Sunday, May 14, 2006

Imperial Palace cont'd...






More Palace Pix!! Had enough yet?!
Top to Bottom: The King's Palace (which he doesn't live in anymore but the 8 prior to him did- it is now used for foreign diplomats but NOT for business deals); Artwork inside one of the temples telling the story of Buddism; the most sacred of all Buddah in the WORLD- the Jade Buddah. The story behind this Buddah is that during one of the wars, it was encased in a plaster replica to keep it safe from the enemy. It was forgotten in there after the war until one day it was hit by lightening and the nose of the plaster Buddah cracked off. They soon discovered this one and it has been worshiped ever since. When you go into the temple that houses this Buddah, there is NO PHOTOGRAPHY and you take your shoes off outside. When you sit and stand, DO NOT point your feet to the buddah. It is VERY disrespectful and if you are caught (it is gaurded CLOSELY!) you will be removed of your feet. As in, they will cut them off. I am not even kidding. They are very serious about this and your tour guide will warn you about 50 times not to mess with this rule. ; The picture out tour guide Cindy is holding up is of Buddah's 3 styles of dress. They are for the 3 seasons in Thailand- Summer, Rain, and Winter. The King himself preforms the changing of the buddah ceremony. Very Solemn.; the last picture is just another temple!!

No comments: