Ayutthaya (pop. 76,000) was the capital city of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya and one of the world's largest and most sophisticated cities until it was sacked by the Burmese in 1756.
Much of the ancient city's architecture, art, and literature was destroyed in 1767 when Ayutthaya was sacked by Hsinbyushin of the Alaungpaya dynasty, but several temples (=Wat) still stand. The modern town of Ayutthaya is set among the ruins of the ancient city, and its treasures are preserved in the National Museum. Ayutthaya was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.
Originally built in 1448 as the king's private chapel, Wat PhraSri Sanphet is just south of the raised Grand Palace area.
The major attraction of the park is Erawan Falls, a waterfall named after the erawan, the three-headed white elephant of Hindu mythology. The seven-tiered falls are said to resemble the erawan. There were supposed to be three upper segments coming down over a rounded limestone precipice that would've made the falls appear like three elephant trunks. Hence the three-trunk-elephant-like appearance resembling the Hindu God by the name of Erawan.
It takes about 3.5 hours to do the entire round trip to visit all seven of the Erawan Waterfalls.
Since part of the Belgian population speaks French as a mothertongue, a delegation of the Belgian embassy was present at the 'Fête de la Francophonie' hosted by the 'Alliance Française de Bangkok'.
Malaika and the team organised some games/competitions on comics and typical Belgian landmarks or products. Cake and chocolate mousse were kindly offered by the ambassador's wife, Mireille.
lots of activity on a Thursday morning at our condominium 'Baan Suan Chan'. The owner organized a ceremony at the Buddha shrine. Involves a lot of flowers, fruit offerings and traditional Thai dancing. Since the residents skills amount to fairly nothing, he invited a few ladies from a dancing school. Purpose is to obtain good luck for the coming (fiscal) year!
In an half hour range from Chiang Mai centre, at Bo-Sang , there are several artisan and manufacturing sites open to the public. These visits are always in combination with a tour through the factory shop!
Crafts you can admire : silk making, wood sculpture, lacquerware, leather, jewelry, jade cutting,...
The most interactive is the paper umbrella/parasol making:
1)Beat the cane into pulp
2)Let it dissolve in the water and collect with a fine-mazed tool
3)Make bamboo strips for the frame and assemble it
4)Stick the paper to the frame in several layers
5)Paint it
If you want, you can paint your own or take a course in umbrella painting!
Wat Phra Sing is the most renowned temple in the inner city/old city of Chiang Mai. The Naga's (snake/dragon- like creature) can be found at the stairs. These are small compared to the ones next to the stairs leading to the most famous temple of the North : Doi Suthep. (We'll see those later)
In the afternoon we went to a tiger petting zoo. You can choose between 4 sizes. We went for the safe option : 3 month old cubs. Other options : 6 month, 2 years, adult animal. You have to sign a waver before you go in.
There are lots of national parks scattered over the entire country, but we visited the first national park in Thailand on this occasion : Khao Yai National Park (established in 1962). It covers an area of 2.165 sq km across 4 provinces: Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi. The park is a large area of forested land along the Phanom Dongrak mountain range, which seperates the northeastern highlands from the central lowlands of Thailand. Elavation ranges from 30 metres above sea level to 1.351 m at the peak of Khao Lom in the park interior. Nice for mountainbikers!
There are lots of spectacular waterfalls. Deer, gibbons and macaques can be seen while driving through the park. Wildlife observation towers allow you to see elephants and other large mammals in a natural habitat. Some 315 bird species are also active in the area.
These butterflies are about the size of 3/4 of a hand!
Now that we've made the transition to our permanent residence, we'll keep our blog in shape again. On 24-25 August we spent some time in Pattaya, also known as the 'Sodom and Gomorra' of Thailand. Although we tried to stay clear of any exposure to the 'dark side', it's hard to avoid it completely. Even during the daylight hours. On the second day we made our escape to an island.
The central pier for the Chao Praya river is under the Tak Sin bridge. You can take an express boat that stops at fixed/numbered points along the river. But you can also charter a private longboat. We took the last option this time.
The Chao Phraya river seems to be full of fish. And the Thai at the taxi-boat stops exploit this by selling old bread to get them into a feeding frenzy. Jules and Jonas had a go at it!
H.M. King Rama V (1868-1910) purchased the compound upon his return from Europe in 1897. The construction of his residence was finished in 1901: Vimanmek mansion. A three storey building made only of teakwood without the single use of a nail; two right-angled wings, each 60 metres long and 20 metres high. A bedroom, throne room and bathroom maintain the atmosphere of Thai past, whilst the other exhibition rooms display gifts received from visiting royals and diplomats or Thai art including silverware, ceramics, crystal ware and ivory. Certainly worth to spend some time here! There are 16 buildings you can visit on the site.
Wat Po is not only the biggest, but also the oldest temple in Bangkok. A lying Boeddha of 46 m covered with gold leaf sheets is the main attraction. It depicts the dying Boeddha at the point of entering Nirvana. The site is also known for the most renowned massageschool of the city. Malaika en Jules enjoyed a 50 min. foot massage.
