Last Trip in Thailand

My last trip through Thailand was for work. We had a classical music duo here from the States that we took on a tour through Thailand, going to Thailand's northeast (Isaan--Khon Kaen, Sakhon Nakhon & Nakhon Phanom) and north (Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai). Jere are some of the pictures from that trip. This album unfortunately is not complete, as I just remembered to take my camera out in a few select places.

In Nakhon Phanom, also known as "the End of Siam," we stayed on a hotel right on the Mekhong River with beautiful views over into Laos.

We also visited Wat Phra That Phanom, which originally dates back to 535 B.C. and is one of the iconic temples of the Isaan region.

On the drive from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, we stopped at a roadside flower stand specializing in orchids.

Outside of Chiang Rai, we stopped at Wat Rong Khun, "the White Temple," a recent creation from Thai artist/architect Chalermchai Kosipipat. Beautiful and bizarre all at the same time...

 (potted hanging heads)

 (hands symbolizing 'desire')

(even the men's room was over the top)

To balance things out, from there we went to Baan Dam, "the Black House," one of the residences and also an installation/museum of another Thai artist Thawan Duchanee. The grounds feature several houses, festooned with all types of wood carvings and animal bones and hides, along with living animals such as snakes and horses.

 (live python crawling across the skin of a dead python)

 (intricate but huge door carving)

 (another python slithering across the grounds)

 (water buffalo horn sculpture)

 (another elaborate door)

Finally, we visited a more traditional temple, Wat Phra Kaew. This is the temple that the Emerald Buddha, Thailand's most sacred Buddha, was purported to be found hidden in a plaster shell 700 years ago. The real one is now at Bangkok's Grand Palace, but they have replaced it with a replica.

 (temple turtles)

 (Emerald Buddha replica)

 (temple pillar)

Solo in Bangkok

With Sam and the kids back in the States, I need to find ways to occupy myself now that playing tennis with Eliana and chasing around Shane are not options. So, on Sunday, I hopped on the cancal taxi and took it to the end of the canal.

At the end of the canal is Wat Saket, or the Golden Mount. It's a golden temple atop a hill. Having never visited it before and needing a productive way to spend my day, despite the stifling heat, it seemed like a good place to start.

 (statues greeting me as I enter and start to ascend)

 (more statues)

 (even the monks were taking snapshots)

 (temple rooftops peaking through the trees)

 (walking into the clouds)

 (more rooftops)

 (golden stupa on top)

 (banging the gong)

 (some of the myriad temple bells that line the walks up and down)

 (rooftops)

 (Bells)

 (Bells)

 (Bell)

(Temple roof)

After that, I walked over the Baan Bat, which translates into Monk's Bowl Community. Here's they make monk's bowls by hand in the traditional way. It's a dying art, as most are imported these days.

 (woman pounding out a bowl)

 (Baan Bat alleyway)

 (another artisan at work)

 (dog sleeping by unfinished bowls)

 (alleyway)

 (old shophouse selling bowls)

The it was over to the landmark Giant Swing and the nearby Wat Suthat, famous for its temple wall murals.

(the Giant Swing)

 (Wat Suthat)

 (Wat Suthat statues)

 (murals and Buddha inside Wat Suthat)

 (Wat Suthat courtyard)

 (more courtyard)

 (Wat Suthat)

 (row of Buddhas)

(the Giant Swing)

After that, I caught a tuk-tuk over to Dusit to tour some of the older royal grounds. Unfortunately, no pictures inside so only images of the grounds, which were still beautiful. Still, the throne hall was absolutely spectacular and I'm a little upset with myself for just discovering it now and not suggesting it to visitors. My bad!

 (throne hall)

 (Moorish-style golden teak building)

 (Chinese-style pagoda)

 (root-y tree)

 (golden teak palace, not a nail used in making it--largest golden teak building in the world)

(grounds)