5 photo round up of what I saw/did this past week.
Hope you all enjoy them.
3rd times a charm. Finally on my 3rd visit to Istanbul I visit INSIDE the HAGIA SOPHIA. Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. This is hands downs one of the most beautiful museums (mosque/basilica) I have ever visited. I sat there so long just admiring it, holding tears back & letting a million thoughts run through my mind. So glad I didn’t skip it this time around.
So far I’m not sure if I like Bangkok or not. I know for sure I fucking hate the HUMIDITY… it’s like HOUSTON (a hot ass mess). Anyway I did visit the GRAND PALACE today and I loved the DETAIL. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925.
Wat Pho is a temple in Bangkok and is known as the birth place of the traditional Thai Massage. I had seen a million photos of this “reclining buddha” & was so happy to finally see it for my self. It is huge… over 15 meters high & 43 meters long. It was tricky trying to get a picture of it’s whole body and feet. This is the best I can do and love it.
Visiting a floating market was on my MUST DO list for when I visited Thailand. On our 3 day in Bangkok we decided to do a tour and visit one. We visited DAMNOEN SADUAK FLOATING MARKET & it was a HUGE disappointment. I mean it’s a huge tourist trap… by that I mean you arrive and all that is being sold is CRAP… you know the souvenir trinkets that are sold all over the world. I joked with my friend it’s like KHAO SAN ROAD on a RIVER. We both did wonder around outside of the tourist area and enjoyed that. In between all the boats selling crap I found a few selling fruit & was able to capture this shot that I like.
We used the ferry boats in Bangkok to get around & as soon as the boat took off I saw everyone grab the top & the first thing I could think of were the Chcicken Buses in Central America or the local buses in India & Egypt. So I am calling the boats CHICKEN BOATS. You know I don’t turn many of my photos black & white but this one I did, but think it just looks better. I love the faces of the people and all the hands holding the rail.
THIS WEEKS UPDATES
- MONDAY – 09/17/12 – Music Monday – Goodbye My Lover
- TUESDAY – 09/18/12 – My experience participating in Ramadan in Cairo.
- WEDNESDAY – 09/20/12 – 3 tours you should take when you visit Dahab, Egypt.
PREVIOUS PHOTO UPDATE
I hope there isn’t a “hand job on a chicken boat” post coming anytime soon! 😉
Great photos Jaime!
Ali recently posted..Advantages of Taking a Tour
OMG NOOOO ALI, I have matured a lil bit since then…lol!!! No more hand jobs to strangers.
You’re hilarious 🙂
Ali recently posted..Advantages of Taking a Tour
Welcome to Thailand!
Heather recently posted..K1 Fiance Visa: Do you need an immigration lawyer or attorney?
EEEeeeee thanks Heather!!!
You got a great pic of the reclining Buddha! So difficult to take a photo of that. Shame about the floating market – I heard that about it, that it was a tourist trap. I am lucky that a Thai friend took us to see a proper Thai floating market, there were pretty much no other farang there at all. It was called Amphawa and quite easy to catch a minibus there from Victory Monument in Bangkok (just in case anyone reads this and wonders)
I am in Bangkok before moving onto Burma, I’ve been so many times throughout my trip this year and i love it. Apart from the humidity, that is. It’s just TOO HOT here! But what I love about it is that it’s so modern in places, and also just not in other places. And the taxis are so cheap you can get lost walking around (of course if you don’t mind sweating buckets) and then just get a taxi home when you’ve had enough. I also love getting a few home comforts each time I come back here, like going to the super modern cinemas! Hope you enjoy Thailand! There’s so much to see 🙂
Ruth P recently posted..Is It Wise To Take A Blogging Break? [Hint: I Am Taking A Blogging Break]
Thanks Ruth that pic of the reclining Buddha took me a long time to get, but so happy I got it all in the photo. Yeah the floating market was a huge hot mess, I mean really I was so damn disappointed. Happy though you were able to see a proper one, I know they have one in Cambodia, I may try and see that one then. As for Bangkok, I have no clue how you love it, but that’s the beauty of travel some people hate places some people love places. I know when I tell people I love Cairo I hear a lot of “WHAT… REALLY?” so it’s okay!!!
Wow, just wow. This reminds me of Japan mixed with Antigua, Guatemala. I know that sound weird. Great pics.
Right… for some reason I keep thinking of Costa Rica everywhere I go. Glad I am not alone… because well we both know Antigua is beautiful but also very touristy.
Great photos! I saw some similar ones recently on Travel Explosion. What’s the Buddha statue made of?
Thanks Barbara. I’m actually not sure what it is made of. Good question… I’ll have to look it up!