Thailand - Walk Through Bangkok

On an early Sunday morning, I took off for a photo tour of Bangkok, a city I had visited many time before.  I was accompanied by a local photographer, Eric, who knew both the main streets and the hidden alleys.

In the mornings, the monks take their "begging bowls" and ask their faithful to donate food.

This young monk has completed his morning routine and is headed back to the monastery.

This older monk has discovered a dual purpose for his walker.

Although early in the day, this vendor hopes to find families out for a morning stroll.

This vendor knows it is never too early  for fruit.

These ladies know it is never too early for some Thai barbecue

Many alleys have decorative entry and exit symbols.

Here is a sign that needs no further explanation.

We were there during the King's birthday week and many people put up decorations in his honor.

This cute little girl enjoyed having her picture taken.

This is called a spirit house.

A special temple, one where monks are ordained.

My guide, Eric, introduced me to a special treat you can only get from sidewalk vendors in Chinatown.

A Thai company bought the historic East Asiatic Company building as well as some adjoining buildings.  Thereafter, for reasons unknown, they put up signs prohibiting photography on all the buildings.

Obviously, no sign will stop the intrepid photographer from a photo.

There is a very long street in Chinatown where historically the foreigners had their businesses. On Sundays, they would take the day off and stroll the neighborhood.

In this particular area , there were more churches than temples.

The cathedral near Chinatown.

Decorations outside the Cathedral.

Thailand- Bridge Over the River Kwai // The Tiger Temple

When the 80,000 British troops in Singapore surrendered to the Japanese, many were sent to Kanchanaburi, Thailand to help construct a rail line between Thailand and Burma.

The troops referred to the railway as the Death Railway because so many soldiers died, mostly from   malnutrition and disease.

There were three different camps and some had higher death tolls than others. One officer who wrote a book about the experience said of the 1700 troops who arrived with him, only 400 were alive at the end of the war.

Families had the opportunity to inscribe the nameplates of their loved ones.

Sadly, when the allied planes bombed the bridges, they also bombed the camps, killing hundreds of their own  soldiers

The bridge is still in operation today. The original bridge was badly damaged but restored after the war.

Trains cross the bridge daily. Some go deep into Burma but others are for tourists who want to say they crossed this famous bridge.

This is a good shot of the bridge.

The day we were there seemed to be a day the local monastery had an outing.

I loved this shot.  The monk on the end, wearing Ray-Ban wrap around sun glasses, was taking a selfie with his Iphone.

This pretty tourist was talking to the the monks hoping for a picture with them.  Women are not supposed to touch a monk or be too familiar.  Thus his concern.

But in the end and with a smile, he decided one little photo could not hurt.

Japanese tourists seem so conservative except when  it comes to photos

This group of school girls stationed themselves at the end of the bridge where they could meet tourists and practice their English.

These girls had a set of prepared questions, 25 to be exact, and after each question they would ask Medi to write out the answer she had just given. We did not make it through all the questions.

We visited Wat Pha Luang Ta Bua or the Temple of the Tiger.  "Wat" is the word for temple and it is an active, serious religious ground. It is not particularly old for a temple , built in 1999 as a refuge for tigers and other  animals.  By 2014, there were 100 tigers at the temple but many were kept far from the main tourist area.

This young lady, a nineteen year old British student, is the reason we did not pose for photos with the tigers. In August of 2013, one of the tigers turned around while she was petting it and bit her thigh. She survived but spent three weeks in the hospital undergoing numerous operations.

This father and son team were more adventurous.

This girl was also brave. Perhaps she had read recent articles that the temple masters drugged the tigers to prevent any more incidents. You must admit they do not look particularly dangerous.

Other articles questioned whether the area was a true temple or more of a theme park.

Sri Lanka - Colombo : the temples and churches

Colombo is a city of temples, churches and mosques.  The majority of Sri Lankans are Buddhists , eighty percent of the population, but there are are Hindu temples, Muslim mosques and Catholic churches throughout the city.  This is the Temple of Sri Kailawasanathan Swami Devasthanam Kovil, one of the oldest Hindu temples in the country.

In both Buddhist  and Hindu temples, guardians , human and animal, are placed on and inside the temple to guard against evil spirits.

A priest gets ready for the New Year's blessing.

Worshippers will approach the priest to receive a blessing signified by a garland.

Others will line up, men to the left and women to the right, to be purified in a fire ceremony at the altar

Worshippers also prayed outside the main temple.

This girl was deep in prayer.

This Buddhist temple, called Gangaramaya, had a very modest design even though it was the most famous in the country:

This was one of many groups of  Buddhist statues at the temple.

The guardians of the temple.

A member of the faithful.

The old Dutch Church - Wolvendaal Church. It was started in 1749 and completed eight years later.
 

The Colombo cathedral where Pope Francis recently visited.

This recently built church shows the Catholic faith in Colombo continues to grow.