Buddhism – Page 4

Ayutthaya, Thailand

This is the first in a five-part series about Ayutthaya, Thailand and the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This article gives an overview of the City of Ayutthaya and its history. The others will feature four of its most important sites: Wat Chaiwatthanaram; Wat Phu Khao Thong; Wat Mahathat; and Wat Yai Chai Mongkon. They should give you a taste of what this amazing place has to offer.

In August 2012, I visited Ayutthaya, the site of the former capital of Thailand (also called Siam or Krung Tai) during the Ayutthaya Kingdom period. Established in 1350, the capital at its height in 1605 ruled an area that included Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and parts of Burma (Myanmar) and China. The city was destroyed in April 1767 after a 14-month siege by Burmese invaders. Most of its buildings were reduced to rubble and its treasures looted or destroyed. The threat of a Chinese invasion at home forced the Burmese army to retreat a few months later, leaving Thailand decimated until the country reunified in December 1767 and a new capital was established in Bangkok (then-Thonburi).

In 1991, UNESCO named Ayutthaya a World Heritage Site and designated 15 sites in the city of significant historical value. These included Wat Ratchaburana; Wat Mahathat; Wat Phra Sri Sanphet; Wat Phra Ram; Wat Lokayasutha; Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit; Wat Lokayasutha; Wat Yai Chai Mongkon; Phra Chedi Suriyothai; Wat Phanan Choeng; Wat Chaiwatthanaram; Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre; Japanese Settlement; Wat Phu Khao Thong; and the Elephant Camp (Kraal). Most are located on or around an island in the city center surrounded by the Chao Phraya River.

Some sites have partially restored temple ruins, such as the gorgeous Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Wat Mahathat, a former Buddhist monastery and one of the largest sites in Ayutthaya Historical Park, is well known for the stone Buddha’s head stuck in a banyan tree on the grounds. Experts believe that the artifact was either abandoned by thieves or fell from a statue after the temple was destroyed.

Other ancient structures such as Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, a restored temple famous for its reclining Buddha, are still in use. Ruined prang (towers) and stupa or chedi (monuments) offer glimpses of Ayutthaya’s once-glorious past.

Wat Phu Khao Thong is another monastery dating back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom period that has been renovated and is still in use today.

Ayutthaya is a two-hour drive north of Bangkok (in good traffic) via an expressway from downtown Bangkok. It’s a great daytrip for those who want to explore Thailand’s past and the Ayutthaya Kingdom’s influence on Thai culture. The city of about 60,000 inhabitants is relatively compact and easy to navigate.

With many historical structures scattered throughout the city, Ayutthaya is a wonderful place to savor Thailand while you’re driving from site to site. Check out the beautiful countryside and the shallow (and somewhat muddy) Chao Phraya River that winds its way through the city on its way to the Gulf of Thailand.

Stop in the city center for lunch. The Amporn Shopping Centre and Chao Phrom Market have a variety of dining choices ranging from Thai to western cuisine.

Browse the local markets and try some fruits or snacks. The aging Chao Phrom Market is an authentic Thai market, gritty but fascinating. The contemporary Ayodhya Floating Market on the outskirts of town is a touristy place with elephant rides and staged re-enactments of the Burmese invasion. While it may feel kitschy and commercialized, it’s a fun place to end the day with a meal and some souvenir shopping. It’s different than the Ayutthaya Klong Sa Bua Floating Market, a better-known floating market that was closed when I visited but will reopen in October 2012.

Ayutthaya’s historical sites would have been in much better condition had they not been destroyed in 1767 — consider how well preserved its peer, the Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is — but many still stand as a testament to the former majesty of this ancient capital.

More About Ayutthaya, Thailand

Click here to read about Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the ruin of a former Buddhist temple

Click here to read about Wat Phu Khao Thong, a historical Buddhist monastery

Click here to read about Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, a historical Buddhist monastery

Click here to read about Wat Mahathat, the ruin of a former Buddhist temple

Visit Ayutthaya Historical Research for more in-depth information about historic Ayutthaya.

The photo of the historical painting of Ayutthaya was used with permission from Wikipedia.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Top Ten Things to Savor in Macau

Here is a top ten list of things to enjoy in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and former Portuguese colony. This list is based on my visit to Macau in April 2012. The activities and destinations listed should give you a taste of what one of Asia’s most fascinating places has to offer.

1. Ruins of St. Paul Cathedral in the Historic Centre of Macao (the Portuguese spelling of Macau), a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Historic Centre of Macao on Macau Peninsula with its mix of Portuguese and Chinese influences was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. The Centre stretches over several square kilometers in two zones: one between Barra Hill to the west and Mount Hill in the center, and the other to the east encompassing the Guia Fortress, Guia Chapel, and Guia Lighthouse. The first zone boasts 20 monuments of special significance to the blending of eastern and western influences that harken back to Macau’s days as a Portuguese colony. Click here for more information about the Centre.

The Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral and College is arguably the city’s most famous landmark and a must-see attraction. Completed in 1602 by the Jesuits, it was one of the largest Catholic complexes in Asia but fell into decline after Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuits’ Order, the Society of Jesus, in 1773, and the Jesuits departed. It was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The cathedral’s façade crowning a long flight of stone steps is the only visible remnant of the church. Its baroque features are reminiscent of the Jesuit Reductions in South America that were built at about the same time. Behind the façade of St. Paul’s is the Museum of Sacred Art and Crypt with relics and artifacts from the former Jesuit complex.

Next to the Ruins of St. Paul’s is the nondescript Na Tcha Temple, a Buddhist and Taoist temple built in 1888 to honor the Taoist deity of protection, Na Tcha. Perhaps just as significant is the red-brown wall behind the temple that is reportedly one of the last standing sections of the Old Wall of Macau destroyed by the Chinese in 1622.

2. Senado Square and Leal Senado:

As short walk from the Ruins of St. Paul’s through the colorful shopping district of the Historic Centre of Macao is Senado Square, or Senate Square. This is the heart of historic Macau. The square is paved with a colorful mosaic of cobblestones surrounding a contemporary fountain bedecked with a metallic globe. St. Dominic’s Church, Leal Senado, General Post Office, Santa Casa de Misercordia (Holy House of Mercy), a Portuguese charity, and other colonial buildings border the square.

The shopping district in the Historic Centre of Macao:

St. Dominic’s Church:

3. Mount Fortress and the Macau Museum

Also located in the Historic Centre of Macao, the Mount Fortress (Fortaleza do Monte in Portuguese) is a hilltop fortress built in 1626 by the Jesuits to defend themselves from attack. The colonial government seized it after the Jesuits left Macau in the 1770s. It served for many years as the residence of the governors of Macau and a military fort.

The Museum of Macau sits on top of the mount.

Mount Fortress is a short escalator ride from the Ruins of St. Paul’s and has a nice vista overlooking the city worth the trip. You can almost hear echoes of the city’s colonial past near the cannons on the ramparts. The beautiful garden offers panoramic views of the old city. Click here for more views of the city’s skyline.

If you enjoy old military forts and have the time, visit Guia Fortress a few kilometers to the east.

4. A-Ma Temple

The A-Ma Temple, a Taoist temple built in 1488, is the oldest and most famous in Macau. It’s located at the base of Barra Hill at the western end of the Historic Centre of Macao. Time and weather did not permit us to visit it on our trip, but several sources have indicated that it is one of Macau’s main attractions and worth a visit.

5. Visit the casinos, gamble and shop

As the only place in the People’s Republic of China where gambling is permitted, Macao is a popular destination for Chinese who enjoy gambling. As of 2012, gambling revenue in Macau was five times that of Las Vegas, although you wouldn’t know at first glance. Unlike the crowded Las Vegas Strip, Macau’s casinos are scattered across the city. The newer casinos are located on the Cotai Strip in Cotai, a district between Taipa and Coloane islands built on reclaimed land. The Galaxy, City of Dreams, and Venetian are on the Cotai Strip. Others, including the Grand Lisboa and the Sands, are located near the Historic Centre of Macao. These casinos and hotels are filled with restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues that appeal to gamblers and tourists alike. We stayed at the Galaxy and were impressed by the amenities and beautiful peacock motif.

6. Dine on Macanese and Portuguese cuisine

Macau offers a delicious fusion of Chinese and Portuguese cooking. The two have blended into a local style known as Macanese cuisine with an emphasis on baked goods and grilled and roasted meats. Some popular Macanese dishes are Portuguese or African chicken, codfish (bacalhau), gray chicken or rabbit (pato de cabidela), spicy chili shrimps, minced beef or pork (minchi), stir-fried curry crab, steamed pork buns, and egg tarts. Macau has many fine Macanese, Portuguese, and Chinese restaurants. Dine at one recommended by a local or the concierge at your hotel. We dined at Antonio (259 rua dos Negociantes Taipa), a Michelin 3-star Portuguese restaurant owned by renowned chef Antonio Coelho widely known as one of the best purveyors of Portuguese cuisine in Macau. The meal was delicious, and the ambiance was wonderful.

Other recommended restaurants in Macau are Fernando’s on Coloane island (9 Praiade Hac), seafood restaurant O Manel (10 rua de Femao Mendes Pinto), and Macanese restaurant O Porto Interior (259 rua do Almirante Sergio).

7. Macau Tower:

The 338 meter (1,109 foot) tall Macau Tower offers some of the best views of Macau. Thrill seekers can walk on Skywalk X, the outer rim of the tower with only a tether and no handrail. Or bungee jump off the tower, the second highest in the world after the Vegas’ Stratosphere skyjump. We didn’t visit the tower because of bad weather, but I took a photo of it.

8. Taipa Village:

Taipa Village is an old settlement on Taipa Island near the Cotai Strip. It’s worth a visit if you’re staying on Taipa or Coloane islands. Get away for a meal at one of the Portuguese or Macanese restaurants. Walk along Rua do Cunha or one of the cobblestone side streets to buy pastries or souvenirs and visit the Taipa House Museum and Church of Our Lady of Carmel. With all the modern casinos rising up around it, this colonial-era town feels like a place frozen in time.

Here are a couple of odd sights we encountered in Taipa Village – alley cats feasting on a meal outside a restaurant (we didn’t eat there) and dried caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis) for Chinese herbal tea.

9. Macau Science Center, Cultural Center of Macau, and Macau Museum of Art:

The Macau Science Centre is a contemporary waterfront structure designed by famous architect IM Pei that opened in 2009. The Cultural Center of Macau and Museum of Art are co-located in the same building across the street from the science center. The three offer a variety of exhibits and performances that make for a nice alternative to the casinos and historic parts of town. They are also visually attractive and offer a nice photo op.

10. The House of Dancing Water Show:

The House of Dancing Water, a Vegas-style stage production at the City of Dreams, is a wonderfully choreographed experience in an intimate aqua theater-in-the-round. The uniquely Asian take on the aquatic theater concept combines theater, dance, gymnastic artistry, high-performance diving, and state-of-the-art displays of water imagery. Click here to read my previous post about the show or click here to buy tickets.

We simply enjoyed walking around the streets of Macau to see the city. Here are some photos from the city center:

There are many more things to savor in Macau. It’s impossible to see it all without visiting at least a few days. From the Macau Grand Prix held each November to taking the one hour Hong Kong-Macau Ferry, a visit to Macau is filled with eclectic diversions that make it a fun destination in Asia.

Here’s to hoping your trip will be filled with sunshine.

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The Historic Center of Macau

This is the second in a series of articles about Macau, a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. As with the show The House of Dancing Water, we took too many great photos of the Historic Centre of Macao (the Portuguese spelling of Macau) to include all of them in my upcoming list of the Top Ten Things to Savor in Macau. It merits its own post with a full photo collage.

The colonial area of the city with its mix of Portuguese and Chinese influences was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2005. According to UNESCO, “with its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the Historic Centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West.”

The Centre stretches over several square kilometers in two zones: one between Barra Hill to the west and Mount Hill in the center, and the other to the east encompassing the Guia Fortress, Guia Chapel, and Guia Lighthouse. The first zone boasts 20 monuments of special significance to the blending of eastern and western influences harkening back to Macau’s days as a Portuguese colony. A complete list is at the end of this article.

During our trip to Macau in April 2012, we visited the monuments near Mount Hill. They’re shown in the map above. Starting at Senado Square (10 on the map), we walked to Mount Fortress (21), the Ruins of St. Paul’s (29), and back to the square. The small area was packed with things to see and made a great daytime walking tour. Unfortunately, time and weather did not permit us to see the other sites in the Centre — perhaps during a future visit.

We started at the Mount Fortress (Fortaleza do Monte in Portuguese). The hilltop fortress was built in 1626 by the Jesuits to defend themselves from attack. The colonial government seized it after Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Jesuits’ Order, the Society of Jesus, in 1773, and the Jesuits departed. It served for many years as the residence of the governors of Macau and a military fort. It is now home to the Museum of Macau. You can almost hear echoes of the city’s colonial past near the cannons on the ramparts. The beautiful garden offers panoramic views of the old city.

The Museum of Macau.

A short escalator ride down the hill is the Ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral and College, one of the city’s most famous landmarks. Completed in 1602 by the Jesuits, it was one of the largest Catholic complexes in Asia but fell into decline after the Jesuits’ departure. It was destroyed by a fire during a typhoon in 1835. The cathedral’s façade crowning a long flight of stone steps was the only visible remnant of the church. Its baroque features reminded me of the Jesuit Reductions in South America that were built at about the same time.

Statue depicting the Apostle Paul.

The back side of the cathedral’s façade — an interesting contrast from the front.

Next to the Ruins of St. Paul’s is the nondescript Na Tcha Temple, a Buddhist and Taoist temple built in 1888 to honor the Taoist deity of protection, Na Tcha. Perhaps just as significant is the red-brown wall behind the temple that’s reportedly one of the last standing sections of the Old Wall of Macau destroyed by the Chinese in 1622.

Na Tcha Temple and a section of the old Macau wall.

We walked down the steps of the Ruins of St. Paul’s to the intersection of Rua de Sao Paulo and Rua de Santo Antonio, where the shopping district of the Historic Centre of Macao began. Heading away from St. Paul’s, Rua de Santo Antonio became a cobblestone pedestrian street that headed to Senado Square.

At the base of the steps was an interesting statue depicting a Caucasian man and Asian woman that apparently signified the union of eastern and western influences in Macau. In an eternal pose the woman offers the man a lotus flower, and the man accepts with an open hand.

As we made our way through the Centre’s shopping district, we saw a variety of western and Asian storefronts sprouting from colorful Portuguese-style colonial buildings with signs in Chinese, English, and Portuguese. It was an interesting melding of the old and new. Most tourists here were Chinese drawn by the excellent shopping opportunities.

A side street off Rua de Santo Antonio.

An old home.

Colonial building near Rua de Santo Antonio.

Near the junction of Rua de Santo Antonio and Rua Sao Domingos, we passed by the beautiful St. Dominic’s Church. Originally built in 1587, the baroque interior is worth a look-see.

Turning a corner, we entered Senado Square, or Senate Square, the heart of historic Macau. The square was paved with a colorful mosaic of cobblestones surrounding a contemporary fountain bedecked with a metallic globe. The Leal Senado, General Post Office, the Santa Casa de Misercordia (Holy House of Mercy), a Portuguese charity, and other colonial buildings bordered the square.

The Leal Senado (Loyal Senate) erected in 1784 was the seat of Macau’s colonial government. Its name, bestowed in 1810, honors the colony’s continued loyalty to the Portuguese monarchy during the Iberian Union (1580-1640). It has served as the headquarters of the Institute of Civic & Municipal Affairs, which administers local matters, since Macau’s transfer of sovereignty to China in 1999.

The General Post Office.

The monuments described above are only some of the significant ones in the Historic Centre of Macao. Others include:

A-Ma Temple
Moorish Barracks
Lilau Square
Mandarin’s House
St Lawrence’s Church
St. Joseph’s Seminary and Church
St. Augustine’s Square
Dom Pedro V Theatre
Sir Robert Ho Tung Library
St. Augustine’s Church
Sam Kai Vui Kun (Kuan Tai Temple)
Cathedral of the Nativity of Our Lady
Lou Kau Mansion
St. Anthony’s Church
Casa Garden
Old Protestant Cemetery and the old headquarters of the British East Indies Company

The walking tour from Mount Fortress to Senado Square is accessible by foot and takes about half a day. If you’re planning a trip to Macau, take your time and set aside at least two days to visit the Historic Centre.

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