Photos: Dazzling Bangkok

This is one of the many Buddhist religious figures guarding the temples in the Wat Phra Kaeo temple complex.  That is their function -- to guard the temple.  They originated in a mythical Himalayan forest.

This is a scene from the Wat Pho temple complex, the oldest and largest in Bangkok, dating to the 1500's.  It has many courtyards and corridors, as it is a working monastery with a school, monks, and a center for Thai massage.

I mentioned the temple guardians in the caption to the first photo.  Take a look at the band of guardians circling his tower.  The elaborate decorations of the temples sometimes camouflage the figures.

Exploring the major temples in Bangkok dazzles the eyes with the turn of every corner.

We saved the best photo for last, in my view. This is the Reclining Buddha of Wat Pho. It is 151 ft (46 m) long and 50 ft (15 m) high, made of brick, plaster and covered in gold leaf.  The challenge in photographing it is that it is located in a building that is not much larger than this giant statue.  I used a fisheye lens, which was the only way to capture this image.  A reclining Buddha on its right side means that it has achieved enlightenment.