The Reclining Buddha represents Buddha on the verge of entering Nirvana (place of perfect peace). While another guide said that Nirvana is like heaven--you get everything you want--another described it as a place where you no longer want for anything. Slight difference, but different nonetheless.
The huge feet. The other side of the feet is inlaid with mother of pearl. People rub themselves against the mother of pearl (in direct violation of the many signs saying to not touch it).
Head to toe.
We rounded out our trip to Bangkok with a trip to Ayutthaya, one of the old capitals (Bangkok is the fourth and maybe not the last as the city is slowly sinking).
We all loved Ayutthaya. We visited the Summer Palace--not so impressive after the Grand Palace--but the ruins were beyond imagination. They looked like something out of a science fiction movie. These were among my favorite things in Thailand--the ruins of Ayutthaya.
The boys and the monks. The monks asked to take a picture with Sam--one of them had a camera. I guess it is rare to see a little blonde boy touring temples!
Pretty sunset over the Chaopraya.
Summer Palace.
Turtle at the Summer Palace. Unsurprisingly, it is considered bad to kill or harm any of the animals living near temples and so in the rivers and ponds there are many things--fish and turtles. At the Summer Palace we bought bread to feed to the numerous catfish and turtles.
Hey--what is that woman giving Sid????
The ruins I loved.
A fight is brewing.
When the Burmese destroyed this Ayutthaya in the war, this Buddha's head got lobbed off. But, over the years a tree grew around it and now the head is encircled with tree roots. It is pretty cool. So, I will call this the cool Buddha!
Our ride back to the current capital of Thailand. The crew fed us an international buffet and we watched the time slip away on the river. It was an interesting trip. Most of the passengers were European--German, Russian, French, Indians, and a few Brits. Some did not respect my personal space.
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