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The breathtaking Grand Palace is an architectural wonder and the jewel of Bangkok's impressive collection of temples and palaces. Although the Royal Family no longer lives here, the Palace is still used for ceremonial purposes, and most of it remains closed to the public. However, the four main buildings are incorporated in the grounds of the glittering Wat Phra Keo and must be visited to experience their brilliant, diverse styles
Also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, this 200-year-old wat is also Bangkok's largest one. Full with history, its highlight is the fantastic gold-plated reclining Buddha, 46 meters long and 15 meters high, with mother of pearl inlaid feet, themselves three meters long. Wat Pho is also Thailand's oldest learning center and a respected Thai massage school operates here, teaching techniques to the eager and providing massages to the weary
There is a promenade called Tetsugaku-no-komichi (the Path of Philosophy) extending from Nanzenji Temple to Ginkakuji Temple. In Ginkakuji Temple, there is a Chisen-kaiyu style garden (wet strolling garden), which is structured in a sophisticated style representing the Japanese sense of art, and is designated a World Cultural Heritage site. an incredible place full of inner peace and pretty flowers.
The way this place makes money is 3 fold, first you have to walk through a long line of souvenir shops before getting to the resturant/show building. second they give you too much time to eat, enough time to shop. and finally they make the food WAY TOO SPICY! and then charge you 4 times the market value for every drink that you are gonna need believe me.
I will recomend only the show. It is all dancing and very few lines of dialog. Sort of boring if you ask me but I'm not into the big stage productions. Only a few scenes with elephants.
The other cool thing about this place was the buildings were big and detailed. They have a Elephant palace. That makes it look like Elephants are Gods in Thailand.
the yu gardens are a beautiful example of a traditional chinese garden, right in the middle of shanghai. surrounding the gardens are a bunch of shops selling souvenirs and arts and crafts. there is also a tea house outside the garden. inside is an amazingly tranquil beautiful space that i love walking around in. i was lucky enough to get a guided tour of the gardens the first time i visited, and if you can arrange this, it will really enhance your appreciation of the gardens. in addition, there are artisans who are skilled in various traditional arts--most very painstaking and detailed. you can watch them practice their craft and then purchase the artwork from them. really interesting.
Hangzhou is a city in China, very famous for the beauty of its West Lake. This city was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, and once was the largest city of the world, with 1 million inhabitants, even Marco Polo after passing through it said :"beyond dispute the finest and the noblest in the world". You definitely have to visit the West Lake and its many scenic areas, but also the temples and pagodas, as well as the beautiful gardens and forest are more than worthy to visit.
The old town was the centrepiece of spainish colonial period which left many catholic churches and architectures with spanish style. But it is so strange that you could hardly see any tourists in this area. People always tells that travelling around Philippines is not safe, but I feel completely safe in this area. But this may be one of the reason for Asian people not to travel here. For westerners, there is obviously less interest to see the similiar culture. For an indepedent traveller from China, I truly enjoy this different and less-touristry atmosphere.
Guilin in China was a strong communist stronghold during the revolution, that now has several western-style hotels and tourists as well as local tourists. Its very close to a number of picturesque limestone mountains and formations, and taking a boat trip down the Li River is an experience you should keep in mind!
Tian´anmen Square (Door of heavenly Peace) in Peking was built and designed for the capitol's urbanist plan, in 1949, becoming the symbol of the New China. With this construction it was pretended to create a giant esplanade to hold massive political marches, like the ones hold at the Red Square in Moscow. The Tian´anmen Square is the largest square of the world. Built following the south-north axis of the Forbidden City , in the middle there´s an obelisk, the Monument to the Town Heroes, of 38 meter tall, and with an inscription realized by president Mao Zedong, that reads: The Town Heroes are immortal. At this square, occurred the 1989 Revolt of Tian´anmen Square, also known as the Tian´anmen Massacre.
A distinctive feature of the Manila skyline, the green-and-white gothic spires of the churches of this powerful and influential religious group are as familiar a sight to Filipinos as McDonald's golden arches. Iglesia ni Cristo (also known as INC) has a big following in Manila and throughout the country. The churches, unlike the humbler structures of other Christian denominations, always sport a fresh coat of paint.
My Nick : The Insider
My Name : Alex Martin.
Born in: Orange County.
Age : 37
Hobbies : reading, travel, discover places, board games
