This one’s about fairytale kingdoms, grand palaces and Kings…

Join me as we travel back in time to explore the city of Ayutthaya in Siam, and how it provided a reference point for the establishment of Bangkok. Explore the surprising mixed, or “mestizo” architecture of Bangkok’s Grand Palace – a direct reflection of the cosmopolitan and farsighted Kings of Siam.

We will also chart the history of Cambodia, from when it was a vassal state of Siam and Vietnam, to when it became a protectorate of France. We travel with King Sisowath on his historic, unprecedented trip from Phnom Penh to Paris to appeal for the return of Angkor from Siamese rule; and we discover how the Cambodian Royal Ballet would inspire Auguste Rodin himself.