Liz Guest Blogs: There are a lot of Buddhas in Bangkok!

Liz guest blogs... Since we were together, no sense in both of us writing it up!

There are a lot of Buddha images in Bangkok!
Golden Buddhas
Emerald Buddhas
Large Buddhas
Small Buddhas
Reclining Buddhas
and so on...

Today was the day for us to tour Bangkok with Tong.

Our first stop was Wat Traimit, the Temple of the Golden Buddha.
This Buddha image is 15-feet tall and weighs 5.5 tons! It is made of solid gold and was cast sometime in the 13th century.At some point, it was covered in plaster, most likely in an attempt to hide the valuable icon from thieves or looters. The disguise was so good that everyone apparently forgot about what was hidden beneath. The true nature of the Golden Buddha wasn't discovered until it was moved to its present location at Wat Traimit in 1955. When the image was being prepared for its move, some of the plaster was chipped off, revealing the gold underneath. Bits of the plaster can be seen in a case to the left of the statue.

A photograph of the plaster head:
More Buddha images in Wat Traimit:
Next stop: The Grand Palace
The current king does not live in the Grand Palace, because his brother was assassinated here decades ago. However, the Grand Palace continues to be used for official ceremonies and business. It is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Detail of the mosaic:The Emerald Buddha:
The king's sister passed away on January 2nd, and there are 100 days of mourning in Thailand. These sodiers were protecting members of the royal family who had come to mourn .
Wat Pho- The Temple of the Reclining Buddha
The Reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. It is absolutely huge.You can somewhat judge the size by comparing the size of its feet to the people below:The feet are decorated with inlaid mother of pearl.Random photo of a pretty flower. I love flowering trees.

We said goodbye to Mom and Dad, and they left to catch up with their ship.