Thailand Photos

Buddha, Ayutthaya

Photograph by Stuart Updegrave, My Shot

Inextricably joined with a bodhi tree—the same type of tree under which Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, achieved enlightenment—a Buddha head greets visitors to the ruins of Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya. The temple is part of Ayutthaya Historical Park.

See larger and download wallpaper >>

Floating Market

Photograph by Kiat Uscharapong, My Shot

Bright colors—from umbrellas, clothing, and wares—brighten the muddy water of the Amphawa floating market in Samut Songkhram. Fruits, vegetables, flowers, and food tempt buyers at floating markets across Thailand.

Padaung Woman

Photograph by Cherie Faiella, My Shot

A dying custom of the Padaung people, some of whom found refuge in northern Thailand from war in Burma (now Myanmar), dictates that young girls are fitted with brass neck rings to ward off evil spirits. Over the years the weight of added rings crushes collarbones and ribs. Now tourist dollars impel long-necked women in Thailand to again collar their daughters.

Elephant Nature Park, Chiang Mai

Photograph by William Albert Allard

"Elephants are pushed to the edge," says activist Sangduen Chailert, who runs the Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary north of Chiang Mai. Once common throughout Thailand, wild elephants now live in small, isolated groups.

Reclining Buddha, Bangkok

Photograph by Mike McCook, My Shot

Sprawling for some 150 feet (46 meters) across and reaching 50 feet (15 meters) high, the gold-plated Reclining Buddha dominates Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, in Bangkok. The spiritual soul of Thailand, Buddhism encourages temperaments steeped in serenity and gentleness.

Hotel, Bangkok

Photograph by Theo Westenberger

Fine dining and attention to detail are the hallmarks of the Mandarin Oriental and other five-star hotels in Bangkok, Thailand's largest city. Package deals lure masses of tourists from Europe and Asia, and though most of them head for the beach, many stay to explore the capital.

Kickboxer, Bangkok

Photograph by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Apinya Sor Pumarin, a transvestite Muay Thai kickboxer, prepares for a fight at Lumpini Boxing Stadium in Bangkok. Thailand has an unusually high number of "ladyboys," or katoeys, men who chose to live as women.

Bangkok

Photograph by Peter Adams/Getty Images

The Thai people don't call their capital Bangkok. The official name begins with the words Krung Thep (City of Angels) and unrolls in a litany that means, in part, "the Great City, the Residence of the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Capital of the World Endowed With Nine Precious Gems, the Happy City" and so on. Bangkok's Asian contours are now almost completely hidden by a welter of skyscrapers.

Loy Krathong Festival, Narathiwat

Photograph by Madaree Tohlala/AFP/Getty Images

A woman and boy prepare to launch a banana-leaf krathong float, carrying their hopes for good fortune, during the Loy Krathong festival in the southern province of Narathiwat.

Rhinoceros Hornbill

Photograph by Tim Laman

Wings outstretched, a male rhinoceros hornbill heads back to its nest with prey in Budo Sungai Padi National Park. Female rhinoceros hornbills lay their eggs inside tree trunks, leaving the males to retrieve food.

Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok

Photograph by Associated Press

Electric lights illuminate a line of giant portraits of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit during the king's December 2009 birthday celebration in Bangkok. King Bhumibol, the world's longest reigning monarch, turned 82.

Gulf of Thailand

Photograph by Jonathan Milnes, My Shot

A surprised diver looks on in wonder as a school of barracuda glides past him in the Gulf of Thailand near Pattaya. Sunken wrecks in the area lure divers and history buffs.