Phra Sumen Fort

Bangkok's original ring of fourteen defensive forts, built in 1783 by King Rama I in the shadow of Ayutthaya's fall, has almost vanished, but here at the point where a canal once met the Chao Phraya, one still stands. The guide follows the octagonal fort's design, its three stories of ammunition stores and cannon emplacements, and the wave of demolitions that swept away twelve of its neighbors as Bangkok modernized. Look up at the white walls and count the compartments built into them.