View of a Buddish temple (Wat) on the Chao Phraya River.

View of the South side of Bangkok from the Naraj Hotel

Very famous Wat (I do not recall the name though...) in Bangkok

One of the innumerable Buddha shrines in Chantaburi, a famous gem cutting center on the Thailand-Cambodia border.

Colombia, South America
Colombia holds the tradition of producing the world's finest emeralds. In the 1500, as the Spaniards arrived in the New World, realized that they had a valuable gem resource to exploit. The Muzo and Muisca Indians, the Colombian natives of the northern regions of Bogota', fought fiercely the Spanish Conquistadores to protect their heritage and the location of the emerald mines as well. Nonetheless, The Spaniards took control and began to bring the green gems back to Europe. The rest is history.
Today, Colombia still accounts for more than half of the world's emerald production, and its emeralds are considered the finest.

Bogotá, also Santa Fe de Bogotá, city in central Colombia, capital of the country, coextensive with Bogotá Capital District. It is located at an elevation of about 2640 m (about 8660 ft) on a mountain-rimmed plateau high in the Cordillera Oriental of the Andes Mountains.

View of a Governmental residence in downtown Bogota'. The "emerald street" (Avenida Jimenez) is nearby.

I still dream of this!. Emerald crystal specimen in calcite from Muzo. These are called "gangas" among Colombian emerald dealers. This particular exceptional specimen was approx. 7"long x4" wide, with top colored, perfectly formed crystals. The center crystal was approx. 2 1/4" long. Note that Muzo material is a gorgeous, dark bluish green, and it is usually very flawed. This specimen was for sale few years back for $70,000! 

Small piece of emerald crystal. This shot was taken in a bar on a Friday, late afternoon. Note the bottles of empty beer on the background...After a long period of hard work, time for the miners to celebrate! Usually independent miners (Guaqueros) come down to the capital, once every two-three weeks to sell their finds. The superb specimen on the left was also seen in the same bar. But do not worry... There is not fear of being robbed, as almost everyone is carrying a revolver!