The Grade 7 field trip to Vimanmek Mansion on 19^th January began after a half hour marching practice, which coincidentally, was the time taken on the expressway to cover the first two kilometres. Still, this allowed snacking to get under way in earnest and thereafter, it was plain sailing to the government area of Bangkok and the Dusit Palace.

It’s an impressive complex, but the students were disappointed that they could not take photos inside the mansion, cameras and phones having prised away from them prior to entry. The guide described the ‘Victorian’ style of the interior, a term the students were familiar from their study of the historical context for Charles Dickens’ writing.

We managed to fit in a visit to the Elephant museum, where we were relieved to find that elephants had not been killed for the magnificent tusks that adorned the two halls. We also went to see horse-drawn carriages and the class spotted the oft-repeated mistake of ‘breakman’ in the display information.

The class appreciated the grandeur of the mansion, but their abiding memory of the day will be feeding the fish in the grounds of the palace and the usual stop at 7/11 on the way back, which makes it all worthwhile!

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