Wat's this?

[Sen Yai]

Flying into Don Muang recently, I noticed some interesting large structures from the air. With a little help from Google, I've found out that one is Wat Phra Dhammakaya which is supposedly the world's largest Wat, featuring the Dhammakaya Cetiya - a large mound of bronze Buddhas, but I don't know what the other building is:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SenYai/Wat3.jpg

Here's a more detailed view of the mystery building - is it a Royal Palace?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SenYai/Whatsthis2.jpg

If it helps identify it, here's the location of these buildings in context:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SenYai/BKK3.jpg

[gumblebee]

Maybe somebody could translate the thai text to one of these structures on Google Maps (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=14.081303,100.648241&spn=0.030595,0.04961&t=h&z=15&om=0)

It is only a wild guess, so probably wrong, but it reminds me of the sketch for the funeral pyre proposed for Princess Galyani shown elsewhere - could it be the funeral pyre built for HRH the Princess Mother's cremation twelve years ago?

[fedssocr]

judging by the moat I would also guess a royal palace. I have a fairly detailed atlas. While zooming in I see that it is just off of Route 1 and appears to be "Nkhon Chai Mongkhon Villa" but it could also be "The Golden Museum of Agriculture". If you zoom in as far as possible there seems to be a lot of car park and there is an airplane parked off to the side at a little antebuilding of some sort, but there doesn't seem to be a runway for it so I am guess it is just for display. And there looks like a bunch of field space. Parts of it look like they are building a golf course almost.

[Dodger]

It looks like another one of those Thai golf courses where they forgot the holes.

[fedssocr]

after a bit more digging it does indeed appear to be the Golden Jubilee Museum of Agriculture

the same question was asked at this Google Earth forum
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthrea ... 51&page=10 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=93851&page=10)

[Sen Yai]

Thanks fedssocr, I think you have identified it correctly as the Golden Jubilee Museum of Agriculture. I also found it at Skyscrapercity when you mentioned it earlier, and captured this image from the rotating panorama site they found:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SenYai/GoldenAgMuseum.jpg

I also found an image elsewhere of that aeroplane you spotted. It is indeed on display only, with no runway!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v291/SenYai/IslanderAgMus.jpg

Ain't the internet wonderful? You can find the answer to just about anything - as long as some other anorak has put the info. there first! However it seems that the Golden Jubilee Museum of Agriculture are not yet part of the internet generation, as they don't seem to have a website of their own!

[Lunchtime O'Booze]

and you must have been kidnapped by aliens.

Are you back on Earth ?

[fedssocr]

maybe it's still under construction and not open to visitors yet? I found a link for the museum but it is dead.