These pictures were taken in Non Sung the same day I visited Wat Nonthai with Riam. The countryside is so beautiful!
We also visited some ruins nearby.
There was a spirit house at the edge of the ruins.
Riam just so happened to wear an outfit that coordinated with the ruins. Hence, the camouflage pose.
How does one pose in a full body shot? I've still got a lot to learn from my Thai friends. They've got hundreds of poses that they can throw out at any moment.
Then, there was ice cream.
At the entrance and exit of most schools, you can find food and drink vendors. I opted for water. I haven't had soda since early June. It's everywhere, though. Some kids drink more soda than water.
I just posted about an awesome parade we had a school yesterday on my other blog. Go HERE to view it.
A couple of weeks ago, I finally got out of the city for an afternoon. Riam took me to observe a teacher out in the country. I'll post about that part later. Afterwards, we headed to Nonthai, which is a little city right outside of Korat.
There was a HUGE wat on the side of the road, so we decided to stop and have a look.
Riam poses in front of a Yak (giant).
Here are some of the temple dogs. They've got a pretty nice life.
One of the windows. Very beautiful.
In Thailand, people are cremated rather than buried. Their ashes are often put inside these things. I'm not sure what they're called, but each one contains the remains of people who have passed away.
This is a really old bell tower at the wat. It's not in use anymore.
More temple dogs.
Here are more of the things that people use for the remains of their loved ones.
It's similar to a grave in that it has the name and birth/death date of each individual. There is usually a picture next to the person's name, too.
Here is one that is open. It hasn't been sealed yet.
This is the view looking at the bell building and the main building.
Bell
Bell
A couple of dragon snakes leading the way up to the main building.
I'm not quite sure what that guy on the bottom is called in Thai or English.
Such attention to detail. These buildings really are quite beautiful.
This particular room was interesting because there were several Buddha images that were very old.
These images are old.
The ceiling.
The multi-tiered umbrella above the Buddha image is very important. I'm pretty sure 7 is the standard number for how many tiers there are. You will see multi-tiered umbrellas above the Buddha images at most (maybe even all) wats.
I didn't notice it until the monk pointed it out, but there is a shelf up there with a green Buddha image sitting on it.
This was taken inside the main building.
Inside the main building
This sign says that women are not to go up onto the platform where the Buddha images are.
More cool details on the stairs.
We were there right before a huge rainstorm rolled in and flooded everything.
The sign with the wat's name
These are the lamp posts on the streets in the little city of Nonthai.
