Thursday, April 16, 2009

New cards, new places

Last tuesday i've received these 2 wonderful cards. They're not only beautiful but also from a new country and a new whs. This was only possible thanks to a private trade with Tham from Thailand. Thank you so much :)

This is a card from Laos' capital city Vientiane. On the card Lao buddhists pay respect to Phra Thad Luang at Thad Luang Festival.
"Pha That Luang (Great Stupa in Lao) is a Buddhist stupa. It was built in the 16th century under King Setthathirat on the ruins of an earlier 13th century Khmer temple. Relics of The Buddha are said to be contained here.
Pha That Luang was destroyed by the Thai invasion in 1828, which was heavily damaged and left abandon. A French explorer and architect came across the abandoned temple and made detailed sketches of the temple. It was not until 1900, when the French restored to its original design. The architecture of the building includes many references to Lao culture and identity, and so has become a symbol of Lao nationalism." - in:
wikipedia

"The Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, capital of the Sukhothai kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in what is now the north of Thailand.
The city walls form a rectangle about 2 km east-west by 1.6 km north-south. There are 193 ruins on 70 square kilometers of land. There is a gate in the centre of each wall. Inside are the remains of the royal palace and twenty-six temples, the largest being Wat Mahathat. The park sees thousands of visitors each year, who marvel at the ancient Buddha figures, palace buildings and ruined temples. The park is easily toured by bicycle or even on foot.
On December 12, 1991, it was declared a World Heritage Site, together with the associated historic parks in Kamphaeng Phet and Si Satchanalai." - in:
wikipedia

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