Rich in food, culture, history and more

Irangika Range

Damnoen Saduak floating market

Ananda Samakhom

Five days in Thailand would not make anyone an expert about the land of smiles but it could certainly enable one to widen his or her horizons of knowledge and experience with indelible memories of natural beauty and historical riches. Following is only a summary of my first visit to Thailand where I spent five days with a group of fellow journalists.

It was about 7.10am when we landed at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport after a three hour smooth journey from Colombo. It was a familiarization tour conducted by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), for a team of Sri Lankan and Indian journalists to the 'City of Angels'- Bangkok.

Tim who was eagerly waiting for our arrival warmly welcomed and introduced us to a team of Indian journalists who had already arrived there.

During the 45 minute long journey from the airport to the Hotel Rembrandt, Tim gave us a brief introduction about Thailand.

She said that Thailand is a small country that contains many amazing things and attracts many tourists from many parts of the world. It is one of the best countries that are full of natural beauty.

Thailand is called 'Land of Smiles' because Thai people are very friendly and easy to smile with. If we talk about Thailand, some people think about spicy delicious food, some about the beaches, medical facilities and festivals or kick boxing which is the traditional sport of Thailand.

After a long time, Thailand is getting more tourists that increases each year according to TAT. This shows that Thailand is now well-known to people around the world and gets mortise attention from many tourists.

We checked into the Rembrandt Hotel and TAT Mumbai Office Director Sethaphan Buddhani took the team of journalists out for lunch to the Indian Hut restaurant located at The Surawong, Silom, Bangkok.

It is well known among Thais and Indians visiting Thailand for best Indian cuisine. This is one of the best Indian restaurants in Bangkok. We were offered several Indian food that was absolutely delicious.

After lunch, we headed to the park's main draw, Vimanmek Mansion which is the largest golden teak wood building in the world.

At the entrance to this building, lockers were provided to put our bags, mobile phones and cameras.

It is necessary to take off shoes before entering and to dress decently as it's a royal palace. The Vimanmek Palace officially named Vimanmek Mansion is a former royal palace in Bangkok and is located in the Dusit Palace complex, nearby Dusit Zoo in the Dusit district.

The Vimanmek Mansion, built in 1900 by royal command of King Rama V. The King had dismantled and rebuilt in the Dusit Garden under the supervision of Prince Narissaranuwaddhiwongse.

King Rama V then moved his residence from the Grand Palace to stay permanently at Vimanmek Mansion for five years until the completion of Amporn Satarn Residence in 1906 where he lived until his death in 1910. Vimanmek Mansion was then closed down and members of the royal family moved back to the Grand Palace.

In 1982, on the auspicious occasion of the Bicentennial Anniversary of Bangkok, Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, who had discovered that Vimanmek Mansion, with its elaborate architectural style still intact, asked permission of His Majesty King Rama IX to renovate the Mansion for use as a museum to commemorate King Rama V by displaying his photographs, personal art and handicrafts, and to serve as a showcase of the Thai national heritage for future generations. There are 31 exhibition rooms, with the bedrooms, the throne room and the bathrooms maintaining the atmosphere of the Thai past.

Some display rooms' house exhibitions of Thai art including silverware, ceramics, crystal ware and ivory. We then strolled over to the Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall.

Our final stop was the magnificent Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall. His Majesty King Rama V had this throne hall built on the grounds of the Dusit Palace in 1907.

To be continued