Monday, October 6, 2008

Bangkok (Not So) Dangerous!

Yesterday we went on our first tour of Bangkok. We visited the temples of the Emerald Buddha and the Reclining Buddha. Our Tour Guide was Sampop Chaisupar, but he told us to just call him 'Beer'. He spoke little english, but enough for us to understand what he was saying. The tour was pretty interesting and learnt stuff about Thai history, a lot of which I really don't remember right now, sadly. See my photo tour below.

Photos 5, 6 and 7 are of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. In photo 6 he is wearing his Rainy Weather garment. Yup, there is a Rainy Weather Dress, a Winter Dress, and a Summer dress for the Emerald Buddha which the King of Thailand (Rama IX) changes. No cameras were allowed inside the temple so I shot this thru the window, using my 200mm zoom lens. Photos 9 and 10 is the old Mansion of the earlier kings, Rama I - V.

"Photos 7 & 8. The Lotus flower. Official buddhist symbolism. Rise from the mud and still clean and pretty like the youth who come through the flood. That is the buddhist meaning (mixed with some new havenism)." -Mike

The Reclining Buddha took me by Surprise. It is HUGE! I used a 10mm wide angle lens to shoot ceiling to the toes. Its like 4 stories high or more. At the bottom I had to show you my trusty tour guide 'Beer'


2 comments:

D.Go said...

exquisite....absoultely fantastic. It's such a wonderful experience, so unbelievable that these were taken yesterday, because it feels like I've been allowed the privilege to look at a piece of the past rather than an actual daily ritual that still takes place. It's believable though because the colours of the pictures are so vivid and vibrant, they capture every detail. I enjoy seeing their culture through your eyes because you have managed to allow me to experience it in a way that I can relate to. Beautiful... there are no more words...

Anonymous said...

Dude!! The images are stunning!! Awesome!! That's why you nyame wah yuh nyame!!!