Haew Suwat Waterfall, Thailand

There are many waterfalls in Khao Yai National Park but Haew Suwat or Nam tok Haew Suwat and Haew Narok waterfall are said to be one of the best ones. The waterfalls come to full life during the rainy season. We visited only one as the heat was too much for us to undertake journey to another popular and mostly visited Hawe Narok waterfall.

This waterfall became popular after Leonardo Dicapro's scene from "The Beach" where he jumps over the cliff into the pool below.During the dry season, when we went, the fall had water but it was turbid. This was also a plus point for us as we were spared by the wrath of leeches who become rampant during the rainy season :(

upper level pool

The water collects in a pool on the upper level from where it falls down 25 meters below

Oh no, we did not see elephants, but got a chance to see their dung, confirming that this pool is visited by them.

notice at entrance

view of both levels of waterfall from above

polypore or bracket or shelf fungi on a tree log

bracket fungi attack wood of living trees

We saw two caves below the waterfall, I am not that adventurous so dared not go over the boulders, step into water and explore inside the caves.

The pool water is though tempting for a swim but it is prohibited to swim at any time of the year. During the rainy season which is from May to october, the amount of water in fall increases manyfold and it may become dangerous for those who do not want to adhere to rules.

Huge boulders around make good and safe seating spots. You might be visited by butterflies, bugs so if you are sensitive to them, apply insect repellants.

A good weekend get away from Bangkok.

Alo Taw Pyae, Bagan

A small pagoda, built in 11th century, Alo Taw Pyae or Alo-Taw Pyi pagoda is situated on Anawrahta road near Htilominlo temple. It is said to be built by King Kyansittha. It is one of the early Bagan monuments.
The temple translates to "Wish fulfilling".

pagoda

side view of pagoda

A stairway leads to the top storey but no one is permitted to go up now. The pagoda was earlier plastered but with time, it has worn off and can be seen at just some places.

The pagoda is topped with three receding golden terraces. The stupa stands on a pentagonal base on top of which is the shikhara which is topped by a hti. There are golden stupas on corners. Chinthes guard the pagoda from four sides of terrace.

it is considered wish fulfilling to apply gold leaves on the image

fresco on ceiling

Buddha images painted on wall

passage going to upper floor locked

The murals on lower ground level have been covered by glass to protect them. There are Buddha images in niches.

more painted images

Buddha with diamonds

pagoda with pillar on its side

pillar with ceremonial bell on side

The pagoda though is very small but a must see to admire the wall to wall murals.

Kanchanaburi, Thailand

A two hour drive from Bangkok is a small town of Kanchanaburi in west Thailand and is a good weekend getaway. People became more aware of this place after the Hollywood movie, The Bridge on River Kwai.
Kanchanaburi is very close to the borders of Myanmar which attracts a lot of migrant labors from there. It is famous for the Death Railway which was built during World War II, so named as it claimed many lives during its construction.

I shall cover those details in my next post on The Bridge over River Kwai.

train cross the river

Kanchanaburi is situated at the meeting of two rivers- Khwae Noi and Khwae Yai which merge together to become Mae Klong. Being surrounded by water and thick vegetation, it is so much cooler than the hot and humid weather of Bangkok.

the place where we stayed

enjoying breakfast by river

Alms giving ritual:
Alms giving ritual is an important merit making in Buddhism. In Laos, the ceremony, which attracts a lot of tourists involves, people sitting by the roadside and waiting for monks, who come to accept alms.
I have written about it in my earlier post, The Alms giving Ceremony, Luang Prabang

flowers and donation basket ready to give

We waited for the monk to come, donation baskets were ready on the table. The hotel had made provision for arranging the stuff.

monk arrives on boat

Soon, we hear the sound of a motorboat coming towards us.

It circles and comes to stop near the pier. People are already lined up to make merits.

monk blessing the couple

 video 7394

Carnival and Exhibition:

Every year around November-December the road near to the bridge is closed and shops are put for the carnival. This is a part of yearly memorial week organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand.

ferris wheel

all set for kids zone

some snacks are always welcome including the fried insects which are very popular in this region

something different, grilled crocodile

I loved the family enjoying their meal

sweet and sour candies

so many shops to chose from

There was a separate section where they were selling pets which attracted not only children but adults too.

awww, feeding milk to a piglet, others pushing to get a share of it 😊

I wanted to stand there the whole time and stroke the soft fur of these bunnies

My favorite place to browse

local pottery, ceramic and melamine

stand up rafting at dusk

floating restaurant

this restaurant sails only during the evening with loud music and food

bridge at the back

Let me write about the bridge in detail in my next post.

Nathlaung Kyanung temple, Bagan

Nathlaung Kyanung, west of Thatbyinnyu is the only surviving Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu in Bagan.

History of temple:
The time of its construction is debatable as after King Anawrahta ascended the throne in 1044, he started spreading Thervada Buddhism. So, it must have been constructed during the reign of King Nyaung-U- Sawrahan, known as Taungthugyi around 961, a century before Thervada Buddhism was introduced.
Another theory says that it was built by King Anawrahta as a place to keep all non-Buddhists religious images as he wanted to strengthen Thervada Buddhism. This temple became a place to where Hindus devas and Burmese nats were kept. The temple therefore for Burmese meant "shrine confining nats".
For Hindus, it was Nath-daw-Kyaung meaning the "Shrine of the Sacred Devas" or Nat-hl-khaung translating to "Shrine of the reclining Deva" because of the reclining Vishnu inside the shrine. The temple is said to be constructed between 1044 to 1077.

What's special about this place?
This is the only surviving Hindu temple in Bagan.
Look for good images of Vishnu which are quite well maintained.

very faint, hardly inlegible tablet on the side of temple

There is a mandapa, a porch, outside the temple. It was originally covered by a wooden canopy. The shikhara is almost damaged. On its side, Ngakywenadaung Pagoda which is a 10th century pagoda. It is 13 meter bulbous Pyu style pagoda.

There is an image of reclining Vishnu in an alcove on entering the main hall.

On top are two images of Goddess Brahmani.

Goddess Brahmani is considered as the Shakti of Brahma and sits on a swan.

reclining Vishnu

Brahma is said to have come out of the navel of Lord Vishnu, so he is sitting in the center above Vishnu. Since, Brahma is the creator, he has Yama, the god of death on one side and Chitragupta, who keeps record of our deeds on the other side.

Vishnu image mounted on wall

Vishnu image

Vishnu image, frescos on wall which is very faint. Must have been covered all over earlier.

a small part of fresco, but impossible to decipher

Mahazedi pagoda as viewed from a window inside the temple

There were statues of 10 incarnations of Vishnu on its outer wall, just a few remain. Some of them have been stolen away as in picture above. A German engineer smuggled a large Vishnu image seated on Garuda. It is now in a museum in Berlin.
There must have been reliefs in the empty spaces but that is all gone.

image behind grills

some of them are damaged. It is impossible to figure out what they are.

The temple was badly damaged in the 1975 earthquake, but at least only the main hall and a part of shikhara remain.