Arches National Park
Arches National Park is a national park located in eastern Utah, adjacent to the Colorado River, 4 miles (6 km) north of Moab, Utah. The park is renowned for its more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, which constitute the highest density of natural arches in the world. The park also features a variety of other unique geological formations such as balanced rocks, fins, and eroded monoliths.
The park covers an area of 310.31 km² (76,680 acres; 119.81 sq mi; 31,031 ha) and lies above an underground evaporite layer or salt bed, which is the main cause of the formation of the arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths in the area.
The highest elevation in the park is 5,653 ft (1,723 m) at Elephant Butte, and the lowest elevation is 4,085 ft (1,245 m) at the visitor center.
Between April 1, 2025, and October 31, 2025, Arches National Park requires a reservation to enter, except from July 7 to August 27, 2025, when no reservation is needed. This system ...
Wat Suan Luang Khangkhao, whose name translates as the Monastery of the Royal Garden of the Bat (or Flying Foxes), is a restored temple ruin located on Ayutthaya’s historic city island. It stands on the grounds of what is now Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University and near the former course of Khlong Chakrai Noi, in the immediate vicinity of the ruins of Wat Borom Phuttharam and Wat Singharam.
The surrounding area once formed part of the royal residence and grounds associated with King Phetracha (reigned 1688–1703). It is generally accepted that the locality had earlier been a royal park or garden that sheltered large numbers of bats, which accounts for the temple’s distinctive name.
No definitive record survives of who founded the monastery or the precise year of its construction. Architectural evidence, however, points toward the late Ayutthaya period, possibly during or shortly after the reign of King Narai (1656–1688) or in the time of King Phetracha, not long after the nearby Wat ...
Or Tor Kor Market (known in Thai as ตลาด อ.ต.ก. or the Marketing Organization for Farmers Market) sits directly opposite Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, right next to Kamphaeng Phet MRT station.
The market opened in 1974 and is run by the Marketing Organization for Farmers, a state enterprise under Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. It was created to give farmers a direct, organized outlet for selling high-quality agricultural products to the public.
Over the decades it has earned a reputation as one of Bangkok’s cleanest and most premium fresh markets, standing out from the more chaotic traditional markets with its orderly stalls, good refrigeration, bright lighting, and strong emphasis on hygiene. In 2017 CNN ranked it among the world’s top ten fresh markets (sometimes cited as fourth). It is especially famous for premium seasonal fruits such as durian and mango, along with excellent vegetables, seafood, meat, dried goods, herbs,...
Wat Singharam, known as the Monastery of the Lion, is a restored ruin situated on Ayutthaya’s city island. It stands on the grounds of what is now Phranakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University. The site lies on the east bank of the remaining stretch of Khlong Chakrai Noi, directly opposite Wat Borom Phuttharam, with the ruins of Wat Suan Luang Khangkhao further south along the same canal bank.
The historical background and exact period of construction remain unknown. Evidence suggests it was possibly built during the middle Ayutthaya period (roughly 1488–1629) and later restored in the late Ayutthaya period (1629–1767). It predates the construction of the nearby Wat Borom Phuttharam.
Fragments of Chinese porcelain decorated with stucco designs were discovered at the entrance in front of the vihara; this style of decoration appears on other monuments restored during the reign of King Borommakot (1733–1758). A mid 19th century map labels the site as Wat Kot, likely a reference to that same ...
