Smile / Respect / Courteous /
by travelagent4thailand
there isn't just a favorite thing about this place. the favorite thing is being here in Bangkok. my fondest memory of Bangkok...
every day is a fond memory...
the worst floods, the bad pollution, the heavy traffic, the good food, the smiles of the people, the extra fruits that the fruit seller gave as a token of his welcome to his country,
the heat, the beaches....
a scalpel slices across my eye
by richiecdisc
As a scalpel sliced across the inside of my lower eyelid, I couldn’t help but think this was not how I envisioned my first day in Bangkok. It had been over ten years since setting foot in the renowned gateway city, that being my virgin trip to Southeast Asia, and accordingly I was excited not only to return to familiar sights but to discover some new ones. Of course, a trip to the hospital was not one of the discoveries I had planned.
Though Bangkok generally doesn’t elicit the dread of say New Delhi in India as a necessary evil to see a region, it rarely is mentioned as a favorite city by travelers that are nevertheless forced to use it as a hub in their Southeast Asian adventures. Personally, I find it a most agreeable place; it is full of not only Western amenities but for anyone prone to investigation, lots of Eastern charm as well. Even in the backpacker haven of Khao San Road, it is easy to find local delicacies at bargain prices, and locals still enjoying the fare right alongside you. (continued below in Fondest Memory)
Muang Boran ~ Prang Sam Yod, Lop Buri
by Audrey118
Prang Sam Yod, Lop Buri
Prang Sam Yod means the Three Spired Sanctuary, was once a Mahayana Buddhist shrine complex.
This is a typical Lopburi style. The old Khmer masterbuilders erected this triple-tower structure in accordance with the Mahayan a belief in the Trinity, or the three fold Body of the Lord Buddha, namely the Dharmakaya, the Dharma body on the threshold of Nivana, the Sambhogakaya, the Body of Purity that has won the right to enter Nirvana. The central tower and shrine once contained an image of the Adi-Buddha (the Original Buddha), while the other two towers once housed statues of Avalokitesvara and Prajna Paramita, goddess of the Mahayana pantheon.
Religious customs
by SirRichard
I have never deeply understood all those buddhist ceremonies, but when I visit the temples I like to sit aside and watch the locals come in, prepare the incense and the flowers, put it in place, bend, pray, mutter, look up, bend again, put their shoes on and go...
I have always wonder what do they pray for... Health? Love? Fortune? and who do they pray to?... the same God (at the end)?
Packing List
by Lozza_9
The clothes in Thailand are very cheap. T-shirts cost £1. I took loads of clothes and wished I bought less and bought new clothes out in Thailand. When you go on hols you normally buy new clothes anyway - don't bother. Many of the chemist/shops sell well know shampoo, wouldn't bother packing that. The clothes I did buy wash really well and they sometimes don't need ironing ( Great). Some are better than the clothes I bought in the Uk for £30. Hiking Make sure you bring stuff for bites. I would buy before you leave. Go to your chemist and get the best.