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Pura Penataran Pande Peliatan
One of the fascinating things about Bali is that there are, literally, temples everywhere. Because of this, Bali is known as “the Island of a Thousand Puras”. Any street you turn down will have a temple of some sort, whether it be a grand edifice or a ‘small’ local establishment. I hesitate to call them small, though, because even the small ones are of a decent size. On our first day in Bali, we got to see one of the smaller temples and were just fascinated by the layout and design. We had been on our way to Gunung Kawi and saw this neat temple shortly after leaving our hotel. We…
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Thailand’s Grand Palace
The Grand Palace of Bangkok is one of Thailand’s crowning jewels. It was the home of the country’s rulers from 1782 until 1925. Once a fully functioning city within a city, the Grand Palace now used for various government offices, royal ceremonies, state functions and, of course, a tourist attraction. Construction on the Grand Palace began in 1782 and continued off and on until the late 1800s. The original Grand Palace was hastily thrown together after General Chao Phraya Chakri staged a coup and took over the government from the previous king, King Taksin. King Taksin had resided in Thonburi, which is about 2.5 miles from the Grand Palace. When Rama I took over,…
