Silk Road - Zhangye

Zhangye was an important outpost on the Silk Road bordering Inner Mongolia on the north.  But we are here to see the Rainbow Mountains in the Danxia National Geological Park, which are so stunning that many people (including myself) who haven't visited the area in person asked if they are real!  

Zhangye is more than 500 miles from Lanzhou and it took us more than 3 hours even on the bullet train.  But going on the train is in itself quite an experience.  The train station is huge and we were lucky we did not drag along our checked-in bags as the platforms are at different levels.  Our bags were forwarded by bus to Zhangye so we only had our carryon luggage with us.  The ride in the train car was comfortable, and the time went quickly.  We passed by several high plains, includindg the Qinghai Plateau, the Tibetan Plateau, and the famous Qilian mountains.  

The high-speed train station

Passing through the plateaux

Our first stop after arriving at Zhangye was the Danxia Geological Park where the Rainbow mountains are.  There are many viewpoints at the park, they all involve climbing steps to different platforms.  There were no crowds and we were able to take all the photos we like from the viewing platforms.  There are no hikes in these parks.

  This is the appropriately named Crouching tiger mountain.

We were lucky to be in the park during the golden hour, with the red rocks catching the sun's rays and showing us their best colours

I'm glad we didn't have to climb this steep one!

The reason why there were no crowds at our viewing platform is because there are different levels of entrance fees at the park.  Tour groups are given access to different platforms from individual travellers.  This is the platform where non-tour groups go.

We drove through the park to a canyon for a hike on the boardwalk.  This landscape reminds me of the Stone Forest.  It is also dotted with hoodoos and all kinds of rock forms that can be interpreted in whichever your imagination takes you.

An easy hike along the boardwalk - no crowds, something to treasure because it would be the last time we get a tourist attraction all to ourselves!

Very much like the Stone Forest landscape

I thought Nefertiti had moved to China!

Two camels?

There are many caves!

The drive through the red canyons is reminiscent of Zion National Park in Arizona

A different palette here but also partly because the sun is no longer on the rocks.

An unusual sight - a pine tree in the middle of this barren landscape?  I blew it up on my screen and found that it is a fake tree used to hide the cell phone tower!  Not sure which is more awkward.

An exciting afternoon at the park!  We moved on to dinner and then the hotel.  It's a long day but totally worth it.

An unsual fish at lunch today - wish I could remember the name!

Stuffed red dates and lily for dessert - all the healthy stuff!

Beautiful lake in the garden of the Zhangye Hotel

In the morning, before we left Zhangye, we visited the Dafo Temple which has the longest wood buddha in China.  Our very scholarly local guide, gave us the historical background to the temple which was built in the 12th century in the Western Xia period in the style of palace temples.  The big reclining Buddha was damaged during the Cultural Revolution but has been restored; it is now undergoing a second restoration.  There is a story that Kublai Khan was born at the temple when his mother was living there.  6,000 volumes of Buddhist scriptures survived in the temple.  In the garden there is a statue of a nun who risked her life to protect the scriptures.

The entrance to the hall housing the buddha

The head of the 35 metre long Buddha

Love the expressions on the faces of these "lohans" (followers) of Buddha

The sign in front of these lohans suggested that there is no need for a monetary donation to pray and be blessed.

This "Gold & Silver Scriptures" from the Ming Dynasty (14th eentury)

The statue of the nun who safeguarded the scriptures

This tower holds the ashes of an important high priest

This long post covers a day and a half in Zhangye.  After the temple visit we went back on our bus for the 3 hour trip to Jiayuguan, the second important post along the Silk Road.

Bangkok - Temples & Palaces

 

We were in Bangkok for three days, part of it on our own and part of it with the tour group. The major landmarks are temples and the Grand Palace. The Wat Arun, Temple of Dawn, stunningly different from the other temples and standing apart on the west bank of the river, was easily my favourite temple among all the temples we visited in Bangkok - and yet it was not on our tour agenda.  I was glad we visited on our own on that first day.

We also visited a temple not on the regular tour list, Loha Prasat (Metal Castle). We were there in late afternoon just as the sun hit the gold on the building.  It was particularly striking...and there were no crowds.

I enjoyed the gigantic Reclining Buddha - it was pretty awesome and worth the lineup, which moved along fairly quickly even with people making stops for selfies, although frankly it's an impossible task - far easier to get someone to take a photo for you.

The Grand Palace was too grand for words but too crowded to be truly enjoyable - it was almost terrifyingly crowded, an experience I would hesitate to recommend no matter how grand the buildings. The National Museum which we visited on our own afterwards was a quiet haven which allowed us to recover from the trauma of the palace crowds.  This will be in the next post. 

Practical tip:
- Apart from the required temple dress code, wear socks or have sockettes available if you don't want to walk around with bare feet on floors that the world had walked through - you will be required to take off your shoes at the temples. At the Emerald Buddha temple, it is best to have your guide watch over your shoes because of the huge crowds.

The central stupa at Wat Arun from different perspectives - you can walk up this stupa to different levels

From the front entrance

This buddha behind bars at the top of one of the stupas

There were different temples with more traditional architecture at Wat Arun

An emerald buddha in one of the temples - this is NOT the famous emerald buddha, which was moved from Wat Arun to the Grand Palace

Rows of buddhas in long galleries - we would find this is a repeated theme at many temples

Over the top trimmings!

The beginning of the 344 steps up to the "Golden Mountain" at Wat Saket

This is another ornate temple not on the regular tourist route  - Loha Prasat; we hit it at the golden hour, making the gold more golden than ever!

The giant reclining buddha at Wat Pho - worth the short lineup to see it - it's quite spectacular

This is a little over halfway...

Here are the toes...

Even the back of the head was something else

Stupas and long galleries outside Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha) - there will be more of these at every temple we visit

This is the crowd jostling to get in so they can walk in front of the Emerald Buddha, below - you can decide whether it's worth it...

There are six pairs of these demons guarding the Emerald Buddha

One of several temples on the Grand Palace grounds - this one actually had space for you to sit and pray!

This one with porcelain tiles reminded me of Wat Arun

This gold stupa is supposed to contain the relics of Buddha

The Buddhist Library built in 1789 - door panels are inlaid with mother of pearl.

Model of Angkor Wat, the Khmer temple in Cambodia - the King had this built so his subjects can see what the Khmer ruins looked like.

Statue of Cheewok Komaraphat - patron of Thai medicine and a doctor of the Lord Buddha

There are Chinese statues scattered throughout the palace grounds - these were used as ballasts when the Thai people were trading with China

One of many side gardens in the Grand Palace complex with Chinese statues

I love the energy of these demons and monkeys holding up the gold stupa - these are important characters in the Ramakien story (Thai national epic derived from the Hindu epic Ramayana)

Wat Arun at night