Just a quick stop to spend a day in Sukothai which was the first capital of Thailand and is famous for the extensive historical ruins, which after restoration, became a Unesco World Heritage Site. A great day by bicycle around the different 'wats'. What is a wat? A wat is a Thai Buddhist temple or monastery. In most cases it is not just one building, but a collection of buildings, shrines, and monuments within a courtyard that is enclosed by a wall.
We stayed in Phitsanulok, less touristy than Sukothai (only 1h by bus) and this is where we enjoyed our best massage and tried so many different thai sweets as locals on the market were very friendly and were letting us try. Talking about people, Thailand is known as the 'Land of Smiles' and we like to say that we have liked locals evrywhere we have been so far but Thai are 'supra friendly' at 99,9%. They also don't try to rip you off as much but you still need to bargain a little; this is part of the game. Also, they do not get upset if you don't buy... But I just learned (with internet) the true meaning of 'Land of smiles'. The reason is there's a much broader range of uses for smiling in Thailand, some of which would be considered as inappropriate or even as rude in the west. Read more: http://www.into-asia.com/thailand/culture/smile.php
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| Grilled worms, cockroaches... will we try? not yet... still thinking... |
Each of the buddha's different postures conveys a different meaning. The lotus position represents the process of meditation, an important aspect of Buddhism. If the hand is raised, it signifies a warding off of things that would cause fear. If the hand is touching the earth, it conveys the solidness of the ground in a metaphor for the stability of true Buddhist faith. The reclining Buddha is generally representing the final passage into nirvana, which is the state of nothingness to which some sects of Buddhists aspire. The laughing Buddha is based on a Chinese monk.
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