Sanam Luang

You're standing at the edge of Sanam Luang, the "royal field". Today it looks like a simple park, but this open ground of about twelve hectares has been Bangkok's great ceremonial stage since the city was founded.

1The cremation ground

Its old name was Thung Phra Men, the field of the Phra Men: the monumental pyre built for the cremation of kings and members of the royal family. These rites were already held here in the time of Rama I. In 1855 King Mongkut, Rama IV, gave it its present name. The last great royal funeral was that of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX, in October 2017, when a golden crematorium representing Mount Meru, the sacred mountain of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, rose in the middle of the field.

2Rice fields, kites and a market

Rama III had rice planted here, and the field still hosts the Royal Ploughing Ceremony, which marks the start of the planting season. Rama V enlarged it and had the surrounding tamarind trees planted in the late 19th century. For decades it was also the place for kite flying and a vast weekend market, which moved to Chatuchak in 1982.

On ceremonial days the field fills with people dressed in mourning black or in white; the rest of the year it's a green breathing space in the heart of the old city.

3What to look for

• The spires of the Grand Palace, standing out to the south above the trees.
• The tamarind trees lining the oval.
• The lighting towers and flagpoles used for the great ceremonies.