Bangkok

I also visited the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho), right around the corner from the palace. We walked and four different people at different times in the 5 or so block walk tried to scam us, telling us that Wat Pho was closed or that we were walking in the wrong direction. We had been warned that it would happen, so weren't too surprised and we only walked a little way in wrong direction at their urging. They wanted us to shop in their stores or stores where they'd get a cut.

The temple had a Buddha, lying on it's side the length of an olympic sized pool and he was as high as 1 1/2 stories where the head leaned on the elbow. I found the feet very interesting. The feet were the size of a garage door and each one was covered in mother-of-pearl in-lay pictures (each about a foot long and 6" high) that told a story. I wasn't able to capture it on camera, but here's one mediocre picture:

To see and learn more about the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, click here.

I also visited the Jim Thompson house, a teak house museum filled with Thai art and artifacts. Click here to learn more about the Jim Thompson House.

		Bangkok
On the way to Khorat, we stopped at a modern temple, the temple of the Buddha's footprint. Notice the similarities of the modern temple to the Khmer temples. Temple Guard		Bangkok is a huge city with highways double stacked on top of another way up in the air and train lines running along side. Like Malaysia, there's still the contrast between things more sophisticated and modern than in the west and things that show poverty and that most people get by with a lot less than we have in the west. One of the best ways to get around is still in a tuk-tuk, a mo-ped taxi rigged with a carriage in the back, supported with 2 wheels that can hold 3 passengers. In Bangkok, we were on our own, because lots of people on the tour had already been there and wanted to shop or do their own thing. I hit the big tourist sights with 3 other people who were in Bangkok for the first time. I was really impressed with the Royal Grand Palace, but it was thronged with people and I didn't get very many pictures. This dome is covered in gold leaf. On top of the the gold leaf, there are mirrors which make it brighter and tougher to take a little bit of gold home with you. The "library," meaning where sacred or other important documents are stored, shows how many people were around. This tower is completely decorated with porcelain: Here's what it looks like up close: To read and see more about the Royal Grand Palace, click here.
	A naga at the bottom of the staircase leading to the temple. Each head wears a crown and has sharp teeth.
Smaller stone carvings on the columns include the pointed up bird's heads that are derivative of the antefix on the domes of the Khmer temples.
	The temple, seen from above.
The outer wall of the temple has Buddha images, lotus flowers, and apsaras (the heavenly dancing ladies)
Thai temples have wind chimes hanging from the eaves and noise is generally considered good. These bells out in front of the temple are meant to be rung for good luck.
This monk sits at the top of the steps in front of a tub of water which he dips a stick into and throws water on anyone who approaches the temple to bless them. The Thai's bowed with their hands in prayer position when they got blessed. I think we were mostly surprised. Do you suppose the monks argue over who gets to have this job each day? "I'll do it." "Oh no, I'll do it."