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Title: Hurry Up Lady! I'm Waiting Here!
Location: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:18pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
The staircase look like an escalator! Going up is easy. But, walking down can be creepy! The stairs are steep and narrow. One small mistake you'll end up rolling down like an idiot.
Location: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:18pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
The staircase look like an escalator! Going up is easy. But, walking down can be creepy! The stairs are steep and narrow. One small mistake you'll end up rolling down like an idiot.
Title: "Honey, Standstill & Gimme The Precious Pose"Location: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:18pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
The upper staircase (to the prang's terrace) can fit only one person at a time. At times, it can be really annoying waiting for visitors to get their valued portrait shots.
This central prang is a BIGGIE! Look at the size of the woman and the prang.
Title: "Follow ME"Location: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:18pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
Look closely and you'll see three demons (on the middle) holding up the prang. In Malaysia, I've seen demons pinned to the ground by the The Four Heavenly Kings 四天王 (Four Guardian Gods).
Title: Reaching for NirvanaLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:52pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
A beautiful statue of Buddha clad in yellow robe.
Title: The WarriorLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:14pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
Another Chinese rock statue at the base of the main prang. It reminds me of Onimusha 鬼武者.
Title: Ancient Chinese SoldierLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:14pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
An elaborate statue complete with headgear and beard.
Title: The Towering PrangLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:59pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
Today, Wat Arun has a long elongated, Khmer-style, prang (the main tower) and four minor towers/satellite prangs symbolizing Mount Meru, the terrestrial representation of the thirty-three heavens.
Walk up the steep stairs to view the Chao Phraya River and its surrounding. The stairs will lead to two terraces that form the base of the Prang.
Title: The Satellite PrangLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:28pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/9.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
A partial view of a satellite prang/smaller towers visible from the staircase of the central prang. The prangs are topped with a seven-pronged trident, referred to by many sources as the "trident of Shiva".
The towering prang with its four smaller siblings (satellite prangs) were started by Rama II in the early part of the 19th century, and completed by his successor Rama III.
Title: Behold! The Mother of All PrangsLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:17pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Temple of Dawn is named after the Hindu God of Dawn, Aruná. Aruná literally means redness of the rising Sun or "rising sun", which is believed to have spiritual powers.
"This 79 meter high tower is decorated with ceramic tiles and fragments of multi colored porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. The porcelain mosaic fills every conceivable nook, cranny, and wall, creating a brilliantly imaginative and visually stunning monument". Source: http://www.watarun.net/index.html
Title: The Double PrangsLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 11:55am
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/7.1, ISO Equiv.: 100
The central gigantic prang with one of the four satellite prangs. The main prang has different layers.
"The different layers, or heavens, are supported by Kinnaree, or half-humans, and frightening Yaksas, or demons. Pavilions on the first platform contain statues of the Buddha at the most important stages of his life, while on the second terrace four statues of the Hindi god Indra or Erawan, his thirty-three headed elephant, stand guard". Source: http://bangkok.sawadee.com/temple/temple_wat_arun.htm
Title: Buddha's TouchLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:53pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
I was moving around searching for different perspective. Finally, I found that moment and snapped this picture. It seems Buddha is touching the tip of a chedi.
Title: Statues of BuddhaLocation: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:04pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/3.5, ISO Equiv.: 900
Four Buddha in a row.
Title: GRRR! Location: Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Bangkok, Central Thailand
Date: 4 September 2009, 12:07pm
Camera: Nikon D60 with Aperture: f/8.0, ISO Equiv.: 100
A fierce looking guardian at the main entrance. The mascot on the red gate is garuda ครุฑ (krut). Thailand uses the garuda ครุฑ (krut) as its national symbol.
Once the boat docked, I paid 50 THB for entrance fee. By mid afternoon, it was getting hotter by the minute. I'm talking about BURNING HOT! Even the Thais were complaining and decided to apply sun lotion. It was my second day under the hot sun. It was really unbearable!
I visited some smaller attractions in Wat Arun วัดอรุณ before climbing up the middle prang. There are several medium-sized buildings with Buddha statues and relics. Along the way, I stumbled upon a pair of lovers seeking advice from a Thai monk. I decided to leave them alone. After that, I walked to the central prang of Wat Arun วัดอรุณ. It was surreal standing next to the main prang. I look like a baby smurf :)
According to Wikipedia:
"The outstanding feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower). Steep steps lead to the two terraces. The height is reported by different sources as between 66m, 80 m and 86 m. The corners are surrounded by 4 smaller satellite prangs. The prangs are decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun
The steps leading up the prang is steeper than Batu Caves. Climbing up is easy albeit occasional 'traffic jam' along the steps. As usual, some visitors were jamming up the staircase. Some visitors were glued for pictures. It was really annoying. Imagine standing right behind someone buttocks! I walked along the prang's perimeter to snap different view of Wat Arun วัดอรุณ. The view is OK and nothing to shout about. There are two pathways to the terraces - one going up and another going down. An Englishman and an elderly Japanese woman were having argument on the correct way to walk up and down the prang. SILLY, STUPID & call it what you want :)
Next...The BIGGEST PRANG in Wat Arun วัดอรุณ, Temple of the Dawn (Part 2)
Like China, Thailand has a very interesting and unique architecture, covered in history and symbolism.
Excellent shots!
You should upload some detail photos as well!
@chinamanufacturer,
Agree! The Wats (Thai Temple) never fails to amaze me. Be it architecture, towering demons or temple guardians....SIMPLY AMAZING! Best of all? Thailand is indeed a Land of Smiles. No doubt about it.
@1ondoncalling,
Thanks!! These are the only 'BEST' pictures by far :)
mylo,WOW!! your new layout looks great.looks more commercial .Next step is converting it to MYLOISMYLIFE.COM and try to promote your website in overseas travel forum , i'm very sure a lot of matsalleh would like to see malaysia from the local people point of view . try to make some money out of it by putting some advert or link to the local travel agent.You got a gift in photography and the way you capture your photograph is just great and tells a story behind it.Honestly i feel that you should capitalized on your skill.
cool layout. You designed yourself? I was just thinking about upgrading my layout these days then was shocked seeing your new layout.
@xplorer,
Thanks!! I'm not ready to convert my blog to .COM yet.
Still upgrading and modifying the template for better layout and also trying hard to minimize the loading time. I added some ads from google adsense. Generating ads revenue is really difficult. Need to attract more visitors.
Thank you so much for your great motivation and encouragement. I'm still dreaming of a day working as a professional photographer.
@Shelyn,
I found this wordpress template that was converted to blogger. I tweaked some scripts and changed the design to make it more attractive. A few 'plugins' were not working. By now, I'm still trying to improve the layout.
Shelyn, your design and layout (Travel & Living Bliss) is excellent! I LOVE the two navigation bars (menu bar). In fact, I referred to your website several times to 'copy' some good ideas about a 'travel blog' :) Love the link exchange column in your website. Got to add one in my blog soon!
Cheers!
mylo
Actually I spent very long time on the net searching for free template and finally found this free yet professional template.
This is one of the examples of the travel blog that inspires me a lot. Danial (blog owner) and his wife plan a year-long round the world trip in 2011 and the blog records all preparation and observation about their plan. It's very comprehensive and I like their contents.
Actually @explorer is right that you can start selling your photos (they are awesome) online. I believe many gwailou would want to buy it. I wanted to show you a photo website that owned by a Malaysian who sells his photos online and I heard that the business is quite good. But I forgot the web address. Give me some time to dig out the address :-p
Oops... forgot to give you Daniel's blog address -> http://www.twortw.com/
Shelyn,
Well, I really inspired to do something with my old template after checking out the travel blogs shortlisted for nuffnang awards. So, my credit goes to Shelyn for sharing the link to nuffnang.
I stumbled upon Jinsona's template in less than one hour. Fell in LOVE with this template :) I've been spending hours and hours to tweak the scripts and modifying the design. It's crazy but I enjoyed 'perfecting' the layout :)
Thanks for sharing Danial's blog. That's is really interesting! Blogging about your future trip? First!
There are some local photo stock portal. I was invited by one of them. But....you need to post full resolution for every picture. That's a whopping 3-4 MB per pic. My lousy bandwidth is KILLING ME!
Cheers!
mylo
yeah... when I first installed my template there were many things didn't work also. Like there was no link to next and previous page, missing 'Read More' feature, etc. Spent lot of time to fix it and added more stuffs. Blogging is really a great learning.
Anyway, I'm happy to see your new layout. We are progressing!
You achieved dizzying heights in more ways than one. Thanks for allowing me to re-visit these places through your exquisitely taken photos. Refreshingly new layout. Yes,the heat there can be unbearable but you're a survivor I know. Who can forget your harrowing time in Fraser's Hill's Pine Tree Trail!
@Shelyn,
I just fixed the slider menu - photobucket's slide show fit nicely :) So far so good. Blogging can be addictive...lol!
'KA YOH' to all fellow bloggers!!!
@Roger,
Glad Roger & Shelyn like the new layout. I'm still working hard to minimize the loading time on the index page.
Yep! After Pine Tree Trail, I can SURVIVE the harshest condition :)
Cheers!
mylo
Great shots! These Thai temples have very impressive architecture!
ZQ
ZQ,
Thank you and welcome!!! Me too! I was blown away by the Wats/Thai Temples. Simply impressive. No words can describe the beauty.
Cheers!
mylo
The best views and photos of Wat Arun are in the evening with the sun setting behind it. There are some restaurants on the opposite side of the river that are good for watching this.....