Wat Chedi Luang Varavihara

Wat Chedi Luang Varavihara is somewhere we visited when we were on 
a trip to Chiang Mai.

A wonderful example of a Wat - and certainly well looked after.

If have to admit taking this information from a website - https://www.thai2siam.com/business/chiang-mai/attractions/temple/wat-chedi-luang-varavihara 

Wat Chedi Luang Varavihara, meaning the temple of the large stupa in northern dialect, is a Buddhist temple in the heart of old walled Chiang Mai, not too far from Wat Phra Singh. As the name suggests, the temple is home to Chiang Mai’s largest Buddhist chedi featuring 98 meters tall and 54 meters in diameter, in ancient time it was the largest building of all Lanna Kingdom. The current temple ground was originally made up of three temples, namely Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Ho Tham and Wat Sukmin. 

The construction of chedi started in the 14th century, when King Saen Muang Ma planned to bury the ashes of his father there, but, due to different suspensions of works for stability problems, it was completed only in 1461 by King Tilokaraj. In 1468, the revered Phra Kaew Morakot, more known as Emerald Buddha, was installed in the eastern niche. In 1545, the upper 30 m of the structure collapsed after an earthquake, and in 1551 the Emerald Buddha was moved to Luang Prabang. In the early 1990s the chedi was completely renovated by Princess Sirindhorn, with works financed by UNESCO and the Japanese government. 

However the result is somewhat controversial, as since there is no document certifying the exact shape and size of the original, some historians argue that the new chedi is built in the central Thai style, not Lanna style. For the 600th anniversary of the chedi in 1995, a copy of the Emerald Buddha made from black jade was placed in the reconstructed eastern niche. The icon is named official Phra Phut Chaloem Sirirat, but is commonly known as Phra Yok. The ordination hall located in the front of chedi is also an example of beautiful Lanna architecture with its serpents is probably one of the most remembered elements.

I have found more places which do not allow women - am I seeing an increase in this?

 

Eat my Life (ครัวคนยอง) (BKK) Visit 1 now closed

 

Eat my life is a coffee shop adjacent to the Heathfield International School.

And what a wonderful place for a coffee whist I can escape from school for a lesson AND it is real coffee.

There are a plethora of different drinks that you are able to have there but I have always has a cappuccino.

It is always served with a glass of cold water as well - great service.

There is also an attached restaurant but I have not tried that yet...

I can find very little information about the cafe / restaurant on the Internet - when I wrote this - but here's the sign outside.

Phone Number: 097 119 2834

Approximate Price: $$$$$

Hours: 8am - 5pm

The Khlong Khuean Ganesh International Park (Somewhere to go) (BKK) Visit ?

The Khlong Khuean Ganesh National Park is something we glimpsed whilst driving through Chachoengsao. 

We followed the signs and found the enormous bronze statue in the middle of a park - I only found out that it was bronze when I wrote this.

There was very little information that I could find in English (here is a blog post).  

I chose to walk all the way to the statue to pay respect and make a wish from the mice.

There are three of the Ganesha statue in the province.

 

Third term being a Teacher again

The third term recently finished. I can't remember everything that happened but this is an outline.

We had some rain...

We made bookmarks for Homework.

We continued learning about China - we painted some more as well.

We looked at using Coding on the computers.

There were eggs which we painted for the window. And this was the assembly

We had another assembly about The Great Fire of London.

There were quite a few things we investigated in our Science Lessons.

We investigated homonyms - and more.

We could now input the housepoints directly onto the computers!

A new roadside coffee opened 

and then so did the coffee shop - Eat My Life - wonderful.

It was Father's Day.

We made a theatre for the classroom.

The World for Eco Club

and a few smiles

and the mess outside...

And I was given some ears to look after whilst I was on Playground Duty...

Cowculator (App)

Thinking of being a Vegan?

Description

“Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forested land, 20 pounds of CO2 equivalent, and 1 animal's life.” — Cowspiracy

Climate change, ocean dead zones, fisheries depletion, deforestation, food safety, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes have all something in common: our demand for and consumption of animal products. By eliminating animal products (such as meat, dairy, and eggs) from our diet, we can reduce the amount of harm we inflict on the environment and on ourselves.

By simply entering your veganniversary (the day you became vegan) Cowculator calculates how much water, grain, forested land, CO2 equivalent, and animal lives you have saved by going vegan.

Not vegan yet? Download Cowculator today and learn the difference you can make by going vegan!

This is an interesting App which pertains to show you what advantages there are if you are Vegan - it made an interesting read but I would not become a Vegan. There are a lot of unhappy reviewers though...

Cost: Free

Ease of use: very simple

Comment: not sure why I would want this

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cowculator-friends-not-food/

Church of Santa Cruz (Somewhere to go) (BKK) Visit 1

The Church of Santa Cruz is something that I came upon upon on a Walking Tour in Bangkok - Thonburi. 

After the Walking Tour I was made aware that you were able to see the church from the Chao Phraya River and there is also a stop nearby.

We came upon it after walking down some very small lanes.

Khao Ta-Kiab Beach (Somewhere to go) (HuaHin) Visit ?

Khao Ta-Kiab Beach is the beach we must visit when we visit Hua Hin and we usually stay at Anantasila Villa by the Sea.

Khao Ta-Kiab beach is a long stretch of beach which is still largely un-spoilt.

We always take a ride on the horses - but we do wonder how they can last so long in the heat...

There is sometimes a selection of jet-ski and banana boats to choose from.

Then there were the monks that walked along the beach in the morning - this does seem to be something regular?

Watch out for the jelly-fish 

and the traffic though.

There are a number of restaurants on the beach which are certainly worth visiting. There was a cafe but it was closed when I wanted to visit.

We have been here again.