Phra Ram Ratchaniwet Palace

Phra Ram Ratchaniwet Palace (พระราม ราชนิเวศน์), or simply Ban Puen Palace (วังบ้านปืน) is located in the southern part of town Phetchaburi within a military complex - but it is freely accessible, and at least according to the websites I have found it has no entrance fee.

The palace was built in European art deco style designed by the German architect Karl Doering. King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) ordered the construction shortly before his death in 1910, and it was finished in 1916. It was supposed to become his palace for the rainy season, and unlike nearby Khao Wang Palace the King chose an easier accessible location in the flat land.

Sadly we arrived there a bit too late - we did not know the opening times and the stay at Wat Mahathat took a bit long - so the palace was already closed when we came there. So we could only enjoy the view from the outside, and take several photos of the family posing in front of the building or the statue. But of course for the display here I have chosen only the photos without people.

A few photos from the inside I could find here, clearly worth to go again to see the inside as well next time.

Suan Somdet Ya in Cha-Am

Somewhat outside of the town Cha-Am is one of the several Somdet Ya parks (สวนสมเด็จย่าฯ) which exist around Thailand. In fact, there are at least three kinds of parks named after the mother of HM King Bhumipol. The first one is the historical park in Khlong San district of Bangkok around the birthplace of the princess mother - a place I plan to feature here later as well. Then there are several recreational parks named after her, for example the one in Nonthaburi province near Mueang Thong Thani. The one in Cha-Am district is of another kind, an educational park. The full name is สวนสมเด็จพระศรีนครินทราบรมราชชนนี, Suan Somdet Srinagarindra Boromarajajonani, the full ceremonial name of the princess mother, and is operated by the Chaipattana Foundation.

The park is located between Cha-Am and Hua Hin, west of the Phetkasem highway bypass on road 1001 leading towards the Springfield Village resort. Directly before the Huai Ta Paet reservoir the large sign "Welcome to Suan Somdet Ya" is nearly impossible to miss, there turn to the right and maybe 50 meters inside that road is the entrance. The area has just now become visible in hires in Google Earth, which will come into the WikiMapia view of the place soon as well.

Both days we stayed near there I have seen several buses parking at the entrance, bringing school kids to the park. Inside the park it has several outdoor school rooms - open huts with lots of chairs. And it is probably this way to get most of this park, as there are hardly any descriptive signs on the exhibits, so without a guided tour one hardly gets anything from this park. Only within the herbs garden it has signs with the names of the plants, and their medic effects. The fields with various vegetables or fruits grown for either display or agricultural techniques or for experimentation come without any signs, so I can only suspect it is these two purposes of them. If looking for scenic places within the park it is really not the place to go, the only thing scenic is the fountain at the pond right at the entrance, or a few views within the herb garden.