A Chiang Rai, en Thaïlande : le Temple Blanc ...                                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           D'intérêt particulier, avec un style non conventionnel de l'architecture exceptionnel, Wat Rong Khun (Temple Blanc) est une charmante bâtisse qui est sur le chemin de Chang Mai Chang Rai a une structure particulière et d'articuler capable d'enchanter les visiteurs...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Un temple juste blanc avec l'ajout de morceaux de miroirs et de sculptures représentant les péchés totalement singuliers cardinaux, ainsi que l'entrée qui représente l'enfer, en traversant un pont, vous arrivez au ciel.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Le temple se distingue de la traditionnelle à la présence de figures cultes de notre ère à l'autre Bouddha. Très original, le temple mérite d'être vu par tous ceux qui viennent pour visiter en Thaïlande.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Les temples bouddhistes ont plusieurs formes et variantes. La pagode est un type de temple très répandu en Chine, au Japon, en Corée et en Asie du sud-est. La pagode tire ses origines du stûpa indien, structure en forme de dôme ayant pour fonction de contenir et protéger des reliques sacrées de saints bouddhistes. Au fil du temps, cette structure s’est transformée pour donner lieu à différents types de pagodes.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Au Tibet, la pagode a une forme de bouteille (chörten); en Asie du sud-est, elle prend une forme pyramidale ou conique. En Chine, au Japon et en Corée, la pagode prend sa forme la plus connue ici, en Occident...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Une haute tour de forme allongée, constituée par une série d’étages similaires les uns aux autres mais qui diminuent régulièrement en proportion en allant vers le sommet. Les étages peuvent être circulaires, carrés ou polygonaux.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 A l’origine, à l’instar de la fonction des stûpas, celle des pagodes était de conserver des reliques sacrées et aussi des textes sacrés. Aujourd’hui, ce sont des lieux de culte pour les bouddhistes de toutes traditions. Les pagodes sont supervisées par un ou plusieurs moines (parfois appelés bonzes) et parfois par des religieuses.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Les fidèles ne sont pas tenus de visiter ces temples, mais ceux qui le souhaitent peuvent participer à la récitation de la prière commune devant les statues des bouddhas et des bodhisattvas. On peut aussi faire des offrandes de fruits, de fleurs et d'encens, et plusieurs familles déposent des photos de leurs proches décédés sur un autel spécial, afin que les moines prient pour eux chaque jour ...

Mme Vigée-Lebrun rapporte ces mots dans la relation de son séjour à Vienne ...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Un jour que nous dînions chez le prince de Kaunitz, la conversation roulant sur l’art pictural, on parla de Rubens, et, quand on eut fait l’éloge de son immense talent, quelqu’un dit que son instruction, qui était aussi prodigieuse, l’avait fait nommer ambassadeur. A ces mots une vieille baronne allemande prend la parole :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               — Comment  ! un peintre ambassadeur ! C’est sans doute un ambassadeur qui s’amusait à peindre.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        — Non, madame, répondit Casanova, c’est un peintre qui s’amusait à être ambassadeur !

La plage de Las Teresitas, en espagnol playa de Las Teresitas, est une plage de la municipalité de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, sur l'île de Tenerife. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Tenerife ou Ténériffe, en espagnol Tenerife, est une île d'Espagne faisant partie de l'archipel des îles Canaries, situées dans l'océan Atlantique. Il s'agit de la plus grande île de cet archipel mais aussi de la plus haute, le Teideconstituant le point culminant de l'Espagne avec 3 718 mètres d'altitude.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tenerife est également l'île la plus étendue et la plus peuplée de la Macaronésie.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Ses 908 555 habitants font d'elle l'île la plus peuplée d'Espagne et la plus urbanisée et cosmopolite des îles Canaries. Santa Cruz de Tenerife est la plus grande ville et la capitale de la province du même nom ; elle est aussi capitale de la communauté autonome des îles Canaries, conjointement avec Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, depuis  1927.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Son économie est essentiellement tournée vers le tourisme avec plus de cinq millions de visiteurs par an mais aussi l'agriculture (production de bananes, de tomates et de concombres).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Elle constitue ainsi une des premières destinations touristiques en Espagne.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Tenerife comporte deux sites inscrits sur la liste du patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO : au centre, le parc national du Teide et au nord-est, la ville de San Cristóbal de La Laguna. Tenerife possède deux aéroports, l'un au nord et l'autre au sud.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Topographie :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  L'archipel des îles Canaries est situé à 115 kilomètres à l'ouest des côtes du Maroc, dans l'océan Atlantique. Tenerife, la plus grande de ces îles avec 81 kilomètres de longueur pour 45 kilomètres de largeur, est d'origine volcanique, son plus grand volcan, le Teide, se trouve au centre.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Le Teide est le plus haut sommet d'Espagne avec 3 718 mètres d'altitude et à son pied se trouve l'observatoire astronomique de Tenerife.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Le nord de l'île est occupé par le massif d'Anaga et sa forêt primaire de laurisilva (l'un des derniers vestiges de forêt primaire en Europe) et le sud, constitué par les contreforts du Teide, est sub-désertique.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Climat :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Le climat y est subtropical méditerranéen selon la classification de Köppen, avec une température moyenne annuelle d'environ 22 °C, en hiver le thermomètre descend rarement en dessous de 15 °C. Le climat est très changeant sur l'île, avec une zone sèche au sud et une zone plus humide au nord, balayée par les alizés ou le calima. La neige n'est pas rare en hiver au-dessus de 1 000 mètres.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Faune & Flore :

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Une des principales attractions touristiques de Tenerife est la présence de dauphins et de baleines globicéphales tout près du port de Los Cristianos, au sud. On peut rencontrer un grand nombre de ces animaux entre Tenerife et La Gomera, où la mer atteint une profondeur de 3 000 mètres.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           De nombreuses embarcations proposent d'aller voir ces mammifères marins de près, les dauphins et les baleines s'approchant volontiers des bateaux.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Il y a peu de mammifères typiques sur l'île de Tenerife. Près du Teide on trouve des chats sauvages ainsi que des lapins, retournés à l'état sauvage. Il n'y a jamais eu de fauves ou de serpents venimeux.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       On remarquera aussi les lézards qui sont nombreux sur l'île. Le monde ornithologique est plus riche avec quelques espèces typiques des îles Canaries, comme la variante sauvage du serin des Canaries (Serinus Canaria) ou le pinson bleu (Fringilla teydea), le dernier est le symbole animal de Tenerife.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           La végétation de Tenerife est très variée et beaucoup de plantes sont endémiques des îles Canaries, comme Himantoglossum metlesicsianum, une orchidée.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ainsi le pin des Canaries (Pinus Canariensis) forme d'immenses forêts à l'intérieur de l'île. Dans le sud plus désertique, on trouve une majorité d'euphorbiacées (plantes grasses similaires à des cactées, beaucoup étant autochtones), et de figuiers de Barbarie (importés pour la culture de la cochenille).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Une autre espèce de plante emblématique des îles Canaries et le symbole de l'île de Tenerife est le dragonnier(Dracaena Draco), dont l'un des spécimens les plus anciens se trouve à Icod de los Vinos.