Ayutthaya, Thailand (16th April 2011)
During my travels in Thailand, I had seen a lot of statues and idols of the Buddha. However, I found a very peculiar one in Wat Maha That temple in Ayutthaya. Here, the Buddha’s head is lodged in the tangled roots of a large tree and there is also a fascinating story behind it. It is said that when the Burmese chopped of the heads of all the Buddha statues during their invasion in the 18th century, this particular head fell into the roots of a Bodhi tree and stayed there. Over time the roots have grown around the head in such a way as to naturally create a touristic highlight. This sight alone made my day!