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Holiday Photos.. some involving woodwork

Robert

Robert

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Just over a week ago I came back from Singapore with loads of pictures and a really bad cold and cough. Now my eyes are sore with some kind of conjunctivitis. Hence the delay in posting some pictures that might be of interest.

First up is a place near Pattaya Thailand. Called the Sanctuary of truth is is a wholly wooden temple started in the 1980's and still under construction. You visit it wearing hard hats though it is more for novelty than real hazards. The guide said the plan was to build it entirely from Teak but they had problems sourcing enough of it so had to use other hardwoods. Teak is fine untreated but the other woods were not and some carvings are already being replaced. Now they paint finished items with preserver and all recent work looks a uniform colour because of it. He also said there is not a single metal fixing - all joinery and pegs.

I've uploaded about 30 pictures to google pictures. I can share the album and post this link to it -

https://goo.gl/photos/hiQhE3DwwcLy7F9MA

You can see the pictures much larger there.

But google don't like hot linked pictures so here are 3 tasters hosted on my webspace..

SoT03.jpg


SoT01.jpg


SoT02.jpg


There are also a couple of pictures of carving in progress in the shared album

Assuming there is some interest I'll post more from somewhere else later.
 
Robert, thank you for posting the pics and the links, looks like a good experience.
Please post more.

Friends down the road have just come back from OZ and Singapore and both ill with chest and throat.
 
Lovely photos Robert. Those blus skies certainly help.

Always thought provoking to see those craftsmen, and craftswomen, working on the floor or a bench made of ofcuts and scrap. Not so pleased to see all those edge tools apparently slung into a box.

Thanks for sharing.

Did you get to take tea in Raffles?
 
Andyp":1c8tmmxr said:
Did you get to take tea in Raffles?
Click to expand...

Yes and it was on my birthday so I had the embarrassment of the staff singing to me!

Also got given a cake and my daughter surprised us with Singapore Slings she had arranged and paid for via their web site.

Tea at Raffles is an odd mixture. You have traditional sandwiches and cakes on a stand on the table but also have a buffet of dim sum and savoury pastries and local unfamiliar fruits. There were 4 chairs at our table. 2 for us and 2 very small ones. They put my camera bag on one and my wife's handbag on the other one.

Expensive treat but worth it. Should have paid cash as came back with enough Singapore dollars.
 
Gardens by the bay Singapore.

These are tropical gardens with 2 large indoor environments that are bio-domes a bit like the Eden project in the UK but done properly with a much larger budget.

One dome is called the Cloud Forest and the other the Flower Dome. Both are air conditioned and significantly cooler than the outside temperature. You pay to get in the domes but the park outside is free.

Again there are a collection of larger images in a google album here -

https://goo.gl/photos/ygBHp4nXH4GxoxhP6

And here are a few hosted elsewhere that I can show in the thread...

View of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and shopping mall from the gardens
gbtb1.jpg


One of many art carvings around the place. This is the area between the domes - outside in the heat but shaded.
gbtb2.jpg


One of the domes. Doesn't really convey how large they are. Some of the inside pictures in the album do.
gbtb3.jpg


There are huge tree like structures (see the album) that are lit up at night. I have some night time bay pictures to share another time.
 
Those carvings with animal heads are amazing. Did you stay in that hotel Robert? The roof garden must be interesting.
 
That one wanted £400 a night so no, we stayed on the other side of the bay but still had to pay about half that.

There is an infinity swimming pool up there on the other side. could see it from our hotel. That top thing is huge.

Long lens shot -

gbtb4.jpg
 
Get the impression I may be boring people here but as its quiet I'll press on regardless..

One outing was to Kuala Lumpur to the Petronas Twin Towers. A very impressive building.

I hadn't realised until I saw it that the whole thing is clad in stainless steel. The window cleaners were out while we were there - what a job!

You need to buy tickets in advance to go up the towers. numbers are very limited so it is never crowded up there. You get about 45 minutes split between the bridge at floor 45 (or thereabouts) and the top viewing floor at level 86 which is fine and not hurried. So if you ever go do what we did and book from home first.

As before 18 larger pictures in a Google album here -

https://goo.gl/photos/YXmJdCrcBDru8nWi7

And a few samples hosted here -

View from the rear gardens. You can see the window cleaners cranes sticking out of the top.
ptt1.jpg


Closer view of the bridge ... and the window cleaners.
ptt2.jpg


Looking down at the metalwork
ptt3.jpg
 
Robert":1dayop4o said:
Get the impression I may be boring people here but as its quiet I'll press on regardless..

....
Click to expand...


Not at all. I enjoy looking at those photographs especially with your firsthand comments.

And they remind me of what 'blue sky' looks like :cry:
 
Thanks for the encouraging words. Only 2 lots to go. Last but one is 2 temples in George Town, Penang, Malaysia. Penang is an Island very close to the mainland. We took a taxi to visit 2 temples which are on opposite sides of a road to each other. Taxis don't like to miss out on a fare so the normal thing is for the taxi to wait while you do your tourist thing. you haggle the round trip fare before you start. With numerous taxi drivers all wanting your custom and all starting high with prices it is a right PITA. There are no metered taxis and if they have meters they won't use them.

Anyway the first one is the Reclining Budda temple. Outside are dragons covered in glass mosaic and inside a huge statue laying down. Behind the statue are what appears to be an awful lot of funeral urns.

The second is the Dhammikarama Burmese Temple. There is a main temple but also lots of other buildings and statues. Some ornate and some like some strange Disney cartoon scene.

As before most pictures are here -

https://goo.gl/photos/NDKJTcoYgxQ7aVyAA


And also a few for the thread.

A (guessed) 15 foot foot
pen1.jpg


Think I put all the good ones on Google. this is one of the statues outside. You can just see the tail of one of the mosaic dragons
pen2.jpg



Across the road at the Burmese temple. this is one of the better statues
pen3.jpg



In the main Burmese temple room but behind the large main statue. The Ceiling and wall screen panels are all carved wood. All the tiny statues up high have peoples names on the bottom so they may be urns.
pen4.jpg
 
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