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Sunset at Shwe Sandaw Pagoda
Shwe Sandaw Pagoda was built in Bagan, Myanmar, in 1057 AD by King Anawrahta. It consists of five levels of red brick and a large stupa that is topped with a golden umbrella. The white color you see on the temple now wasn’t always there. Up until 1957, Shwe Sandaw Pagoda had retained most of its original design, aside from aging, minor repairs and upkeep. But in 1957, the Pagoda Trustees decided to renovate and modernize the temple by adding plaster embellishments and limewash on the upper half of the temple. When full-scale restorations began in the 1990’s, they restored the plaster and limewash finish instead of removing it to make it…
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Yangon’s Circle Train: A Journey in Photos
When I was googling things to do in Yangon, I realized that I wanted to do something more than just run around looking at temples. We did that a lot in Thailand and Cambodia and we would be doing that in Bagan, so I decided that I wanted to switch things up a bit and do something more cultural. When I came across the Circle Train, I knew it was exactly what I was looking for. The Circle Train in Yangon isn’t exactly a tourist destination. This train is what locals use to get from Yangon, the capitol, to other outlying villages. There’s nothing fancy or touristy about it. Nobody sings,…
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Michelangelo’s Pieta
Shortly after 23-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti arrived in Rome in 1497, he was approached by French Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas for a special task. Cardinal Bilhères wanted an extraordinary sculpture made for his mausoleum in the Chapel of Santa Petronilla, the chapel for the King of France in St. Peter’s Basilica, and he wanted the very young and very talented Michelangelo to create it for him. Michelangelo accepted the commission and promised to create “the most beautiful work of marble in Rome, one that no living artist could better” (Jansen, 459). After returning from a short trip to Carrara, Italy, in 1498 to secure the best marble he could find,…
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Kuan Yin Shrine and the Legend of Miao Shan
The Kuan Yin Shrine in Bangkok is dedicated to a Goddess whose tragic story exemplifies the virtues of kindness, compassion, sacrifice and forgiveness.
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The Standing Buddha and Wat Indharavihan
Hidden in the heart of Bangkok is a small 200-year-old Buddhist temple built in honor of one of Thailand's most revered Buddhist monks. Complete with a small temple and a 100ft standing Buddha, this temple is worth stopping to see.
