Bangkok's Grand Palace

My wife Beth made a business trip to Thailand recently, and I came along. Our guide took us to the Grand Palace in Bangkok. Actually numerous buildings, the Grand Palace has been the official residence of the Kings since King Rama I began construction in 1782. Thailand is in a period of mourning for King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), who died last fall and is presently lying in state there. Of course, we did not view the king, but we enjoyed a tour (led by our excellent guide Phichet aka Peachy) of the many gorgeous buildings. Wikipedia has quite a lot of history about the palace, and here is another site with information.

Thailand has no official religion, although Theravada Buddhism predominates, and Hinduism is a strong faith, too. Some of the paintings below are scenes from the Ramakien epic, based on the Hindu Ramayana.