Travel: Of Palaces and Temples

Thailand -- the land of smiles. We wanted to see a glimpse of Thailand as tourists but we only had half a day to do it.

There was a lot of places to go to; but we opted to go see the Grand Palace and the two temples of Buddha around the area.

The Grand Palace is where the King resides. Buildings in the complex are so ornately decorated. They have colorful roof tiles, golden spires and accents, and thousands and thousands of mosaic tiles.

Look at the roof tiles. Those are the guardians of the gate.

This building, where guests of Thai royalty stay (according to our tour guide), was built for the King's son. You can see the European influence here.

They even have a building where you can really see the mix of Thai and European architecture. This is their reception hall. Look at the trees -- they are using bonsai!

The Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a sight to see. It is one of the most colorful, ornate structures I have ever seen.

Gold mosaic tiles. You'd think they have their own local supplier, but this is imported from Italy. Haha.

Look at the details...

One of the Buddhas, but this is not the Emerald Buddha. I couldn't capture a nice photo of the Emerald Buddha, because taking photos is prohibited inside the temple. Funny though, the Emerald Buddha is not made of emerald, but jade.

Another ornate design element --

Even the ceiling has design.

The second temple is located a few blocks from the Palace. Here is where the Reclining Buddha is located. It's sooo huge. See?