Amazing temples

Over the flat plain of central Sri Lanka rises a small hill of rock. Since the 1st century BC it has been used as a Buddhist cave temple, with more than 80 smaller and bigger caves. There are five main caves, all dimly lit with ancient Buddha statues and precious wall paintings, along with the usual religious mismatch of statues of Hindu gods and old kings. The Buddhist monastery, which is believed to be from the 2nd or 3rd century BC, is still functioning to this day and local visitors still use the caves to pray. By being such an impressive historical place, Dambulla Cave Temple was of course declared an UNESCO site. As a bonus, you have a magnificent view from the top and Sigiriya Rock can even been spotted in the distance, 19 km away.

Ayuthaya was the crown jewel and powerhouse of ancient Southeast Asia. It was the majestic capital of Siam (name of ancient Thailand) and a major trading centre for the whole Asian region. Its size and splendour were unmatched at the time. Unfortunately, this made the neighbouring Burmese envious, so in 1767 they raided the city, smashed it to pieces and burned the rest. This means of course that today the only surviving structures from the glory days are the ones that were made of bricks, like monasteries and towers. But there are still heaps to see and it is still darn splendid. And all this is just a tranquil day trip from buzzing Bangkok.

Grand Palace was originally the residence of the Thai king. It was built in 1782 and over time was constantly expanded, so today it is a large complex of odd buildings ranging from shiny Buddhist temples to more humble administration buildings. The Thai king and his mother don't live here, so don't expect to bump into them. But one you can see here is the famous and very holy Emerald Buddha (Phra Kaew). The statue, which is tiny (66 cm), was taken from Vientiane (now part of Laos) in the 18th century and is actually not made from emerald but jade. Every season, the king changes its robes to bring good weather and fortune to the country.

My Son is a humble collection of Hindu temple ruins from the ancient Champa kingdom (4th-14th century AD). The Champa kingdom was enemy with the Khmer kingdom in Cambodia. Those two took turns to invade each other and in 1177 the Cham managed to reach the Khmer capital of Angkor and sack the Khmer king. So even though the two kingdoms were in constant clinch, they were influenced by the same things, so you will find many similarity between the temples in My Son and the temples at Angkor Wat. Keep in mind that My Son pre-dates Angkor by several centuries and they are build without the use of any mortar. During the Vietnam War, My Son was in a free strike zone meaning that American B-52 bombers almost could just bomb anywhere, destroying many of the temples.