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Wood at first
The palace began in 1782 and was first built entirely of wood
Construction of the Grand Palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of Rama I. Desperate for materials and short on funds, the palace was initially built entirely out of wood, its structures surrounded by a simple log palisade.
Ayutthaya bricks
Rama I sent men to Ayutthaya to bring back its bricks for the new walls
Rama I ordered his men upstream to the old capital of Ayutthaya, which was destroyed in 1767 during a war between Burma and Siam. They removed as many bricks as they could find, and barges ferried them down the Chao Phraya.
A city within
High walls enclosed the king, his court and his government
The palace is not one building but many halls and pavilions set around lawns and courtyards. Its whitewashed walls mirrored those of Bangkok itself, so it was envisioned as a city within a city, run by its own set of palace laws.
218,400square metres inside the palace walls
Moving out
By 1925 the king had moved out, but ceremonies are still held here
New residences such as the Dusit Palace, built in 1903, replaced the Grand Palace as the monarch's home, and by 1925 the move was complete. The absolute monarchy ended in 1932. State functions and royal ceremonies are still held within the walls every year.
Day 1, morning
Next is Wat Phra Kaew.
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The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Grand Palace, and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.