Bangkok- 4/5/13-4/8/13

Day 1	Day 2	Day 3

Ancient City

Ancient city part 2

Ancient city part 3

Lunch/ Paragon

Day 3-Ancient City (Muang Boran) - Part 2

Dusit Maha Prasat Palace in the Grand Palace, Bangkok was built in 1806 in the reign of King Rama I as an audience hall. Renovations in the reign of King Rama III completely changed the original design. Here, the replica is based on the original design obtained through research and old photos

Really beautiful area and very restful!

On the right is Dusit Maha Prasat Palace and on the left is Sanphet Prasat Palace in Ayutthaya which was burnt to the ground in 1767 when the Burmese destroyed the city. Only the brick base of the palace remains today.

The Dusit Maha Prasat Palace at Muang Boran is not intended to model after the current palace as it stands today in the grand Palace in Bangkok. What we are seeing here represent the original version and was built by researching and studying of old photos and contemporary documents.

 The Dusit Maha Prasat Palace at Muang Boran is the representation of the original appearance of the original palace.

Formal sitting area.

Garden with miniature trees.

Nice pond.

Rattanakosin Dwelling was originally constructed during the reign of King Rama V. The house comprises a number of traditional housing units with paneled walls and clay roof tiles."

The Dvaravati Kingdom has long been considered the center of Hinayana Buddhism. Since a large amount of the religious art works had been created in Dvaravati, they have been classified as artifacts of the Dvaravati school. The elaborate pieces of Dvaravati artworks were created in accordance with Buddhism beliefs.

Ancient Siam has reconstructed the Dvaravati Wihan to represent the image of the Dvaravati kingdom, whose influence has flourished in the northeastern region for more than a thousand year.

Our next stop is Prasat Phra Wihan located on the hill.

Khao Phra Wihan National Park is a protected natural area in Sisaket Province, Thailand, that contains numerous ruins of the 11th century Khmer Empire.  build on a red stone cliff that is part of the Dangrek mountain and located between the border Thailand and Cambodia

The International Court of Justice awarded the temple ruins to Cambodia in 1962, but  part of the temple is located in an area of 4.6 km² that Thailand still claims. Nevertheless, in 2008 the World Heritage Committee's 32nd Session listed the Temple of Preah Vihear as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which prompted an armed dispute.

Here I am beginning at the foot of the hill slope with stairs to climb.

There are 4 groups of stone structures established at 4 different levels.

Khao Phra Wihan at Ancient City is an artificial hill with 54 meters high, 66 metes wide and 250 meters of hill slope. 684 pillars have been used to shore up the hill, 2,400 truckloads of rocks were used to create the lofty hill. Massive dug up for topsoil to cover the hill slope. The artificial hill of Preah Vihear is about one-tenth of its original size while the prasat is smaller than its original size by half. On the top of Khao Phra Wihan provides an excellent scenery of the Ancient City.

View of the first level.

View of level 2

View of Ancient city from level two.

More view of the ancient city

View from level 3

Phanom Rung in a Khmer temple built in sandstone and laterite in the 10th to 13th centuries. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, and symbolizes Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling.

 In 2005, the temple was submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a future World Heritage Site.

I made it to the top! Tourists taking pictures...

View from above.

Here is Tanong, our driver during our stay in Bangkok courtesy of Fabrinet.

Finisar is dealing a lot with Fabrinet so when they heard I am coming for vacation they just offered the serve at no charge!

Next.. Ancient City, Part 3