This Buddha is 33 meters tall and can be found at Wat Indraam in Bangkok. We visited this site on a government holiday and prior to an official ceremony. Where is Martha?
Purple? Yes. Purple is one of the official colors of Thai Airways
and is popular in "Amazing Thailand." Like it.
This Buddha is 33 meters tall and can be found at Wat Indraam in Bangkok.
We visited this site on a government holiday and prior to an official ceremony.
Where is Martha?
Street vendors line the streets of Bangkok. There are many selling
clothes and island wear with loud patterns. This market is near the
infamous Patpong area, the red light district in Bangkok, where a trip
to the barber means more than a trim!
This King Cobra is getting his reward for releasing his venom into
a petrie dish. The reward is his food for the next 2 weeks...another
snake! This picture is taken at the Saowapha Institute, also
called the Pasteur Institute, the second oldest snake research facility
in the world. It was established in 1923 to develop antivenins and
vaccines for posionous bites. We watched as the Snake Handlers brought
the King Cobra out, worked with him to put on a show and then provoked
him to release his venom. Tne snake handlers mastery of these dangerous
snakes is so impressive.
These are four Siam Cobras. They are slithering around awaiting
their food, some cute little white mice! Doug and I were 3 rows back
and sat with some girls who were sick to their stomach! Our tour
included a 20 minute educational show on the many snakes of Thailand and
20 minutes of the Snake Handlers showing us various snakes.
Doug with a python We call him Monte. He was very heavy
and his skin, scaly and thick.
Martha with Monte. A bit too heavy so I got some assistance from
a snake handler. I held him for about 15 seconds!!
Doug on the tropical island of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand.
This southern island is full of coconut trees. It is being
rapidly developed. Pespi wants in!
Na Muang Falls, Ko Samui. The falls are 30 meters. We hiked
for 30 minutes to reach them and then another 10 minutes to the top.
It was hot!
Food stalls and food markets are all over Thailand. This restaurant
market is at Lamai Beach on Ko Samui. We took the picture from our
songtao, a pick-up truck with bench seats and a cover over the top.
Songtao's are the taxis on the island. You negotiate first and then
hop in!
This is the view from our hotel on South Chaweng Beach, the Victorian
Resort. Believe it or not, the south beach is less crowded
than the main beach. Beyond the blue umbrellas are restaurants
that serve dinner on the beach...rattan tables, sarong table clothes and
oil lamps. We ate at the same restaurant each evening, called Pak
Dai, and dined under the stars. The restaurant specialized in barbequed
seafood (which you select beforehand) and served great yoghurt shakes and
whiskey sours! The staff was fun.
Big Buddha at Ao Bang Pak on Ko Samui. This 12 meter Buddha is
near a fishing village. This picture was taken after a quick rainshower.
Where is Doug?
This 15th century square Chedi is in Wat Chiang Man in Chiang Mai (northern
Thailand). Fifteen life-size elephant buttresses serve as the foundation.
This reflects Sri Lankan architectural influences. The Wat, or temple
complex, was constructed by King Mengrai in 1296 as his royal residence
during the building of Chiang Mai.
This stone carved mural is part of a monument to King Mengrai, founder
of Chiang Mai and depicts the founding of Chiang Mai.
These workers are re-roofing the triple-roofed viharn (temple) at Wat
Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai. This viharn once held the famous Emerald
Buddha diuring its travels between cities. Note the bamboo scaffolding!
Just seconds after taking this picture, a worker knocked over a stack of
terracotta roof tiles which came crashing down.
Also at Wat Chedi Luang is a massive but ruined chedi built in 1401
by King Sam Feng Ken and raised to 90-meters by his son, King Tilokaraja.
An earthquake in 1546 partially destroyed this chedi and brought it down
to 42-meters. Note the restored elephant buttresses and Naga-lined
staircase.
Here is a view from where we sit during a travel in a tuk-tuk (a weird
3-wheeled motorcycle taxi and "tuk-tuk" is the sound it makes). Our
driver that day looked like Yoda! Tuk-tuks are a great way for travelling
short distances and taking in the sights.
Here we are at the Chiang Mai Zoo, Thailand's 2nd largest zoo.
Featured is Thailand's most famous mammal, the Asian elephant which until
1916 was the emblem of Siam and a source of national pride. This
baby elephant stayed close to his mom the entire time.
The elephant camp in the Mae Sa Valley (near Chiang Mai) is a great
place to get picked-up! Just like Roxie in the musical Chicago, Martha
gets picked up and shown-off by a bunch of elephants!
Cheeky Gibbon monkeys at the elephant camp!
A peafowl at an orchid and Siamese cat farm (go figure!).
In the Mae Sa Valley, there are many over-the-top resorts. This
resort had a dozen bungalows amidst these beautiful gardens on rolling
hills. We had lunch here during our one day excursion through this
hilly region of rice fields. Can you find Martha?
Martha with Pornpannee and Dan-the-man from Sweden. On the spur
of the moment, we decided to take a Thai cooking class at Siam
Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School which is owned and operated by Pornpannee
Chukitkoon. We prepared chicken in red curry (curry from scratch),
Patthai, Mungbean ball in coconut cream, and fried canopies with chicken
spread. We expect to be cooking this when we're back in Boston for
our friends!
This Suwana chedi is tucked away in the north-west corner of Wat Prathat
Haripunchai founded in 897 by a Mon king to enshrine a sacred relic of
the Buddha. This stupa is brick and Dvaravati-style. The chedi
is an unusual pyramidal structure with some stucco decoration and niches
containg standing Buddhas.
Martha with school children (most of whom wear these white and blue
uniforms) outside the Ramkamheng National Museum in Sukhothai. Sukhothai
is Thailand's original capital and birthplace of the Thai nation.
Preaching a philosophy of political cooperation rather than military
might, early kings of Sukhothai were able to successfully unite many of
the principalities between Laos and Malaysia to form the most brilliant
empire in Thai history. Thailand is the only nation in Southeast
Asia to never fall under foreign domination. Quiz to follow at end
of site!
The restored temples, palaces, monuments and Buddha images of
ancient Sukhothai are spread over a 70 square kilometer national historic
park. This picture is of the ruins at Wat Mahatat, Sukhothai's principal
monastery and royal temple. The complex once contained 185 chedis
(in which the ashes of royalty and relics are housed), a dozen viharns
(temples) for public worship, and a central bot guilded with stucco surrounded
by reflective moats
Wat Sri Sawai was constructed in the 12th century in Sukhothai.
This Khmer santuary is surrounded by 2 concentric enclosures and a deep
moat. The complex consists of a central nave and 3 brick prangs in
a modified Angkor style. It first served as a Brahmanic monastery
but was converted to a Buddhist monastery sometime in the 15th
century. Brilliant orange flower hedges are popular in Thailand.
This Buddha is famous for its size (15 meters) and its superbly
modeled hand. It is the "unmovable Buddha) and can be found at Wat
Sri Chum in Sukhothai. It is believe to have been created in the
14th century after Sukhothai came under the rule of the Ayuthaya Kingdom.
This Buddha is amazing from a distance as it is enclosed by 3 walls and
only see though a narrow entrance way. The position or attitude of
the Buddha is of subduing Mara (evil).
This picture is taken at Wat Yai Chai Mongkol in Ayuthaya, Thailand's
second capital fro1350 to 1767.. This monastery, previously named
The Temple of the Supreme Patriach, was established in 1360 for monks who
had returned from religious studies in Sri Lanka. The present Wat
(temple complex) derives its name from the enormous Chedi Chai Monngkol,
a whitewashed tower construced by King Naresuan to commemorate his single-handed
slaying of a Burmese prince i n 1592. Encircling the massive chedi
are som 135 Buddhas as shown in the picture.
View from top of the Chedi Chai Mongkol. This temple now hosts
a large community of mae chi, Buddhist nuns, who maintain the buildings
and the grounds. The grounds are truly manicures and it is a peaceful
place.to unwind from some of the more touristed temples. It was our
favorite place in Ayuthaya.
The view from our hotel room in Ayuthaya. The river is the Chao
Praya which also runs through Bangkok, some 85 km south. While
in Ayuthaya, we also stayed at the Youth Hostel which happens to be a central
Thai-style teak house and former home of an Ayuthayan aristocrat.
It overlooked the river and included a wake up call at 7:00 a.m.
provided by resident roosters, Martha was fit to be tied!
The famous Bridge Over the River Kwai in Kanchaburi (west of Bangkok)
constructed in just 16 months by some 60,000 Allied prisioners and 250,000
Slave laborers Picture was taken from a longtail boat.
Note that the Orient Express train is crossing it. We later visited
the Chung Kai, Kanchanaburi and Chinese cemeteries as well as the JEATH
(Japan, England, America/Australia, Thailand and Holland), an unforgettable
day. An estimated 16,000 Allied and 50,000-100,000 Asian prisioners
died from starvation, a lack of medical attention, and torture during the
construction of the 400km Death Railway.