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Thailand

Bangkok

Wat Arun

Our final temple of the Big Temple Day was Wat Arun, one that we had seen bathed in light from the riverboats. While the secondary buildings were certainly impressive, the main temple (prang) stands out.

As the daylight started to fade, we dared each other to make it up the steep stairs to look out over the rooftops of the surrounding buildings.

Once at the top (or at least as far as we were allowed to go), we had a commanding view of the river. 


As the sun dipped lower, the ornate facade began to glow softly. 


It was the perfect place for some self-reflecting meditation!


The ornamentation was created by using pieces of broken pottery that had been put into ships' holds as ballast for trading voyages! All this beauty - used as nothing more than weight! We are so glad someone had the early idea to recycle!

A feature at every temple, the brass bells drew us like moths to a flame. We had a great picture taken of us here, posing like the 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' monkeys - but again that was on our little lost camera.
As the sun set and we left, it felt like we were being bid a fond adieu by the buddha. Walking out to our riverboat, we were treated to a gorgeous sunset, slipping down behind the temple and bringing a close to a huge full day.

Bangkok: Welcome to the big city - Up and down the river - Amulet market - Wat Pho temple - Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew - Wat Arun - Interesting shopping opportunities
Chiang Mai: Around town - Night Market - Traditional crafts - Doi Suthep - Hiking, rafting, and riding an elephant - Villagers - A day at the zoo
Krabi: beach and surroundings

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