One of the most imposing buildings in the Grand Palace is the Chakri Maha Prasat and you can immediately see that this building was probably one of the newer ones in the Grand Palace complex. The Chakri Maha Prasat bears the name of the current dynasty, though it was built as rescently as 1882 by King Chulalongkorn. It is evident from the design of the building that there are strong western influcences in the construction. However, just to remind you that you are still in Thailand, the roof was designed as distinctly Thai.
The Chakri Maha Prasat serves as a receiving area for heads of state and ambassadors. There is also a throne room in the building which I unfortunately was unable to see. It seems that the building was off limits to tourists, though the group of students on field trip were able to go in. Too bad, I wasn’t able to go in the first time I was here and I did not succeed this time around either.
There was a weapons museum on the ground level of the Chakri Maha Prasat which showcases the weaponry used throughout the centuries. It was mildly interesting but it was too dark to take photos. At this time, it was already approaching midmorning and it was getting hot especially with the jogging pants on. I was also fortunate enough to see the soldiers guarding the palace march around the grounds of the Chakri Maha Prasat. Somehow this place feels more like a palace than the others.
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