inedible ayutthaya part two

more photos from the spatz sisters' trip to Ayutthaya...

amelia points out a notable feature of this.. thing


a thai baby stumbles across the frame
in the ayutthaya historical park


Wat Lokkaya Sutha,
or big reclining buddha


amelia poses with the feet - golden toenail polish and all

[I don't understand the meaning here, but at temples or sacred places I almost always thai people with tiny sheets of gold leaf, rubbing them onto statues or parts of the temple - hence those toenails]

Buddha's head resting on a pillow of lotus flowers





trucks and motorbikes whiz by, mere feet from the crumbling ruins
and from our table at the restaurant where we ate lunch...

lunch post to follow.
.

วัดบางพลีใหญ่ใน: wat bang phli yai nai

sdf
There's a beautiful Buddhist temple perched on the bank of a canal near my neighborhood. I have to pass it on my way to Bangkok or just about anywhere outside of my province, but I had never bothered to visit until a few weekends ago.

The temple, itself, is small but spectacular - delicate, intricate detail covering walls and doorways, rows of beautiful golden statues, immense crystal chandeliers. I visited on a Sunday, so the place was packed. I, the towering caucasian, made a weak attempt at blending with the crowd. glancing around awkwardly, taking cues from the women beside me...

ok, take shoes off here, i guess. nope.. don't take them off yet... ok, here. now ladle some of this hot mystery liquid into this bowl thing.. ok, now put money in this wooden thing and light this stick on fire. alright..

15 minutes of this and I was able to finally sneak around to the back and take some pictures...

a side entrance to the main room of the temple

photo: courtesy of NZ Chong - thanks NZ!

incredibly colorful main room

(i suppose there's probably a more correct term for this place) of the temple

flags of Thailand and of the king fly at the temple
over the masses of vendors selling foods, clothes, drinks, jewelry, brooms, false teeth, etc.

a man, floating down the canal by the market,
with a makeshift wood burning grill in his wooden boat cookin up meat-on-a-stick,
selling it to passers-by

Adjacent to the temple is the Bang Phli Old Market, which is housed in the strangest building... From the temple's walkway of umbrellaed vendors, you have to shoulder your way through the throng to get over a short narrow pedestrian bridge which spits you out at the structure's dark wooden mouth. Stepping over the threshold, i had to give my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim,brownyellow light before I could see that I'd just entered a narrow corridor stretching for as far as I could see. There are few to no windows here so the only light comes from bare bulbs overhead, hanging every few feet from fraying, sagging electric cables. The place has an overwhelming, not unpleasant, musty smell. sort of like atool shed filled with ancient rusting tools, old wood and pain thinner. Lining the rickety wooden walkway are a hodgepodge of vendors with their wares stacked on carts, shelves, the floor, crates, bed frames -whatever's around. They sell everything here.

toiletries, milkshakes, extension cords, grilled meat-on-a-stick, blue jeans, hammocks, school supplies, hair driers, pet rabbits (looking absolutely ridiculous dressed up in tutus with bows strapped to their ears), diapers, bicycles, giant wooden altars, cookies, briefcases, books, cell phones, mushrooms...

view of the exterior of the market from a bridge over the canal

end of the bridge descending into the inky (and, i should add, economical) abyss that is the
Bang Phli old market

flags, flags, flags!
sdf