CHAI WATTANARAM TEMPLE AYUTTHAYA THAILAND

This is the Temple when the lights go on at night
Greg at the Temple

There is a dog in the doorway of this Temple. Dogs and cats are welcome everywhere in Thailand. To me when I saw this I felt a great mysticism about the place and the relationship the animal have with it. In the scheme of things the animals are drawn there to eat the offerings left by worshipers .

At dusk bats began to fly around adding to the ambiance.

GREG

KATHY

GREG

KATHY
The heads of the Buddhas were stolen many years ago

when the area was invaded by Burma
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Wat Chaiwatthanaram
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wat Chaiwatthanaram
Wat Chaiwatthanaram (Thai: วัดไชยวัฒนาราม) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Ayutthaya, Thailand, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, outside Ayutthaya island. It is one of Ayutthaya's most well known temples and a major tourist attraction.
Location
Wat Chaiwatthanaram lies on the west bank of Chao Phraya River, south west of the old city of Ayyuthaya. It is a large compound and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It can be reached by road or by boat.
History
The temple was constructed in 1630 by the king Prasat Thong as the first temple of his reign, as a memorial of his mother's resident in that area. The temple's name literally means the Temple of long reign and glorious era. It was designed in Khmer style which was popular in that time.
It has a central 35 meter high prang in Khmer style (Thai: พระปรางด์ประธาน) with four smaller prangs. The whole construction stands on a rectangular platform. About halfway up there are hidden entrances, to which steep stairs lead.
The central platform is surrounded by eight chedi-shaped chapels (Thai: เมรุทิศ เมรุราย - Meru Thit Meru Rai), which are connected by a rectangular cross-shaped passage (Phra Rabieng). The passage had numerous side entries and was originally roofed and open inwards, but today only the foundations of the pillars and the outside wall still stand. Along the wall, there were 120 sitting Buddha statues, probably painted in black and gold.
The eight chedi-like chapels are formed in a unique way. They had paintings on the interior walls, the exterior ones decorated by 12 reliefs depicting scenes from the life of Buddha (Jataka), which must be "read" clockwise. Just fragments of the paintings and the reliefs survived. In each of the rectangular chedis were two sitting Buddha statues and in each of the four middle chedis was one big sitting Buddha statue, also lacquered in black and gold. The ceiling over those statues was of wood with golden stars on black lacquer.
Outside of the passages on the east, close to the river was the temple's ordination hall (Phra Ubosot). North and south from the Ubusot stood two chedis with "12 indented corners" (Thai: เจดีย์อมุมสิบสอง), in which the ashes of the king's mother were laid.
After the total destruction of the old capital (Thai: กรุงเก่า - Krung Kao) by the Burmese in 1767, from which Wat Chai Watthanaram was not spared, the temple was deserted. Theft, sale of bricks from the ruins and the beheading of the Buddha statues were common. Only in 1987 did the Thai Department of Fine Arts start restoring the site. In 1992 it was opened to the public.
Usage
Wat Chaiwatthanaram was a royal temple where the king and his successors performed religious ceremonies. Princes and princess were cremated here, including King Boromakot's son Chaofa Thammathibet (เจ้าฟ้าธรรมธิเบศร).
Symbolic
The Wat Chaiwatthanaram structure reflects the Buddhist world view, as it is described already in the Traiphum Phra Ruang, the "three worlds of the King Ruang", of the 14th century: The big "Prang Prathan" that stands in the centre symbolizes the mountain Meru (Thai: เขาพระสุเมรุ - Khao Phra Sumen), which consists the central axis of the traditional world (Kamaphum - กามภูมิ). Around it lie the four continents (the four small Prangs) that swim in the four directions in the world sea (นทีสีทันดร). On one of the continents, the Chomphutawip (ชมพูทวีป), the humans live. The rectangular passage is the outer border of the world, the "Iron Mountains" (กำแพงจักรวาล).

FLOWER LEIS IN SUKOTHAI

We met a guy named Mike on the trip he was a very interesting guy, who reminded me of Owen Wilson's character in The Fockers. Mike had a great love of plumeria. One night while we were all enjoying the salt water pool at the Legendha hotel in sukothai, Mike came up with a basket of plumeria and said he'd teach us the make lei' s we wanted to learn. We ended up making many, it was a fantastic evening. These are the ones I made for myself. The headband has a Purple orchid as its centerpiece.

SUKOTHAI-ELEPHANT TEMPLE

This was right outside the patio of my hotel room. How often can you open a door and be within 500ft of a 3000 year old temple. My husband and I liked these older rustic temples much more than the big glitzy ones we saw on the tour. This temple felt mystical.

The Legendha Hotel was my favorite of all the places we stayed.

CAPTAIN GOODY & MEKONG RIVER RICE BARGE

My husband driving the Rice Barge down the Mekong River
There were many floating houses and fish farms along the way. There is a small cat walking around the fisherman's boat.

This is the name of the Rice Barge my husband sailed

THAI WATER GARDENS

All over Thailand I saw these pots full of water growing

Lotus and Water Lilies many having small silver fish swimming in them. Currently I have a project going. I am making one of these as a gift for my husband's 5oth birthday. I am sure he would probably like something alot different, but this gift comes from the heart. Its a reminder of the time we spent on our romantic adventure. When he is home he spends alot of time on our patio, so thats where it will be as a tranquil loving reminder.

FOR THE LOVE OF A KING...THAILAND

I was moved by the love of the Thai people for their King.

I saw his picture everywhere and some businesses even had signs up saying " We love the King".

While we were in Thailand the King was in the hospital and our guide Tim kept up daily on his recuperation. She truly loves her King. She told of his many accomplishments and his love of his people. During several disasters and events where the people needed immediate help and the government was slow to act the King used his own money to send help and supplies and render aid. He also worked with agronomists and created a hybrid Thai rice. He and his mother have worked diligently to end the heroin trade and teach farming and industry . By the end of the trip I had developed a great admiration of this man and hope his health improves so he may continue to be the longest reining Monarch.

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from Wiki

Bhumibol Adulyadej born 5 December 1927) is the current King of Thailand. He is known as Rama IX (and within the Thai royal family and to close associates simply as Lek. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning monarch in Thai history. He was admitted to Siriraj Hospital in September 2009 for flu and pneumonia and has been confined there since. Rumors about his ill-health caused Thai financial markets to tumble in October 2009.
Although Bhumibol is legally a constitutional monarch, he has made several decisive interventions in Thai politics. He was credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although he has supported numerous military regimes, including Sarit Dhanarajata's during the 1960s and the Council for National Security in 2006-2008. During his long reign he has seen over 15 coups, 16 constitutions, and 27 changes of prime ministers. He has also used his influence to stop military coups, including attempts in 1981 and 1985.
Bhumibol is revered by many Thais, despite what the Thai government claims are serious threats to overthrow the monarchy. Bhumibol is legally considered "inviolable", and insults, claims that he is involved in politics, and criticism of him can result in three to fifteen years in jail, though he claimed in his 2005 birthday speech that he would not take lèse majesté seriously.
Bhumibol is credited with a social-economic theory of self-sufficiency. His personal wealth is tremendous: Forbes estimated Bhumibol's personal fortune, including property managed by the Crown Property Bureau which is considered the national property, to be US$30 billion in 2010, and he has been consistently placed at number one of the magazine's list of "The World's Richest Royals". He currently holds major shares in several private companies, including, more than 40% in Sammakorn, 30% in SCG, 30% in Thai Insurance PLC and 20% in SCB. Nonetheless, Crown Property Bureau spends money on public welfare like youth development, however it does not pay taxes and its finances are reported to only Bhumibol. Bhumibol himself has made donations to numerous development projects in Thailand, in areas like agriculture, environment, public health, occupational promotion, water resources, communications and public welfare. Commemoration of Bhumibol's contributions to Thailand are ubiquitous in the Thai media.

HILL TRIBE VILLAGE THAILAND

Upon arriving in the Hill Tribe Village this old man

latched on to me and drug me off to his hut where

he sat me down on his bed.

He encouraged me to stay

but I left after this photo.

A woman in traditional Hill Tribe Costume

Another traditional Hill Tribe Costume

Greg smoking Tobacco from a Hill Tribe Pipe

Greg and a Hill Tribe Woman

The ladies of the Hill Tribe playing music and doing a tribal dance
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Hill tribes of Thailand

Traditional Akha house deep in the wilderness
Northern Thailand is home to interesting and colourful ethnic minorities, known as the hill tribes. These add an important element to tourism here and you may visit, or go trekking to, numerous villages where they are happy to receive you. Since most are rural and poor, any economically-uplifting opportunities are welcomed.
Most of the hill tribes have migrated into the region during the past 100 years from the Asian interior and have largely preserved their traditional ways, making them a fascinating cultural study. They prefer living above 1,000m, and shy away from the outside world.
There are seven broad hill tribe groupings: Karen, Lahu, Hmong, Lisu, Akha, Mien, and Padaung. However, within these categories, there are sub-categories and clans that further divide the groups. Each hill tribe has its own customs, language, dress and spiritual beliefs and this is sometimes true even of the numerous sub-categories within one hill tribe. For example, the Green Hmong and White Hmong speak in different and distinct dialects and dress differently. The hill tribes are most distinctly recognised for their colourful and unique costume, which they continue to wear daily.
Most of the hill tribes living in the remote upland areas practice subsistence farming. They were pretty much left alone until the 1950s, when the increase in their numbers, extreme poverty, statelessness and threat of insurgency forced the Thai government to establish the National Committee for the Hill Tribes.
Opium cultivation was a major source of income for many of the hill tribes and the government worked hard to eradicate this cultivation by successfully substituting it with other cash crops, such as cabbages and fruits. This is known as the Royal Project, initiated by his Highness King Rama IX, and commended internationally for its success.
However, as is the case with any minority groups, hill tribes have issues with citizenship, conforming to mainstream Thai society and the loss of their indigenous customs and languages. Furthermore, their placement at the centre of the lucrative drug trafficking along the Myanmar border has often put them in compromising positions. These are all difficult issues faced by both the hill tribe people and the Thai government.

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