I thought it might be useful to post a few notes for those coming to Bangkok in the next few months, in light of the death of HRH Princess Galayani.

Following the initial mourning period, her casket and urn have been moved to the Dusit throne hall in the grand palace, where it will remain open to the public for at least the next 100 days.

Merit-making ceremonies will be held every Wednesday for the next 100 day.

If you're visiting the grand palace and want to pay your respects, you should note that in addition to the usual 'proper dress' rules to get into the grand palace, you must be wearing black or white to access the Dusit throne hall.

The funeral chariots normally on display in the national museum will be undergoing repair and maintenance in preparation for the cremation ceremony, so they may not be on public display.

The crematorium will be constructed on Sanam Luang in front of the royal palace. No exact date has been set for the final rites, but it's expected to be some time in October.

Thanks for the information, Michael.

when the princess grandmother died a few years ago, a whole section of the grand palace was closed off to non-thai visitors....no non-thai person was allowed into the area with the remains to pay respects...

There's been no specific announcement about that, so far. It is possible that you may not be able to get into the Dusit throne hall no matter how you're dressed.

Of course, it's also possible that it only applies to Bob.

Thanks Michael
We will be arriving in Bangkok on the 6th Feb and although we have booked Tong for 3 days we will be looking at the more local sites including the Grand Palace on our own. This information will save us from a'I wonder what is going on here' moment. A silly question but is the Grand Palace still worth a visit if the Dusit Throne room is closed to non Thais?

When you visit the Grand Palace, basically, you cannot get inside at all - ever (with a few rare exceptions) so the unusual part of this is that the Dusit Thrine Room is open at all.

Most of what you will see at teh Grand Palace/Emerald Buddha site is outdooes, though you can go into the wat where the Emerald Buddha is.

Apparently, Kathie has only visited the grand palace on a weekend. On weekdays, the Phra Maha Montien throne hall, the Dusit throne hall and the Armory in the base of the Chakri throne hall are all open to the public.

If the Dusit throne hall is closed to foriegners, the palace is still well worth a visit. Don't miss the museum in the building facing the Dusit throne hall - lots of people do.

If you want to pay your respect then you should know that you will be require to wear the proper attire for a funeral and a typical tourist might not have that packed and ready. Also, it will be open to the public only during the non ritual hours, I think from 9am to 4pm and even during those hours it might be close again if there are any royalty or VIP activities.

You will have to line up for a while(right now it's several hours) and they will let you in in groups of about 10, escorted, and instructions will be given if you don't know how to properly pay respect the Buddhist way. Foreigners are allow but again under the basic guideline I've provided above. If you want to go then please go and pay your respect but don't go because you want to see the sights.

Hanuman, I agree with you entirely. We will not be going to pay our respects as HRH does not(didn't)hold a great deal of significance to us and to go under these circumstances is IMO very disrespectful.It is however nice to know what is going on before we visit the other areas at the palace.

Even though I don't know Tong, but from what I've read here, I think she will guide you properly when you do visit the grand palace. Have a great time!