Surprising Things You’d Only See in Thailand

Among the ruins of Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya, a serene stone Buddha face peers through a tangled mass of living roots. The sandstone head sits almost perfectly framed by the tree, making it look as though nature slowly decided to build its own shrine around it.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the head fell from its pedestal around the time Ayutthaya fell and remained near the base of the tree as roots gradually grew around it. Centuries later, accident and nature created one of Thailand’s most recognizable historical images.