Sunday, July 8, 2012

Photos: Golden Bangkok

This is one of the first views of the Wat Phra Kaeo temple complex, which is adjacent to the Thai Royal Palace.  The gold tiles of the stupa on the right is the Phra Si Rattana Chedi, built in the style of Sri Lanka.  In the middle is Phra Mondop, which houses Buddhist sacred texts.  The tower to the left is the Royal Pantheon, housing statues of past rulers.
The gold tiles of the Phra Si Rattana Chedi provide a dazzling background for one of the many Buddha statues in the temple.
The Phra Mondop building is decorated in a manner that conveys the importance and sacredness of the religious texts contained within it.
This is a closer view of the head of the giant reclining Buddha, which I showed in my last post of Bangkok photos.  This is 50 ft (15 m) high.  The contented expression is consistent with the pose of leaning on the right side, which symbolizes the entrance to Nirvana.
Inside the Bot, the largest building in the Wat Pho temple complex, is this bronze meditating Buddha.   On the base of the Buddha are the ashes of King Rama I, who lived about 200 years ago.  We were treated to the entrance of a group of monks to pray.  Unlike in some countries, photography in Buddhist temples is allowed in Bangkok.
The architectural details of the major temples in Bangkok are intricate in detail and dazzling in color.

6 comments:

brattcat said...

extraordinary images of an extraordinary place. thank you.

FilipBlog said...

Bangkok is one of our favorite cities in the world. Enjoy it.

Greetings,
Filip

Cezar and Léia said...

Lovely, lovely place!
God bless you!
Cezar

glenda said...

These are so impressive! So glad you are allowed to photograph.

Memphis MOJO said...

Excellent series. I was in Bangkok for five days back in the 70s -- not nearly long enough.

Unknown said...

Original perspective of the Reclining Buddha, which is not easy to photograph, actually. This place is fantastic, isn't it?

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