Sunday, September 27, 2009

Back to Singapore

We flew over Tioman island about 20 minutes before landing in Singapore


The Chao Phraya river delta
Take off!!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Sleeping Buddha


The base of the feet is decorated with mother of pearl


Wat Pho is also famous for its Thai massage. They conduct massage courses here
We started the day late today. After lunch we headed to Wat Pho to see the Sleeping Buddha.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Heading to Ayuthya


We partied for the rest of the night in the pub next to the guest house
We headed to Suan Lum night market next

Churches

Wat Arun
Royal Palace
To modern skyrise
The river is a mixture of new and old-from traditional stilt houses
We moved to the observation deck after lunch
The second leg of our journey involves travelling down the Chao Phraya river
Our next stop was Wat to see the head of a Buddha statue in a tree
The city of Ayutthaya was founded in 1350 by King U-Thong and was the capital of what was then known as Siam.
Over the next 417 years it was ruled by 33 kings and repelled 23 Burmese invasions, before the Burmese finally succeeded in razing it to the ground. At its height, Ayutthaya was surrounded by a 12-kilometre-long wall which was five metres thick and six metres high and boasted 99 gates, brick and clay roads and canals to transport water into the city.
By all reports Ayutthaya was stunning and rivalled most European capitals of the time and portions of this grandiose past can be re-experienced through its ruins scattered throughout the province, but for the relics and records from this period, the Burmese obliterated almost everything in 1767 -- even melting Buddha images down for their gold.

The Burmese destroyed the place in the 1700s
Ayuthya is a Unesco heritage site
Prince Ookhtomsky wrote - It is really a palace of romance, with ornamented tiled floors, massive ebony furniture, gold, silver, and porcelain freely used for decorative purposes, and delicate fretwork on the columns and on the windows. Evidently we have before us the principal sight of Bang Pa-in. The Emperor of China himself can scarcely have a palace much finer than this!
This was the highlight of the visit. King Chulalornkorn send teak wood to China to have the palace crafted and send back to be assembled

This tower was build so that the King could view the surrounding countryside
These 6 rabbits were made to celebrate the 60th year on the throne of the present King of Thailand. The king was born in the year of the rabbit

Manicured gardens and a collection of buildings with different architecture make this a worthwhile visit
View of the Excellent and Shining Heavenly Abode from the bridge
This bridge was modelled after the Tiber bridge in Rome
List of Chakri Kings

King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, founder of the Chakri Dynasty.Buddha Yodfa Chulalok the Great (Rama I)(6 April 1782 - 7 September 1809)

Buddha Loetla Nabhalai (Rama II)(7 September 1809 - 21 July 1824)

Nangklao (Rama III) (21 July 1824 - 2 April 1851)

Mongkut (Rama IV)(3 April 1851 - 1 October 1868)

Chulalongkorn the Great (Rama V)(2 October 1868 - 23 October 1910)

Vajiravudh (Rama VI) (23 October 1910 - 26 November 1925)

Prajadhipok (Rama VII)(26 November 1925 - 2 March 1935)

Ananda Mahidol (Rama VIII)(2 March 1935 - 9 June 1946)

Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great (Rama IX) (9 June 1946 - Present)


Phra Thinang Varobhas Bimarn Residential Hall or Excellent and Shining Heavenly Abode is a neo classical mansion build by King Chulalornkorn in 1876 as his residence and throne hall


The Aisawan pavilion was build by King Chulalornkorn in 1876.It is a copy of the Phra Thinang Aphonphimok prasart in the Grand Palace which was build by King Mongkut as a pavillion for changing regalia before mounting a palanquin. King Chulalornkorn named it after King Prasart Thong's original paviliion.

Phra Thinang Varobhas Bimarn Residential Hall on the left and Aisawan-Dhipaya-Asana Pavilion on the right
Stilt houses protect against floodwaters
Outside Bangkok the land is mostly agricultural

We had signed up for a tour to the old city of Ayuthya which is a Unesco world heritage site.We had to take a bus up north and tour the Bang Pa-In Palace or the Summer palace first before heading to Ayuhtya and finally take a boat ride back to Bangkok

To the City of Angels

Amelia posing with a tranvestite she thinks is beautiful
Transvestites performing at the Calypso. If you get tickets from a travel agent it costs only 800 Bhat. If you decide to buy tickets on the spot it would set you back 1,200 Bhat
We had pineapple rice for dinner
Andy posing with the flowers used for worship
4 face Buddha at Erawan
The passageway to our rooms. Amelia was intimidated by the surroundings and was afriad to sleep alone.We have nothing to complain about as it only cost 650 bhat per night
The lobby

This is what our guesthouse looks like from the outside. Suk 11 hostel

Having arrived at 8am we got stuck in th notorious Bangkok traffic

My colleagues Amelia and Andy at the Bangkok airport

Went off to Bangkok with my friends from China for a three day trip