Not just another temple. Tham Phu Wa Temple is about 25 km outside of Kanchantaburi and situated in some hills to the west. When you first come to the temple you are greeted with manicured gardens. The next thing you see is a brown reclining Buddha and a large seated Buddha made from the same stone. The ordination hall and Wihan also have the brown stone with Cambodian styling to the buildings.
These buildings and statues are fairly recent additions to the temple. After admiring them for a little while the main attraction to the temple is behind the ordination hall in a very large cave. The cave was the original temple and was used for meditation by worshipers. It houses a 100 year old Buddha statue, many relics that have been brought into the area from Myanmar as well as interesting rock formations inside the cave.
The temple is a very nice place to visit, for Thais as well as tourists. The architecture and location make this something that should be on anyones list while in ...
The Ruins of Pompeii: A Frozen Snapshot of Ancient Rome
Pompeii was a thriving ancient Roman city in Campania, Italy, near modern Naples. Founded around the 7th–6th century BC (possibly by the Oscans), it grew into a prosperous port and resort town with a population of about 10,000–20,000 by the 1st century AD. On August 24, 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted catastrophically in a Plinian eruption, ejecting ash and pumice high into the atmosphere before unleashing deadly pyroclastic surges.
The city was buried under 4–6 meters (13–20 feet) of volcanic material, preserving it remarkably well—streets, buildings, frescoes, artifacts, and even casts of victims in their final poses.
This rapid burial created one of the world’s best-preserved ancient sites, offering unparalleled insights into Roman daily life: homes with gardens, bakeries with loaves still in ovens, theaters, baths, brothels, and graffiti on walls.
Rediscovered in the late 16th century and systematically excavated from 1748, ...
The Pantheon in Rome—one of the Eternal City’s most mesmerizing wonders! This ancient marvel has stood for nearly 2,000 years, blending engineering genius with timeless beauty.
Built around AD 126 by Emperor Hadrian (though it bears an inscription crediting Marcus Agrippa from an earlier version), the Pantheon started as a temple to all the gods (“Pan-theon” means “all gods” in Greek). It survived fires, floods, and centuries of history thanks to its conversion into a Christian church in AD 609. Today, it’s the Basilica of St. Mary and the Martyrs, making it the best-preserved ancient Roman building in the world.
The real showstopper is the massive unreinforced concrete dome—the largest of its kind ever built, at 43 meters (142 feet) in diameter and height. It’s perfectly proportioned, with a 9-meter (30-foot) oculus (open hole) at the top that lets in natural light and even rain (the floor has tiny drains for those sunny showers!). The interior feels ethereal, especially ...
Castel Sant’Angelo, also known as the Mausoleum of Hadrian, is a towering cylindrical landmark on the banks of the Tiber River in Rome. Originally commissioned by Emperor Hadrian around 135 AD as a grand tomb for himself and his family, it served as a burial place for Roman emperors until Caracalla. Over nearly 2,000 years, it transformed into a medieval fortress, papal refuge, prison, and now the Museo Nazionale di Castel Sant’Angelo.
This remarkable structure began as an ancient mausoleum built between 123–139 AD, featuring a spiral ramp leading to the burial chamber where the ashes of emperors like Marcus Aurelius were interred.
In the Middle Ages, it evolved into a defensive stronghold, incorporated into Rome’s walls, and controlled by powerful families before passing to the papacy. From the 14th century, popes used it as a secure residence and treasury vault, connected to the Vatican by a secret elevated passageway known as the Passetto di Borgo, an 800-meter-long corridor famously used ...
