Visit to the royal crematorium site in Bangkok

Visitors to Bangkok this month have a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the royal crematorium site of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The expectations are that 100,000 people will visit the site daily. If you want to be one of them, continue reading!

How to visit

When you go to visit the site, one must dress appropriately. The dress code for men is as follows:

• Shirt with sleeves, not too tight
• Long pants, no faded, skinny or ripped jeans
• Polite shoes

For women this means:

• Dress with sleeves, not too body fit or transparent
• Skirt covering the knees
• Long pants, not body fit
• Polite shoes, no slippers.

Thai citizens must present their ID card, and foreigners their passports at one of the 5 screening points. There are four screening points for ordinary Thai people at the Territorial Defence Command, Tha Chang, the Earth Goddess Statue and Thammasat University, where wheelchairs are provided. Monks and foreign visitors can check in at the Defence Ministry screening point. When you get inside, 8 groups of 300 people each will be allowed entry for a one hour tour of the exhibit.

The exhibition

The tour goes through 3 areas; the first area are exhibits which are related to Royal Projects initiated by His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Here, you can expect to see the Chaipattana water-aeration device he invented, “monkey-cheeck” water retention ponds and a demonstration rice field. Other exhibitions illustrate aspects of the Royal Funeral. After the exhibitions there is time to take a polite picture with the Royal Cremation as the background.

Highlight

The absolute highlight of the tour is seeing the inside of the beautifully decorated crematorium. The last visit on the tour is the three murals, which show the royal projects and an exhibition of the late monarch at different stages during his 70-year reign. For the hearing impaired, a recorded audio tour is available. In addition, for the visually impaired there are tactile exhibits, including a replica of the crematorium. After the tour, one will receive a postcard to remember their incredible visit. The royal cremation site is open every day from 7am to 10 pm at Sanam Luang.