km (1/2 sq. mi.) lake, building beside it a small palace where he and his successors spent the hot summer months. When, under King Taksin, the more distant Thonburi became capital, Bang Pa In was to all intents and purposes abandoned, falling into ruin and disrepair. With the introduction of steamboats on the Menam Chao Phraya, making travel so much easier even for the sovereign, Bang Pa was "rediscovered" by King Mongkut. He replaced the old palace with a new one. Later enlarged by his successors this, together with some other buildings, has recently been thoroughly restored. Since Rama VIII's accession to the throne, the royal family's summer residence has been a palace by the sea at Hua Hin. However, Bang Pa In is still favored today by King Bhumibol for state receptions. Most of the buildings, set in a delightfully laid-out park with several lily ponds, date from the reign of King Chulalongkorn.