The 3.2 Shooter
On my way to a dessert shop, I spotted this pretty ornate arch sandwiched between shophouses, serving as an entrance to the ancestral temple of the Cheah clan association. There were restoration works going on in the temple while I was there, so I skipped going in. Numerous delicate and detailed ceramic trimmings deck the beams and ceiling of the arch, each serving […]
The architectural style of the Pagoda of Rama VI, also known as the Pagoda of Ten Thousand Buddhas (万佛塔), is an amalgamation of Chinese, Thai and Burmese influences to reflect Kek Lok Si (极乐寺) temple’s embrace of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism, along with trickles of Taoist traditions. The octagonal base of the 7-storey pagoda is […]
One of the small caves of five at the Dambulla Cave Temple. Much wear and tear is apparent on the wall paintings and Buddha statues, but the interiors still look amazing. The climb up Dambulla rock may not be that easy, but it’s a well-worth effort.
A Buddhist devotee prays in front of a granite carving of the Meditating Buddha at the Gal Vihara in the ruins of the ancient city of Polonnaruwa. The carving is one of four depictions of Buddha sculpted out from a single giant granite rock. This has got to be one of the most amazing rock […]
The Polonnaruwa Vatadage is an ancient temple built by King Parakrambahu I to house the tooth relic of Buddha. This is what’s left of the building. The Buddha tooth relic is currently housed at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy.
A muragala (guard stone) is seen at the Polonnaruwa Vatadage, which is an ancient temple built by King Parakrambahu I to house the tooth relic of Buddha. Specifically, this is the Naga-raja (cobra-king) guard stone. It is a popular local belief (more likely Buddhist-influenced) that people die and reincarnate as cobras to safeguard their treasures […]
A juxtaposition of old and new. The comparatively new Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan versus Thian Hock Keng Temple (Singapore’s oldest taoist temple). Two buildings significant to the Hokkien community. This was a photo taken in 2006, while attending a tourism course.