Wat Phra Kaew: Temple of Emerald Buddha

  Wat Phra Kaew is famous because the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is situated on the grounds of the Grand Palace.

Approach to the entrance

 Ticket Booth

Demon Guardian Statues

 The architectures are very unique. I felt the essence of "Thailand " from this architectures.

Phra Si Ratana Chedi (Golden Stupa)

We climbed up to the upper terrace.

Mondop ( The Library)

Green mirrored tiles were inlaid

The architecture and the arts were very gorgeous and impressive.

 There was a miniature of Angkor Watt.

It was crafted by the order of King Rama IV.

The Royal Pantheon

 The base under the door 

Colorful demons supporting a stupa

Statue of a Kinnnaree

Temple of Emerald Buddha

In front of the entrance of Temple of Emerald Buddha

Many people prayed to the Buddha with a lotus in hand watering over the head.

We saw the Emerald Buddha in the temple but we were prohibited from taking pictures of the Emerald Buddha. The Buddha's height, including the base, is 66cm and the width is 48cm. It was small but dignified. The Buddha was carved from a single block of jade. It was first discovered in1434 in Chiang Rai, and it was enshrined in this temple later. The costumes are changed three times a year.

The grounds of the Grand Palace is huge. It was pity that it was too hot and humid for us to look around at everything. 

Wat Pho: Temple of Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho is a Buddhist temple famous for the Reclining Buddha. This Buddha is too huge to fit into one picture; it is 15m high and 43m long.

 The room was filled with this Buddha.

The bottom of the feet of the Buddha with mother-of-pearls

These symbols of each foot are important in Buddhism

The pillow of Buddha was decorated magnificently.

There is a strict dress code for seeing Buddha in temples. Short pants or tank tops are prohibited.

These pagodas are graves of successive Kings in Thailand.

They were decorated by pieces of porcelains from China. They were impressive.

Jim Thompson's House in Bangkok

2012/10/15

Thailand is famous for Thai silk. We went to Jim Thompson's house. He is a famous man as he revived Thai silk. Jim Thompson was an American architect; he was in the army during World War II, and he was sent to Bangkok in 1945 as a military officer for a short time. He decided to live in Thailand permanently because he loved Thailand. He revived the silk industry that was steadily declining. However, he disappeared mysteriously during vacation in Malaysia.

 spinning thread from cocoons

 I learned that the texture and brightness of Thai silk is because it is made from yellow cocoons.

 beautiful colors

A guide for Japanese group speaking beautiful Japanese

Jim Thompson's house reflected traditional Thai architecture; this house was large because it combined six teak buildings. You can see many antiques in the house not only from Thailand but also from Cambodia and Laos.

Lotus is a symbol of Buddhisum. 

 The restaurant in the garden with a lotus pond 

Koi and lotuses

We enjoyed lunch.

They were good!

From Singapore to Bangkok

2012/10/15

My husband and I went to Bangkok, Thailand after our time with Amanda in Singapore.


                                            

 The flight attendants wearing Thai silk. They are very charming.

The beautiful orchids welcomed us in our hotel room in Bangkok.

We arrived at our hotel late at night. We saw some boats that were illuminated on Chao Phraya River.

Many hotels are built on the shores of the Chao Phraya river. We used hotel shuttle boats and Chao Pharay Express Boats to go sightseeing.

 The river which we saw last night.

 Hotel Shuttle Boats

 Chao Phraya Express Boat

A conductor sold tickets in a very unique way. She walked around in the boat shaking a can with coins inside to show us that she collects a fee from us. I wondered what the sound was when I heard it for the first time. 

This is the can.

Singapore Flyer

2012/10/14

Singapore Flyer is one of the landmarks of Singapore today. The height is 165m; it is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. You can see a comparison of other high towers or Ferris wheels on Amanda's blog.

Every gondola is spacious enough to enjoy dinner if you choose a dinner car, and you have a birds-eye view of Singapore. 

Inside a gondola

It took about 30 minutes for one rotation. We enjoyed the view of Singapore.You can start to map out the buildings.

 The buildings like mushroom bunches

 When we got to the top, we could see the umbrellas of the skypark at the top of Marina Bay Sands clearly.

 The shape of Marina Bay Sands is really unique and attractive.

It was impressive for me how Singapore created such unique buildings and sightseeing spots one after another, although it is a small country; that is why Singapore is a popular tourist destination.

It was the last day in Singapore. I was very happy to have a nice time with Amanda.

After that my husband and I visited Thailand and Cambodia on our way back to Japan.