Dragon Guardians

Wat Chiya Mangalaram is a Thai Buddhist temple and was built in 1845, making it one of the oldest temple in Penang... The main attraction of the wat is the reclining Buddha statue which was built in 1957... It stretches 33m long and 10m high making it the largest in Malaysia and the third largest in the world... The temple entrance is guarded by a few colourful statutes of mythical creatures, including two seven-headed serpents while two beautiful dragons “guarded” the two side entrances... Within the walls of the wat are drawings of the life story of the Buddha designed and sculptured by Thai skill articians... There are about 30,000 Buddha images inside the wat and also iconography of ancient Buddha and Bodhisatta images of various types from many Buddhist countries including Cambodia, China, Japan, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Wat Chaiyamangalaram

The Wat Chaiyamangalaram temple in Georgetown, Penang, is the largest Thai Buddhist Temple in Penang and is famous for its 33 meter long reclining Buddha, one of the world's longest. The temple was built on a piece of land given by Queen Victoria to four women trustees as a gesture of goodwill to boost trading relations with Thailand.

Thai Dancers

Dance in Thailand is the main dramatic art form of Thailand. Thai dance, like many forms of traditional Asian dance, can be divided into two major categories that correspond roughly to the high art (classical dance) and low art (folk dance) distinction.

Although the traditional performing arts are not as vibrant as they once were, suffering inroads by western entertainments and generally changing tastes, Thai dance drama is not extinct. What survives displays the elegance of an art form refined over centuries and supported by regal patronage.

The Thais reputedly first acquired a dance troupe when, in AD 1431, they conquered the ancient Khmer capital of Angkor and took as part of their spoils an entire corps de ballet. Dancers whose performances had once been seen as a symbolic link between nature, earth and the realm of the gods.

Aside from folk and regional dances (southern Thailand's Indian-influenced manohra dance, for example), the two major forms of Thai classical dance drama are khon and lakon nai. In the beginning both were exclusively court entertainments and it was not until much later that a popular style of dance theater, Likay, evolved as a diversion for the common folk who had no access to royal performances.