Movies from Thailand

I finally finished editing the last three movies we made in Thailand.

Here is the link to the Grand Palace (it's a bit too big to upload to Blogger) more specifically the Upper Terrace of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

Here is one about Wat Po, the home of the second largest reclining Buddha and also the birthplace of the Thai massage. The school is on the grounds of the temple complex.

Here is one about Wat Arun. The camera doesn't give justice to the grandness of the temple. It was amazing. The main temple exterior is covered with ceramic shards and bowls donated by local residents.

Our Last Day in Thailand

Wednesday, April 30th was our last full day in Thailand. I was feeling a bit sick, so Reed and Ms. A went out for a Daddy-Daughter day. They visited some wats and other places by the Dusit Zoo.

They visited Democracy Monument which was was commissioned in 1939 to commemorate the 1932 Siamese coup d'état which led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in what was then the Kingdom of Siam.

Wat Saket with the Golden Mount was a temple they visited. Ms. A, of course, had to ring the bell. (Bell ringing in Thailand was as fun as finding yellow flowers in Greece.) The hill is man-made and 262 feet high. Rama IV brought in 1,000 teak logs to shore it up because it was sinking into the swampy ground. Rama V built the golden chedi to house a relic of Buddha, said to be from India or Nepal, given to him by the British. The concrete walls were added during World War II to keep the structure from collapsing. (info from )

Loha Prasat is a building within Wat Ratchanaddaram. It is known for the unique design of the pagoda, and the 37 metal spires.

Wat Suthat and Giant Swing was a bit hard for Ms. A. She was tired of all the picture taking, so she assumed her newly learned pose - watch me pout. Check out the links from Wikipedia for the unique tradition of the swing. I understand why they discontinued it, but a small part of me would enjoy seeing the parade and the ceremony.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya, the Ancient City, which was the former Thai capital for over 400 years.
- *Over 600 years old, Wat Maha That was the heart and soul of the Ayutthaya people. It was almost completely destroyed by the Burmese during Thai-Burmese war.*

It was interesting to see the remains of the wat. It made me think of Angkor Wat, but not as grand. I enjoyed looking at the architecture. The Buddha head in the tree roots was very cool. I saw these cute elephant embroidered purses that I thought Ms A and Ms E would like, but we had to get on the bus. Reed found a couple for them in Bangkok after I told him about it. What a great daddy and uncle. :)

- *Wat Na Phra Mane remains in perfect condition, as it was used as the Burmese headquarters. The splendid Golden Buddha, dressed in regal attire, was placed in the temple along with the three thousand-year-old green stone carved Buddha. Both are considered as extremely valuable national relics.* The Buddhas are typically gold-leafed. In the main building there were two other smaller statues that are gold-leafed. Patrons of the wat find pieces of gold-leaf that have fallen off and they very carefully put it back on the statues.
 

Ms. A met a little girl in the Wat. She was so cute, she looked at me and asked if she could play with her friend. When I said yes, she ran over, introduced herself and gave her a hug. The little girl wasn't sure how to react, but her family and Reed took pictures of the two of them hugging, kissing and holding hands. I love watching her interact so well with the children here.
 
- *Wat Lokayasutharam has a mysterious past, whereby its origins are unknown. The temple enshrines the third largest Reclining Buddha Image in Thailand. It was built during The Early Period of the Ayutthaya Region.* The Buddha measures 105 feet in length and 26 feet in height. We had a quick stop here and were followed by vendors trying to get us to purchase something.

***(info provided by)

Bang Pa-In Palace

On the 29th, we took a tour of the Ayutthaya province about 47 miles north of Bangkok. Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand for 417 years with 37 kings ruling from the capital. After the fall of Ayutthaya in a Burmese war, the capital was moved to Thonburi (west side of Chao Phraya River) and then to the present capital of Bangkok.

Ayutthaya remained a favorite summering place for the current ruling dynasty. Our first place to visit was the Bang Pa-In Palace. The palace area was beautiful with an Outer Palace for public and ceremonial uses and an Inner palace for the King and his immediate family.

Reed rented a golf cart for us to tour the palace. He wanted to see as much as possible in the allotted time we were given. Also, Ms. A was wearing Reed out by having him hold her so much. Ms. A loved the little car!

She had a fun time with the animal shaped bushes and the royal raft, but her favorite was the little houses (made for the King's children) next to the Royal Residence of Heavenly Light (Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun). The door was high enough for her, but Reed and I had to bend down to get in. She was so tickled when she saw it, but had to wait for Reed to come out from the Royal Residence, so I could go inside the Royal Residence without her (She didn't want to go in after she saw the little houses). :)

I was pretty excited when I got out to take a picture and saw a CROCODILE in the water! I snapped a quick picture before he went under the water. :) We were amazed by the detail and beautiful ornamentation of the architecture. It was also interesting to see the European influence in some of the architecture.

Victory Monument

On Monday, we decided to have an easy day. We walked down to the BTS and rode the sky train to the mall and Victory Monument.
The mall, Siam Paragon is HUGE!!! A shoppers dream! They also have the Siam Ocean World, the largest aquarium in the southern hemisphere. Ms. A had a fun time playing in the water fountain at the mall.




I wanted a picture of the traffic around the Victory Monument to show the adventure of crossing the street. I felt like we were in Cairo, dodging cars, taxis, buses and tuk-tuks, every time we crossed a road!

Map of Bangkok

I thought I'd include a map of Bangkok to give you an idea of where things are located. The link gives a bigger picture of Bangkok, while the picture is of Rattanakosin Island, the place where Rama I built his Grand Palace. He wanted the palace to reside on an island for protection.

Dusit Zoo and Vimanmek Mansion

On Sunday, we visited the Vimanmek Mansion and Dusit Zoo. The mansion is the home of the world's largest Teakwood Home. It was built by Rama V (the son of the king in Anna and the King). Photos of the mansion were not allowed. The mansion is still used by the current king when important visitors come. The home was broken up into five areas, each distinguished by a color. The king's tea set was amazing, a set for each day of the week. Each day was a different color. The current king was born on Monday so his color is yellow. The Thai people will wear yellow on Monday to show respect for their king.

We also visited Abhisek Dusit Throne Hall, which has been turned into a museum. Ms. A was running all over saying "Let me show you something!" as she pointed to a case full of treasures, repeatedly. I guess she's heard us say that to her enough times that she thought she'd be the tour guide. :)

The Dusit Zoo was 47 acres of animals and fun. We had a fabulous time. Sara and her children would have loved it! There were so many animals, displays play areas and water activities. We had a great time seeing the kangaroo, elephants and anteater. Ms. A had fun on the tram that takes you around the zoo.

Wat Kanlayanamit

Wat Kanlayanamit is a temple complex downriver from Wat Arun. We saw it from across the river and decided to try and find it after visiting Wat Arun. It was a bit further than I thought, but after a bit of walking, crossing a canal (klong) on the drawbridge and going to a couple of smaller wats, we found it! They had a huge bell that Ms. A was so excited to ring and put the donation in the box.

After seeing the Buddha, Reed and Ms. A were blessed by a monk. Ms. A saw a group of people being blessed and she wanted to do it also. She wasn't too sure after he sprayed water on her. It was cute to see her do a wai to the monk. I felt a bit uncomfortable taking a picture, I've read that you should ask permission to take their pictures, but it is inappropriate for women to talk to monks. I also thought it was a bit sacred for the Thai people, so I took a picture after the blessing.

We fed the fish with the pigeons catching the crumbs. As we walked to the dock, we were surrounded by children asking for 5 or 10 Bahts (form of currency). An old lady offered her bowl to Ms A hoping for a donation, but Ms. A thought she was giving her the bowl, so she took it. We gave the bowl back and left.

Wat Arun

On April 26th we visited the west side of the Chao Phraya River. Our first stop was Wat Arun or the Temple of the Dawn. When we entered, I was amazed at the porcelain and ceramic on the buildings. Rama III expanded the wat during his reign. He requested that the local people donate ceramic shards to use in the expansion. There are also little porcelain plates on the exterior. The wat is 282 feet tall. The central prang. has three sets of stairs that get progressively thinner and higher. We walked up two sets of stairs, Reed and Ms A went up the third one, I was a bit unsure about being up so high!

The grounds also have a chapel where the Buddha resides and a set of bells are to the right of the chapel. Ms. A had a wonderful time ringing the different bells and hearing the different tones.

Wat Po

After the Grand Palace, we visited Wat Po, a temple with the second largest reclining Buddha in Thailand. The Buddha is 151 feet long and 53 feet high. His feet are inlaid with mother of pearl telling of the 108 laksanas (characteristics) of Buddha. The donation bowls also represent laksanas of Buddha. Visitors can drop coins in the bowls for luck.

It was raining a bit and Ms. A had a wonderful time splashing in the puddles and checking out the fish and turtles. There were several other buildings within the complex, with a few other Buddhas. We had an enjoyable time looking at the architecture.

Wat Po was the birthplace of the Thai massage. Reed was excited to experience THREE of those wonderful massages. He said the next morning that he had the best night sleep since we moved to Penang.

Waterways of Bangkok

Bangkok was built along the Chao Phraya River. It means River of Kings. We rode the Chao Phraya Express Boat to see most of the sites. Our first ride was on the tourist line which had a guide who told us various things along the river. It was quite convenient having the boats to shuttle us to the sites. After we arrived at the dock, we would walk, ride a tuk-tuk, or catch a taxi to our destination. We could have hired a longtail boat, but decided against it, they are hired for blocks of time and usually take people into the inner canals, which we were not interested in doing.

Ms. A loved the boats. We had a great time.

Grand Palace

For our first full day in Thailand, we visited the Grand Palace. We walked to the ferry dock and caught the water taxi that took us to the correct dock. The Palace was amazing. It was built by Rama I and others kings added to the complex. The area also is home to the Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha.

We toured the grounds and had a wonderful time. The buildings were breath-taking. After touring the Wat, we walked over to the other portion of the grounds. It was interesting to see the influenced of the Italian Renaissance on the buildings combined with the Thai roof design. Here is some more information about the various temples.

Ms. A had a wonderful time splashing in the puddles (it rained while we were there and felt like home only hotter).

Also for a bit of definition:
Chakri = The Dynasty of the most recent kings of Thailand
Rama IV = King Mongkut depicted in The King and I
Wat = Temple
Wat Phra Kaew = Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Chedi = A mound-like structure containing Buddhist Relics= Typically, the remains of a Buddha or saint.

Elephant Dance

We arrived safely back from Thailand this afternoon.
I will post pictures and movies once they are organized (416 pictures and 21 movies), but I couldn't resist sharing this movie from the Dusit Zoo in Bangkok.


We found out that the elephant rides were further north than we wanted to go. So I was pretty excited to see these Asiatic Elephants at the zoo. They even 'danced' to the African music nearby. I was even more tickled when Ms. A joined in the dance. Reed and I think that the elephants may have been rescued from a show or circus because the dancing didn't seem typical.

Thailand - Here we Come!

Due to the type of visa Ms. A and I have, we have to leave the country for one night after being here for three months. Reed and I decided to make the most of this requirement by doing a bit of traveling. Thailand was our choice. We will be in Bangkok and surrounding areas for a week.

We are hoping to ride one of these:

And we are excited to visit this:
one of the Grand Palace buildings

pictures courtesy of thailand-pictures





I decided packing while Ms. A was awake is a mistake. First, she decided to "pack" her items, which meant grab a bunch of clothes and throw them in the suitcase. (I wish Reed was that excited to pack!) Secondly, it is hard to pack with a shadow following, mimicking and asking what I was doing and trying to help. (I love having her help and learn). Lastly, she thought we were leaving as soon as we finished packing. She grabbed her shoes and told me she was ready to go. It took me several tactics to convince her to accept we were leaving tomorrow. (No car, no daddy, we need to go to sleep first, and then the basic distractions.)

Because of our 'forced' :) vacation, I will be taking the week off from blogging.
Tune in the first part of May for pictures of our trip.