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extras

A Royal Love Story, Mrigadayavan Palace: A place of love and hope

Look for this sign on the main road, this is the main entrance but you'll have to drive into the place a little.



The palace is located 14 kms north of Hua Hin. It was constructed in 1923 under King Rama VI’s command to be his summer palace. The palace was built from materials from the dismantled buildings of the old residence at the nearby Chao Samran Beach.



After checking ticket, first thing you see is this "Merchant of Venice Garden"



Now walk to the main buildings..



Before getting into the buildings, the staff will advise if you need to dress more appropriately. No shorts, sleeveless shirts, short skirts. And no shoes allowed. For ladies, if you don’t dress appropriately, they will lend you a shirt and a sarong. As for shoes, you can leave them at the front, but then you will need to walk back with bare feet on the ground (one-way traffic on the buildings). But you can get some sort of bag so you can take your shoes with you also.



Mrigadayavan was known as the palace of love and hope because when Queen Indrasakdi Sachi was pregnant, King Vajiravudh was extremely hopeful in anticipation of an heir. The king took great care of her throughout her pregnancy. Regrettably, the queen miscarried. King Vajiravudh finally got a daughter, Princess Bejaratana, born to Phra Nang Chao Suvadhana just one day before he passed away.



It was fashioned in Thai-Victorian style with an elevated airy walkway that connects all the rooms in the compound.





The palace was initially designed by King Vajiravudh himself. And the king appointed an Italian architect, Ercole Manfredi, who worked in the Civil Works Department, to put the finishing touches to the design.



High ceilings and fretwork on all walls facilitated good ventilation and made the most of sea breeze. Building the entire construction on stilts ensured that the compound could be easily kept clean. Ants were controlled by niches for water around each concrete pillar and along the walls connecting to the ground. This is a good example of using a simple and non-chemical method to control these annoying creatures. There is a total number of 1,080 concrete pillars.


Mrigadayavan Palace consists of 16 golden teak buildings which are divided into 3 groups. All are linked together throughout the palace by verandas on stilts. Details of each group of buildings are as follows:


1. Samoson Sevakamataya Group of Buildings

This group of buildings is part of the front court where official business was dealt with. Both men and women worked together there. It consists of a pavilion-like theatre, an audience chamber, an office for the Royal Aide-de-Camp General and a room for night duty chamberlains.

Audience Chamber



The apartment of the Grand Chamberlian and Chief Aide-de camp General





The Front Court Dining Pavillion



2. Bisansagara Group of Buildings

This group of buildings was the king’s personal residence (no photos allowed). It consists of a Royal Suite which has an office, a bedroom, a dressing room, and a bathroom. Inside the bedroom, there stands a four-post bed with a white canopy. The office, in which King Rama VI loved to sit and compose his poetical works at night, now accommodates only a desk and chair once used by the king. Nearby this group of buildings are lodges for royal pages, next to which is a royal kitchen.

From this group of buildings, at the end of the verandas on stilts, you can see a beach pavilion whose roof supports a cross-like post. The post was not intended as a symbol of any religion. Instead, it was used as an indicator of the king’s activities. That is, when the yellow lantern was on, it meant that the king would be ready to grant an audience. And when the green lantern was shown, it was known that the king was not in residence.



Visitors are not allowed to walk down that corridor.



3. Samudabiman Group of Buildings

The Samudabiman group of buildings constitutes the inner court of the palace where men except the king were forbidden to enter. It served as the residence for HM Queen Indrasakdi Sachi (no photos allowed). In the same cluster are buildings for her sister and her entourage, a dining pavilion and a beach pavilion. King Vajiravudh usually had his Thai-style lunch at the dining pavilion in the inner court.



This room is where they show how people dressed in the old days.



And which colours for what day.



The palace had been neglected since King Rama VI passed away in 1925. It was not until 1965 that King Bhumibol, the present king, ordered the palace to be renovated.

On the way back to the front, there is another building with a few more rooms.





Ironing, Sewing and Darning



Room for female attendants



The palace is open from 8:30 am until 4:30 pm (closed on Wednesdays i think). Admission fee for adults is baht 30.

The entire place is big, and you can rent a bicycle for baht 20. Unfortunately, i went there a bit late so only had time to look at these buildings, and not the surrounding areas.

Another place well worth a visit.

__________________
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Dougal

Great pictures.

Shamefully all the time I have been in Hua Hin I have yet to visit this palace which is practically on my doorstep. An omission I must correct shortly.

klongmaster

I love threads like this...and understand the time involved in presenting it on TD...so thanks for the effort...must add it to my list of places to visit...

the list just gets longer and longer instead of shorter and shorter...

extras

cheers lads. defo enjoyed this trip. but a shame i didn't have enough time to explore the entire compound. reckon you can ride the bicycle down to the beach also.

forgot to mention, they don't allow tripod on the buildings.

sharon

Last time I went there, they didn't allow people taking any pictures inside the palace.

jizzybloke

Thanks Extras another good thread with some good pictures.

Marmite the Dog

More here...

http://teakdoor.com/thailands-travel...n-hua-hin.html (A weekend in Hua Hin)

donmeurett

Outstanding Pictures.