We haven't been to Wat Arun for ages... I am not sure we have been there since they finished repairing and restoring it.
Anyway, here's a sunset shot from one of the many rooftop bars that are there purely for the purpose of capturing these shots.
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A relatively short post for a small but lovely temple in Chiang Mai.
It's only a small temple, but it is lovely. Although it's a big, gold Buddha and a big gold stupa and a big, gold dragon, I prefer the black and white version of the shot.
Some nice repeating patterns and the whimsy of these two.
Wat Sri Suphan is also known as the silver temple, for obvious reasons. It is described (accurately) everywhere as one of Chiang Mai's more unusual temoples. It is a unique (I'd think) work of art built entirely by the skilled traditional workers from the local community and is a modern interpretation of traditional Lanna design. It was built built during the reign of King Mueang Kaeo of the Mangrai Dynasty in the 16th century between 1495 and 1525.
This is, as the name would suggest, as temple made of marble. To be precise, white Italian marble. It is one of the temples that crops up on the 'top places to visit' or 'most instaramgrable places' in Bangkok (When did instagramable become a word?).
Construction of the temple began in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn after building his palace nearby. The temple's name literally means 'the Temple of the fifth King located near Dusit Palace'. The ashes of King Chulalongkorn are buried beneath the Buddha statue in the main hall. It is the temple on the obverse side of the 5 baht coin,
Wat Sutheat is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist temples in Bangkok. It is a royal temple of the first grade, one of ten such temples in Bangkok. As a Royal Temple it has a special reverence within the country. First built over 200 years ago during the reign of Rama I, huge teak doors were added by Rama II , before finally finishing construction in 1847 when Rama III ascended the throne.
Just outside the temple, in the middle of a roundabout is one of the symbols of Bangkok; A Giant Swing that was an integral part of the old annual rice harvest festivities when groups of men rode it to its full 80ft height, as they attempted to grab bags of silver coins. Unsurprisingly, a few too many fatalities put an end to the custom. The magnificent teak arch, however, is still standing and forms part of much safer thanksgiving ceremonies in the modern day. Although often described as being one of the most instagramable places in Bangkok, I found it massively uninspiring as a photography subject. The temple itself was a another matter...
The marble floor outside the temple, gives great reflections. I need to go back just after it's rained and see if I can get even more pronounced reflections. It is definitely one of Bangkok's quieter temples. I wouldn't say I had to myself, but there can't have been more than a handful of others there, including locals who come to pray. Outside the walls Bangkok rages in it's noisy busy-city was but it is very peaceful inside.
![]() Hongluo Temple is about 55km north of the heart of Beijing and has the Hongluo Mountains to the north of it and Hongluo Lake to the south. Originally built in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (338AD), it was expanded in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). This 1000-year old temple complex covers 800 hectares in total, and is an extraordinary Buddhist holy land. It is said that there are 'Three wonders of Hongluo Temple' - the imperial bamboo forest, the male and female ginkgo trees and the wisteria pines. As with a lot of temple complexes in China, the Hongluo Temple complex is a very cool, peaceful one. There is an abundance of bamboo, as well as thousands of acres of pine trees surrounding the whole area. |
This will be a blog about my latest shots and what I liked or was trying to do with them
AuthorsWe are teachers and have worked in various schools in Europe & Asia. This is really a chronicle of out travels over the years. It is meant for us to look back on, reflect and remember where we've been, what we've done and all our little adventures. If you like it too, then fab! If you don't, do you think we care? Archives
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