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Thailand: Dec 09 to Jan 10

Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok. It is home to more Buddha images than any other Bangkok temple and it shelters the largest Buddha in Thailand.

All of the chedi at Wat Po are square, rather than the round bell shape generally preferred at the time. They are decorated with ceramic tiles and three dimensional ceramic pieces which form intricate floral patterns. The center of the three chedi in a line is the oldest, having been built by Rama I to hold the Phra Si Sanphet Buddha image bought from Ayutthaya.

The cloister houses nearly 400 Buddha images, with the ubosot in the middle. Inside the ubosot is a magnificent alter with a large Buddha, all finished in gold and crystal. In the far right picture you can see monks praying at the altar during services.

Also located at Wat Po is the largest Buddha image in Thailand: the Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas). Created as part of Rama III's restoration (1824-51), the Reclining Buddha is 46 meters (150 feet) long and 15 meters high (49 feet).

His body is covered in gold plating and he is decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay on his eyes and the soles of his feet.

The Grand Palace, probably the number one tourist attraction in Bangkok, was the home of the King and his court and also the entire administrative seat of government for 150 years.

Construction of the Palace began in 1782, during the reign of King Rama I, when he moved the capital across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok.

To visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace, and in general most religious sites, visitors are required to wear clothing that covers their shoulders (no tank tops) and covers down past their knees. You can rent pants, shirts and skirts to cover up. Also, to enter all religious sites, you leave your shoes outside. If you sit down inside, it is disrespectful to ever point the bottoms of your feet towards Buddha.

Chitralada Palace is the Bangkok residence of King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX) and Queen Sirikit. King Bhumibol was the first king in the Chakri dynasty to live in the Chitralda Palace. He moved in there after the death of his older brother, King Rama VIII in the Grand Palace.

The king is to the right and these pictured tributes were a common sight throughout Thailand. We went to see a movie and beforehand the entire audience stood during a tribute to the king on the screen with images of him and his family. Banners that said “Long live the King” were also a common sight.

The Thais are a deeply religious people. For the Buddhist majority it underlies all activities and is the backbone of the Thai culture. Ninety percent of the population are Theravada Buddhists. The Theravada school of Buddhism is based more purely on the teachings of Gotama Siddartha (Buddha). Buddhist believe that existence is suffering, suffering is caused by desire, so the elimination of desire leads to a state of perfect non suffering and non existence called nibbana (nirvana).

Most males will do a spell (although generally only a few weeks) as novices in a temple. This brings merit to the family, and is expected of all boys once they reach the age of eighteen. Within the temple, they will be trained in Buddhist history and philosophy, the paths to enlightenment and the principles of meditation. It was a common sight to see Buddhists monks.

Some common ways to get around in Thailand are: taking a tuk-tuk which is a 3-wheeled auto rickshaw (on the left), driving a scooter oftentimes with several people on one scooter (middle), or taking a songthaew which is a pick-up truck with a covered back bed with bench seats (the inside of a packed songthaew far right)

The giant standing Buddha at Wat Indravihan in Bangkok, built in the reign of King Rama IV, is 32 meters tall (105 feet) and 10 meters wide (33 feet). It took over 60 years to complete and is decorated in glass mosaics and 24-carat gold. The topknot of the Buddha image contains a relic of Lord Buddha brought from Sri Lanka.

Someone visiting Thailand will never go hungry as there is inexpensive and delicious street food everywhere you look. You can even order some exotic snacks like insects (bottom middle and bottom right)

We celebrated the New Year on Khaosan Road, a popular street in Bangkok that attracts many travelers and backpackers and is closed to traffic in the evening. The streets are lined with people selling everything from t-shirts, to sunglasses, to hair braiding, to cheap massages (generally $8/hr). The street was packed with thousands of people as we rang in 2010.

Ruins of the Royal Palace next to Wat Phra Si Sanphet in the historical park in Ayutthaya (2 hrs north of Bangkok), which was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1350 and was the capital of the country until its destruction by the Burmese army in 1767. Some of the chedis (the pointed structures) contain the ashes of former kings.

Wat Mahathat (Temple of the Great Relics) is located in the center of Ayutthaya. Apart from being the symbolic center where the Buddha's relics were enshrined, Wat Mahathat was also the residence of the Supreme Patriarch or leader of the Thai Buddhist monks. The temple is believed to be built during the 14th century A.D. (the early Ayutthaya period).

A stone head which fell off a statue of Buddha has become entrapped in the roots of a Banyan tree (bottom far right).

The city of Ayutthaya is located at the junction of the Chao Phraya, Lopburi and Pa Sak rivers. The old city is on an island formed by a bend of the Chao Phraya on the west and south sides, the Pa Sak on the east side and the Klong Muang canal on the northern side. Here are some images of an hour long boat trip we took.

Next we took an overnight train to Chiang Mai, which is about 12 hours north by train from Bangkok.

We went on an elephant ride and my elephant was much more interested in alternately eating and then trying to overtake the other elephants. At the end of the ride, the elephant tried to tilt us off and the seat we were sitting on slid to the elephant’s side. The Japanese girl I was riding with fell off and I had to climb back up and ride the rest of the way on the elephant’s neck.

In Chiang Mai we went to a snake show. They brought out venomous cobras and the trainer leapt out of the way as they tried to strike at him and then he milked one afterwards. They also brought out pythons and other snakes and let them crawl up into the stands towards us.

In case we hadn’t dealt with enough dangerous animal adventure, we then went to Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai and got to go into the enclosures and pet baby lions and full grown tigers.

In Chiang Mai, we went on a short trek to visit a hill tribe that had hand-woven scarves, tablecloths, and other items for sale and we visited the Maewang waterfall.

We also visited several wats in Chiang Mai. Wats are Buddhist temples and carry out religious functions and/or serve as living quarters for monks. It is estimated that there are over 31,200 wats throughout Thailand. In a Buddhist Wat, the most important building is called “Ubosoth,” a place where religious rites or services are performed. Socially, Wats also serve as a gathering place for Thai people on important religious days or festivals.

Pictured here are 3 wats with their interiors to the right. Top: Wat Phra That Doi Suthep located on the top of mountain overlooking Chiang Mai. Middle: Wat Phantao. Bottom: Chedi Luang

The last thing we did in Chiang Mai was attend a Khan Toke dinner which had traditional Thai and hill tribe dancing.

Next we flew down to Phuket, an island in the south of Thailand about 450 miles south of Bangkok. We stayed in a beach town called Kamala.

From Phuket, we took a ferry and then a long-tail boat to Railay which is a coastal place in the Krabi providence and due to the tall mountains surrounding it, you can only get there by boat and there are no cars or motorized vehicles. In west Railay (top) there is a beautiful beach and in east Railay (bottom), a 10 minute walk away, there are mangrove trees along the shore and no beach. East Railay has a sandy strip about a mile long lined with restaurants, hotels and bars.

We rented a kayak and saw interesting rock formations off the coast and paddled to two beaches near to Railay. Bottom left: Ao Nang beach. Bottom right: Tonsai beach.

Because of all the sheer rocks, this area draws in many rock climbers and we could see them climbing as we paddled from one beach to the next.

We got to see some Thai exhibition boxing in Railay.

We took a snorkeling boat trip to the island of Koh Phi Phi and to several smaller beaches and islands in the vicinity.

We then headed to Krabi Town and took a boat trip down the river which was lined with mangrove trees and we visited a cave and a fish farm. There were heavy tropical rains the day before making the water in the river a brown clay color.

We got to visit a working fish farm where they sold fish to eat and fish to put in aquariums. We saw many fish including two forms of puffer fish, a seahorse and a strange spotted square fish.

	Puffer fish before filling itself with air	Same fish 10 seconds later
A puffer fish with shorter spikes

The last town we visited before returning to Bangkok to fly home was Hua Hin, a beach town 3 hours south of Bangkok.

Hua Hin's train station is one of the oldest in Thailand and its main feature is The Royal Waiting Room that used to welcome the King and his court when they were visiting the town. You could also ride horses on the beach.

You can go to the top of a small mountain in Hua Hin to visit Khao Takiab, a temple located at its top and it is also home to a large group of monkeys reeking monkey mayhem. You can buy bananas to feed them but they all rush you at once and aggressively pull on your clothes and grab the bananas from you.

We climbed the steps to the temple and as my friend was taking a picture of the views from the top, a monkey grabbed his water bottle, quickly unscrewed the top, and dumped the water out.