Tag Archive | temples

What to do in Vietnam, Dalat.

Jul22

dalat vietnamIn the next few paragraphs we are going to see what the main attractions are to do in Vietnam. This will hopefully give you a nice feel of the place so that you if you are going there then you will know what to visit and what not to miss out on while you are over there.

Easy Riders – If you do not have a lot of time in Dalat then you are best to book a tour with easy riders. The reason for this is because within 2 days you will get to see the whole Island. 2 days may seem a long time but you will see all you need to see within the country. You get an English speaking guide whose English is really good to hear and puts a bit of comedy in the tour. The price may sound dear at $70 per day however you do get quite a lot for your money but you do get the tour guide for 2 days and they put you up in a hotel for the night which you cannot grumble at. This is probably going to make you feel like you had an awesome holiday if you are going to book with easy riders.

Dalat Palace Golf Club – When you are in Dalat and you have had a couple of days looking at some tourist attractions you may want to relax for one day playing golf, if that is your type of thing. If you have brought your golf clubs with you or you are looking to rent some while you are over there then you best of coming to the Palace Golf Club. The Palace Golf Club used to only be a nine hole but with more people coming to play on this course they have decided to upgrade it to a 18th course. This means that you are able to stay out longer and enjoy playing in the sun and seeing some of Dalats amazing views.

Dalat Market – If you are looking to try out some new foods or looking for some cheap items to take back with you to your family then the market is defiantly the place to visit. It is a chance for you tee see what the locals eat and what type of products they sell. This market is open in the morning and closes late afternoon. This is a market not to be missed if you are going to visit Dalat.

Touring Bangkok’s Temples

Jul11

reclining buddha

I travel to Thailand and visited Bangkok back in February and although most of what I’d heard about Thai tourism before dealt with its seedy underbelly, I found Bangkok to be a beautiful city. Part of the purpose of my trip was to visit the city’s temple complexes of Wat Pho and Wat Arun the architecture of which I had admired for years.

Similar in architecture to the Cambodian Angkor Wat, these temple complexes were some of the highlights of my trip. I visited Wat Pho on the second day of my trip. It’s located in the central district (Phra Nakhon district) of Bangkok where I planned a fully day of sight seeing. The complex is divided into two walled compounds. One of these holds the Reclining Buddha and the other is a working Buddhist monastery.

The Reclining Buddha that I just mentioned is one of the largest Buddha images in the world and I can honestly say that I’d never seen anything like it. The body is covered in gold plate and the soles of its feet are covered in mother of pearl on which is etched 108 Buddhist scenes. The rest of the temple is home to more than a thousand smaller images of Buddha.

Overall, it was fairly overwhelming to my Western sensibilities but I really enjoyed seeing it in person. If you’re going to visit the temple you should be aware that there is a dress code (no shorts for example) and a small admission fee. Strangely, the temple complex is also home to a school of massage and traditional medicine. The school’s hours are similar to the temple’s and it’s possible to purchase massages while there.

I spent a good 90 minutes at Wat Pho and the rest of my day was spent touring adjacent sites in the Phra Nakhon district. The next day, I toured Wat Arun on the bank of the Chao Phraya. It’s located one district over from Wat Pho in Bangkok Yai and if there hadn’t been so much to do and see around Wat Pho I could have seen both in the same day.

Of the two temples, Wat Arun was far more impressive. It’s dominated by an ornate central tower and incorporates a lot of Hindu and Chinese figures in its design. It was very different from Wat Pho (except in the fact that it too charged a small admissions fee) and while I found the Buddha at Wat Pho to be interesting, the architecture at Wat Arun was visually stunning.

I toured it by myself but there were clearly organized tours of Bangkok that stopped there. Of course, there’s more to see than just the tower because, like Wat Pho, Wat Arun is a functional monastery with a collection of ponds and small buildings scattered throughout the complex.

I enjoyed Bangkok but the trip wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable without the temples. I’d recommend them to anyone visiting Thailand.