Fascinating Frieze Moments At The Shon-Sharaf Museum

There are a couple of large, bronze friezes outside the front entrance to the Shon-Sharaf museum, dedicated to the Great Patriotic War. A lot is going on in the friezes. Military preparations, a country pulling together for the war effort. Inspiring. Terrifying.

Small boys building big toys.

Portraits of the engineers of destruction and the aproned workers.

Old women, back at home, picking cotton to help finance the war effort.

Scenes of evacuating the wounded and then operating on them.

Victory! A family reunion and celebration at war's end.

Getting Graphic At The Spring And Autumn Pavilions At Lotus Pond

Are these temples or an entrance to an amusement park?

The temples around Lotus Pond seem to be in an arms race for big bling. The main feature at the Spring and Autumn pavilions is a giant dragon you can walk through. Impressive in its own right, the dragon gets crazier in the inside. Go ahead, step right in and start enjoying the graphic imagery. Who's ready to have Buddha burst from your chest?

Inside the dragon, a tunnel of Buddha love.

Subject matter? Let's just say it's some of the typical warning, hell to pay of beheadings, etc.... The frieze work is in super 3D.

If you want to stay clean with Buddha, you gotta get that ear wax.

Details Of Borobudur

The Borobudur temple is overwhelming and it's tempting simply to sprint to the top to say you made it. Which would be a shame. A slower ascent allows time to enjoy the endless details found on all the levels of the temple.

The bell-shaped stupas at the top of the temple are the stars. Hidden inside, the Buddhas.

Along the lower, square levels, an infinity loop of friezes. Buddha with a perfectly rolled coif.

A closer look at a frieze. The carvings contrast a life of human desire with the life of Buddha. After 1,300 friezes, it's clear who comes out ahead.

Corner drain. About that desire. A few party animals make appearances.

Getting moody, sans head.