Thailand, March–April 2006

Photos from my time in Thailand: Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Sukhothai. In Chiang Mai I spent two days at a Thai cookery school.

The golden Buddha • The enormous golden statue of the Buddha at Wat Po (Temple of the Golden Buddha) in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Statue Temple
Grand Palace • The outside of the Grand Palace in Bangkok. When I went the palace was apparently closed for the day, but this could have been a fib by one of the many hawkers who swarm around the tourist attractions in Bangkok.
Building City Palace Street rhjf 20060322 2653
Monks • Two Buddhist monks, one meditating, in Wat Thewarat Kunchon in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Monk Temple rhjf 20060322 2659
Wat Thewarat Kunchon, Bangkok
Buddhism Car City Temple rhjf 20060322 2664
Wat Thewarat Kunchon, Bangkok
Buddhism Car City Temple rhjf 20060322 2665
Wat Thewarat Kunchon, Bangkok
Buddhism Car City Temple rhjf 20060322 2677
Buddha • The statue of Buddha in one of the halls at Wat Thewarat Kunchon in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2678
Incense • Incense at Wat Trithotsa Thep in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Incense Temple rhjf 20060322 2702
Buddha • A big statue of Buddha outside at Wat Trithotsa Thep in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2706
Buddhas • At Wat Trithotsa Thep, Bangkok.
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2714
Bells • Bells at the Golden Mount (Wat Saket) in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Temple rhjf 20060322 2732
Monastic phone call • A Buddhist monk speaks on his mobile phone inside the Golden Mount Temple (Wat Saket) in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Monk Temple rhjf 20060322 2743
Bangkok • A view over Bangkok from the Golden Mount.
Buddhism City City Views Temple rhjf 20060322 2745
Bell • A bell surrounded by flowers on the path down from the summit of the Golden Mount in Bangkok.
Bell Buddhism City Flowers Temple rhjf 20060322 2761
Wat Po. Bangkok
Buddhism City Temple rhjf 20060322 2779
Wat Po. Bangkok
Buddhism City Temple rhjf 20060322 2781
Golden Buddha feet • The feet of the enormous statue of the golden Buddha at Wat Po in Bangkok.
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2790
Stone statue • At Wat Po in Bangkok
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2794
Stone statue • At Wat Po in Bangkok
Buddhism City Statue Temple rhjf 20060322 2807 featured
Erawan Shrine • The Erawan Shrine, a shrine very much ‘in the city’ of Bangkok, being situated at a busy crossroads surrounded with a low fence such that the hubbub of traffic and people going past isn’t blocked out.
City Flowers Incense Shrine Worshipper rhjf 20060324 2809
Offering • A woman makes an offering at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.
City Flowers Incense Shrine Worshipper rhjf 20060324 2813 featured
Elephant statues • Elephant statues at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.
City Shrine Statue rhjf 20060324 2815
Tending to the flowers • A boy applies flowers at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.
Candle Children City Flowers Incense Shrine Worshipper rhjf 20060324 2816
Brahma Sahampati • The four-faced statue of Brahma Sahampati which is the centrepiece of the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok.
City Flowers Shrine rhjf 20060324 2821
Garlands • Garlands at Jim Thompson’s House in Bangkok. Jim Thompson was an American fabric designer (born 1906) who revived the Thai silk industry. He developed a magnificent family home in Bangkok, but disappeared without a trace in 1967. Theories abound about his disappearance, but it has been linked to his earlier work as an American military intelligence officer in the Office of Strategic Services (which came before the CIA), posted to Bangkok.
City Garden rhjf 20060324 2826
Jim Thompson's House • Jim Thompson's leafy garden in the middle of Bangkok. Jim Thompson was an American fabric designer (born 1906) who revived the Thai silk industry. He developed a magnificent family home in Bangkok, but disappeared without a trace in 1967. Theories abound about his disappearance, but it has been linked to his earlier work as an American military intelligence officer in the Office of Strategic Services (which came before the CIA), posted to Bangkok.
City Garden rhjf 20060324 2832
Tour guides • Tour guides at Jim Thompson's House, Bangkok.
City Garden People Trees rhjf 20060324 2837
Jim Thompson’s House • The garden at Jim Thompson’s House in Bangkok.
City Garden rhjf 20060324 2840
Trees • Trees at Jim Thompson’s House in Bangkok.
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River barge • A river barge on display in the garden at Suan Pakkard Palace in Bangkok.
Boat City Rowing Boat rhjf 20060324 2858
Suan Pakkard Palace, Bangkok
City Garden Pond rhjf 20060324 2868
Suan Pakkard Palace, Bangkok
City Garden rhjf 20060324 2869
Suan Pakkard Palace, Bangkok
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Garden • The garden at Suan Pakkard Palace, Bangkok.
City Garden Grass rhjf 20060324 2877
Sacred Heart Cathedral • The door of Sacred Heart Cathedral, Chiang Mai.
Church Door rhjf 20060325 2931
Wat Chaimongkol • A roof glittering in the late-afternoon sun at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060325 2939
Wat Chaimongkol • Wat Chaimongkol, Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060325 2949
Temple-hand • A man tends to the incense at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Incense People Temple rhjf 20060325 2953
Dragon • A dragon gargoyle at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060325 2955
Wall detail • A detail from the wall at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060325 2956
Ceiling • The painted ceiling at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060325 2960
Statues • Statues at Wat Chaimongkol in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Statue Temple rhjf 20060325 2962
Traffic • Traffic passing next to the original city wall in Chiang Mai.
Car Street rhjf 20060326 2974
Chiang Mai
Buddhism Temple rhjf 20060326 2984
Observer • A man sits cross-legged in front of a statue of Buddha at Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Statue Temple Worshipper rhjf 20060326 2987
King Rama IX • A portrait of King Rama IX, the King of Thailand, takes pride of place before the statue of Buddha at Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai. The King represents the head and protector of Buddhism in Thailand.
Buddhism Statue Temple rhjf 20060326 2988
King Meng Rai the Great • A statue of King Meng Rai the Great (1239–1311) in the grounds of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Statue Temple rhjf 20060326 2996
Car • A classic car carefully covered in a shed at Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai.
Buddhism Car Temple rhjf 20060326 2998