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Published on November 22, 2007

Morning is the most important time of day for animals, birds, fish and the other creatures inhabiting Srapathum Palace. Even the flowers and trees seem to brighten up, as if they're aware that it's time to pose for the camera of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Last Sunday, the Princess launched "Nai Rom Ngao Wang Srapathum" ("In the Shade of Srapathum Palace"), a 2008 diary featuring photographs of plants, dogs, cats, snakes and squirrels, all of which call Srapathum Palace their home. The public can admire these shots at Siam Discovery Centre's grand hall in an exhibition organised by Queen Savang Vadhana Foundation. The diary would make for a perfect gift this festive season since all proceeds are going to the foundation. Princess Sirindhorn is known for her talent with the camera, and not just from the many books she has written. On June 9, 2006, during the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King's accession to the throne, she was famously caught on camera taking photos from the balcony of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall while His Majesty was greeting his people. As for the diary, it includes short and often humorous notes written by HRH along with a detailed history of Srapathum Palace. The palace was the former residence of Queen Savang Vadhana, the royal consort of King Chulalongkorn, and the Prince of Songkhla, and was also home to Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother, Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, King Ananda Mahidol and His Majesty the King when they were young. "After the Princess Mother passed away, the King gave the palace to me to look after and to set up a museum that presents the history of the royal family, the royal activities and the royal projects," the Princess said at the launch. She went on to say that she didn't know why the main villa, in which Queen Savang Vadhana resided, was painted yellow. The newer Phra Tamnak Mai villa served as home to the Princess Mother. She also told us a few amusing stories about her lotuses, which simply refused to grow in the pond. "At first, I wanted to plant the rare Victoria lotus. I even had experts to help. But the fish in the palace pond must have been very hungry because all the lotuses were gone," she says. She decided instead to plant them in large water jars. "Then came the new enemies - dogs. "Actually, I didn't plan to keep dogs," she notes. "A German visitor gave me a fox terrier we called Tiffy. We weren't supposed to give him a bath more than once every two months but the first time we let him free, he jumped into the lotus jar and rolled in the mud. So we finally washed him twice a day." The princess joked about how, now that she has since given Tiffy's offspring away, other people too were unsuccessful at growing lotuses. "The female St Bernard, Pae Huay Iew, is actually His Majesty's dog from Klai Kang Won Palace. She loves eating sandwiches but doesn't like drinking clean water. All my dogs prefer drinking water from the lotus roots. "Srapathum Palace is very abundant and the dogs love fruit. They switched from playing with a ball to kicking around mangoes before devouring them. Once Tiffy's son Mara ate a mango, seed and all, and we had to rush him to the vet." Then there are the photos of a snake. "We once found a female python 3.14 metres long. But I wasn't sure if it was an Indian python or a reticulated one, so I looked it up in a dictionary and learned that the first looks just like the latter. So, I looked for a description of the latter, only to find that it looks just like the first!" Princess Sirindhorn said she originally wanted to keep the snake in the palace but her staff members were worried it would harm the other animals. So the python was taken to Khao Yai National Park. "People told me that if we found one snake, another would come. They were right. Not long after, we found a male python measuring three metres." The princess also talked about a squirrel that had terrible manners - it used to take just one bit out of a mango before moving on to the next one. The last story is about the ghost of Queen Savang Vadhana. "When we planted a banyan tree, it was rumoured that the queen's spirit was so pleased that she turned on the lights in her villa to celebrate. "When I thought it through, though, I realised that the queen was an economical person and she wouldn't waste electricity. It's more probable that the palace staff forgot to turn the lights off," she says. Princess Sirindhorn plans to look further into Queen Savang Vadhana's documents on her activities, including mobile clinics, textiles and school plays. "I think there's a lot more to learn about the queen," the Princess beamed. The diary is available at all leading bookstores for Bt255. Bulk purchases are available at special prices. Call (02) 252 9137. Kupluthai Pungkanon The Nation