Reclining Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam, Ayutthaya

These are photos of the reclining Buddha at Wat Lokayasutharam in Ayutthaya Thailand. This is one of the must see sites of the city. This Buddha image is 37 meters long and 8 meters high, and one of the largest in Thailand. This reclining position portrays the Buddha as he passed away peacefully.

On the day that I visited this temple, the Buddha image was being cleaned.

Thai people still come to Wat Lokayasutharam to pay their respects to the Buddha by offering lotus flowers and incense.

This Buddha image is constructed of brick which is covered by cement. This is the classic construction style that is seen in the ancient ruins of Ayutthaya.

Reclining Buddha image at Ayutthaya.

Brick Ruins at Ayutthaya

These are more photographs of Ayutthaya, Thailand. Ayutthaya is known for its temples and ancient structures made of bricks. Many of these structures are 500 or more years old. These photos were taken at Wat Thammikarat in Ayutthaya. This Wat is sort of off the beaten track of the main temples and there is no fee to enter.

Buddha image in the alter of a crumbling temple

Bricks- People stacked these bricks inside the main structure. I am not sure what the purpose is.

Wat Thammikarat- inside the structure. You can get a sense of how magnificent this structure was before it dilapidated.

Temple alter at Wat Thammikarat, Ayutthaya

Lots of Roosters. These are associated with King Naresuan who ruled Thailand from Ayutthaya over 400 years ago. Roosters are always placed around his image all over Thailand.

Ayutthaya Photographs

I haven't added any photos to the blog for a while. I guess thats what happens when you are abroad and have fluctuating internet capabilities. Now that I am back in the states, I am trying to post my pictures from this past year. Hope you enjoy! The first batch is from Ayutthaya, Thailand. This is a beautiful ancient city near Bangkok. It's a nice place to take a day trip if you are staying in the city. I suggest renting bicycles or motorbikes so that you can run around the city and visit all of the sites on your own. The traffic is pretty calm here for Thailand, so it's pretty easy to get around.

Photo of a Thai lion statue at Wat Thammikarat

More Lions at Wat Thammikarat

These are roosters at Wat Thammikarat. They are associated with the Thai King Naresuan, who ruled in Ayutthaya from 1590 to 1605.

Sign for Chang Beer. mmmm....

Ruins in Ayutthaya. The ruins around the city are lit up at night, which poses a good opportunity for photos.

Another Thai Lion

More Photographs of Koh Chang Bang Bao Thailand

Here are more photographs from my time in Koh Chang, Bang Bao, Thailand. For more about my travels in Thailand visit my blog at www.ladythetramp.com . Some of these photographs were taken on the pier of Bang Bao during my snorkeling trip, and some were taken from my hotel, which was on a pier.

(Front of a Thai fishing boat. I am assuming these decorations are to protect the boat from spirits and other mishaps. Thai has a significant culture surrounding spirits, especially water spirits. )

(Big lightbulb)

(A view of the pier at Bang Bao.)

(A little sliver of paradise. Sunset at Bang Bao.)

(This was a tin shed next to my hotel. I liked the colors and the lines.)

Photos of Bang Bao Ko Chang Thailand

These are photographs of Bang Bao on Ko Chang, Thailand. Bang Bao is a small fishing village on the southern tip of Koh Chang. The village is situated along a pier and has lots of seafood restaurants and kitchy shops. The village is still relatively Thai, and hasn't been completely overrun by farang tourists. There are still lots of Thai tourists that come here for holiday.

(A fishing boat at Bang Bao)

(Relaxing on the pier at Bang Bao, Thailand)

(View from my hotel at Bang Bao. This is a little strip of land that has a nice cozy shady beach. Paradise found.)

(A small dingy boat off the pier at Koh Chang, Thailand)

(A fence on the pier of Bang Bao. Nice composition.)

Bao An Taoist Temple Taipei Taiwan

Here are more photographs from Bao An Temple in Taipei, Taiwan. Almost finished uploading all of them. Enjoy!

The roof of Bao An Temple. The roofs of Taoist temples are always decorated with folklore creatures. This one has two dragons and a red pearl in the center. The dragons chase the pearl to make rain.

Another mural in Bao An temple of Chinese folklore.

A Spirit house in Bao An temple in Taiwan.

The entire outside of the temple walls are covered in Chinese folklore paintings. This is a depiction of a scene from the Three Kingdoms, which is a Chinese classic.

This is a little fortune telling station in Bao An temple. After people pray with the moon blocks, they get a stick with a number on it. That stick correlates to a drawer that will have a fortune. You can take your fortune to the temple fortune tellers and they will interpret it for you.

Taoist Temple Bao An

I have a lot of photos from Bao An. Equipped with my new Nikon DSLR, I find myself taking hundreds of photographs a day. I guess I don't really know which ones to post or not. Also, Because of spacing and weird blogging issues, I think it is better to only post about 5 photos on one post. This means that I will have multiple pages for each place I go....maybe not good....maybe good....not sure...but definitely tedious....hmmmm... Anyway, here are some more from Bao An. Enjoy!

A mural at Bao An Temple. The walls of the temple are elaborately decorated with murals which are depictions from popular folk lore. It is kind of like how some churches have the stages of the cross, or other Bible stories painted on the walls.

Offering on the altar of a Taoist temple. Taiwanese people will often leave elaborate offerings on the altar of temples.

This lantern is above the entrance to Bao An temple. I really dig all the lanterns, especially when they are lit up.

Cute Baby. I saw this baby walking around the temple grounds. I thought he was cute. I also thought this turned out to be an interesting composition.

This old man was riding a bike near Bao An temple. I like photos of people. And yes, he is shirtless in the city. hmmm....

More Bao An Doaist Temple Photos

The Front of Bao An Temple in Taipei, Taiwan

Paper Money Burning Furnace. Daoists put paper money into this furnace when they go to the temple.

The Confucius Temple near Bao An Temple. This is a very famous Confucius Temple in Taipei. On Confucius day (Teacher's Day) in Taiwan, there is a big celebration for the ghost of Confucius.

Eaves of the temple.

A tree outside of the temple. Daoists try to incorporate nature into their temple designs, so there are often lots of trees, plants, rocks, and waterfalls inside the temples.

Bao An Taoist Temple Photos Taiwan

These are photographs from the Bao An Taoist Temple in Taipei, Taiwan. This temple is a beautiful example of religious art and architecture in Taiwan.

Photo of a Chinese criminal getting a tattoo. In ancient China, criminals were tattooed with the crime they committed.

Photo of a Taoist Woman burning paper money. In Taiwan people burn paper money in order to make merit to the gods. The money is burned to go to the heavens and used to pay "officials" who live in heaven.

Photo of a Taoist Temple Guardian. Temple guardians are painted or sculpted on Taoist temple doors.

Photo of Bao An Temple. This is a Taoist temple in Taipei, Taiwan.

Photo of Confucian Temple. This temple is across the street from Bao An Temple.

NCCU Taiwain Photos

These are some photographs I took around NCCU in Taipei, Taiwan.

(McDonalds in Taiwan- written in Chinese Characters)