The Irrawaddy River (often spelled Ayeyarwady River) ဧရာဝတီမြစ် from Indic revatī, meaning "abounding in riches" is a river that flows from north to south through Myanmar (Burma). It is the country's largest river and most important commercial waterway.
As early as the sixth century, the river was used for trade and transport. Having developed an extensive network of irrigation canals, the river became important to the British Empire after it had colonized Burma. The river is still important today because it is used for a significant amount of traffic and (export) goods. In the Irrawaddy Delta, rice is grown using river water for irrigation.
Mingun Pahtodawgyi Pagoda
Intended to be a 500 foot high stupa, a mound housing Buddhist relics, the Pahtodawgyi remains unfinished to this day but is still an awe-inspiring structure. Measuring 450 by 450 feet and 172 feet high, it dwarfs the surrounding area, and would easily have rivaled the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza had King...
The ruin commonly identified as Wat Worapho, also known by its earlier name Wat Rakhang or the Monastery of the Bell, stands directly west of the former Grand Palace within the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
It forms part of a protected cluster of restored ruins that also includes Wat Worachettharam and Wat Lokaya Sutha, and it is most easily reached from the western side of Khlong Tho. The site occupies a large area that once stood on the north bank of Khlong Fang and the west bank of Khlong Pak Tho, with traces of a surrounding moat still visible in places though partially obscured by later road construction.
The precise date of the monastery’s founding remains uncertain, yet it clearly predates 1600. The Royal Chronicles first record it in connection with the ordination of Prince Si Sin around 1602. While living as a high-ranking monk there under the title Phra Phimontham Anantapricha, the prince gained renown as a Buddhist scholar deeply versed in the scriptures and royal manuals. His scholarly ...
Wat Sam Wihan, also known as the Monastery of the Three Preaching Halls and formerly called Wat Sam Phihan, is an active Buddhist temple located north of the historic city island in Ayutthaya Thailand.
It stands near the junction of Khlong Hua Ro and Khlong Mueang, along what was once the course of the Lopburi River, opposite the site of the former Maha Chai Fortress.
The temple is said to have been established around 1377 during the reign of King Boromracha I (also known as Khun Luang Phra Ngua), in the early years of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. According to traditional accounts, Mom Luang Chi Dam and her two younger brothers, Chao Fa Khao and Chao Fa Khiao, all of royal descent, founded the monastery as a place to enshrine the ashes of their mother and other relatives. They divided the construction among themselves, with Mom Luang Chi Dam responsible for the reclining Buddha and its vihara.
The ordination hall received its boundary stones around 1387. The name reflects the original presence of three viharas ...
Khlong Toei wet market, or Talad Khlong Toei, occupies a sprawling site along Rama IV Road in Bangkok’s Khlong Toei district, a short walk from the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre and Khlong Toei stations on the MRT Blue Line.
The name of the surrounding area recalls an older canal once bordered by fragrant pandan leaves, though much of that waterway was long ago filled to expand the road network.
Today the market forms a dense, labyrinthine complex of permanent stalls under pavilions and open-air lanes where vendors spread their goods under umbrellas, and porters weave carts through crowds of shoppers and the occasional motorbike.
Its history is bound up with the creation of Bangkok Port in the same district. After the Second World War the World Bank helped finance a modern container facility on the Chao Phraya River, one of the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, to handle Thailand’s growing agricultural exports. Migrant workers from Isan, the South, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and ...
