Maruekatayawan: Royal Teak Home On The Beach

A beach view fit for... well, a King.

There have been recent reports that since his stay at Siriraj Hospital HM King Bumbhibol had been residing at the royal residence called Klai Kangwon in Hua Hin, begun by Rama VII in the late 1920s. Klai Kangwon means "away from worries", I'm told, and that sounds like a good place to get away to after a prolonged hospital stay, especially as he's heading toward his 86th birthday in three more days.

Possibly also wanting to take a sea-side break he'd also recently headed slightly North for a day trip to Cha-Am in the Petchaburi district to pay a visit to Maruekatayawan Palace, another of the royal summer homes in the kingdom.

A gorgeous, open, airy, teak wonder, Maruekatayawan Palace rests on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand. The overall feel of the place is one of casual elegance; you know you're in a royal residence, but it's so peaceful and relaxing it's easily my favorite so far.

Pink  and yellow plumeria dot the grounds at Maruekatayawan 

In general the royal residences have, over time, been built to accommodate the wishes of the current ruler, naturally. Maruekatayawan was built by His Majesty King Varjiravudh (Rama VI) in the early 1920s, and is one of the oldest remaining residences. Rama VI personally designed it and saw the interior completed he paid his last visit there in 1925, the year he passed on.

A family rests in the shades on the expansive and well-groomed grounds

Maruekatayawan and the beach it graces are fine spots to relax, meditate, take pictures, have a picnic and relax.

I had a leisurely visit there with a friend one afternoon, and we ended up spending several more hours there than we'd intended.  He kept saying "I knew you'd like this", and he was right. I wondered to myself why he hadn't planned a bit longer to stop there - I'd planned to stay in the Big Mango that night - but we did get back to Bangkok that evening, although it was close to the witching hour.

A meeting and receiving hall

For photographers it's a cornucopia of photo opportunities, and I took a lot of pictures as we wandered the grounds. Rather than slam through this wonderful spot in one post I figure we'll do it in at least two installments. Hope that's OK with the majority of you.

Light blue and yellow are the predominant colors for the building exteriors

A (Brief) Musical Interlude While Housekeeping

The Summer palace of King Rama Vi, (known as Maruekhathaiyawan Palace) is on the Western edge of the Gulf of Thailand, between Hua Hin and Cha-Am.

The palace is an airy, sprawling set of beautifully crafted buildings made of blonde teak wood, all connected by long open walkways. Designed with a royal flair by a designer from Italy it was constructed in 1923, but still looks new today - despite it being right on the beach and vulnerable to the salt air. It's obviously been meticulously kept up.

I'll try to get to a proper report about it soon, but what made me think of it today were the solid rosewood wind chimes outside my window this morning as they stirred in the wind, striking notes that reminded me of the ranat (wooden xylophones) and other instruments I heard played there one afternoon. The tone bars of the ranat are often made from rosewood, you see. There's a short clip of the musicians below.



It's raining off and on this morning and it's a little cool to have the windows open, but I've left them ajar so I'll hear the chimes singing amid the gusts of wind as I scurry around, preparing my house for Thanksgiving visitors tomorrow.

Here's wishing you a day just as fine as the one I'm having.