MangoVine
Adventures in East Asia

Entries in Attractions

 06 December, 2009
Sunday The Angkor Wat Sunrise
Our first day in Siem Reap and we opted to see the famous UNESCO temples by first taking a sunrise visit to Angkor Wat. We met our tuk-tuk driver at 5am to travel in darkness, first to get our three-day passes to the temple complexes, then onto Angkor Wat, where he dropped us off outside to make our own way in.

Angkor-Wat-Sunrise-0121

That early in the morning, riding in an open tuk-tuk was freezing cold, so luckily we had some warmer clothes with us - not needed in the tropical heat of the day.

Read more... 05 December, 2009
Saturday Chatuchak Market Part 5 - Amazing Twirling Tea Man
One of the "attractions" of Chatuchak Market seemed to be this twirling tea man. Make no mistake, there's no irony there. His stall was selling iced milk tea, and to prepare it, he mixed the boiling hot water, tea and condensed milk (and maybe a few more) ingredients by pouring the potentially scalding liquid above and around himself, all whilst spinning around on his heels - quickly and smoothly.

Twirling-Tea-Man

Want to see him in action? This video below shows how experienced and cool he is.

Read more... 04 December, 2009
Friday Silk and Teak at the Jim Thompson House
To hear of an attraction in Bangkok called the "Jim Thompson House" was a little strange as it sounds as indigenous to Thailand as a plate of fish and chips. However, it turns out the place is a little oasis of six traditional teak houses, reconstructed to create one enviously livable dwelling, which is stuffed full of superb examples of Thai arts and crafts.

Jt-1

Jim Thompson's significance in Thailand doesn't end there though, as he seemingly singlehandedly turned traditional Thai silk weaving from a dying art into an international industry.

Read more... 03 December, 2009
Thursday Wat Pho Part 3 - Thai Massage
Probably the most anticipated part of visiting Wat Pho was the Thai massage that Linh and I wanted to go for. It was also almost the first time that I'd had any kind of professional massage (first time was in Taiwan) and so it would be interesting to get a Thai massage in such a renowned place for its technique. Since we had spent the whole day walking around The Grand Palace and Wat Pho, a massage afterwards would be well timed.

Wat-Pho-Massage2

Luckily, we came across the two blocks where the massages were being carried out, in time to be booked in, since they were actually closing a bit earlier that day. Though it was busy, we didn't have to wait.

Read more... 03 December, 2009
Thursday Wat Pho Part 2 - The Reclining Buddha
Linh and I found the largest feature of Wat Pho to literally be the Reclining Buddha. Not surprising really, since Wat Pho is also known as The Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

Wp-Big-Buddha1

This Buddha image was forty six metres long and fifteen metres high and decorated with gold plating on the body and mother of pearl on the eyes and soles of the feet.

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