Asia

[Visited: October 2005]

Directly upon arrival in Chantaburi, a city famous mostly for its gem trade, I was approached by taxi drivers looking for a customer. Soon, a deal was struck with an eager driver who took me on the short ride to Wat Khao Sukim. The landscape turned green directly after leaving the city borders, and all too soon we took a turn, drove along the shores of a lake, and when I spotted a large Buddha statue, I realized that we had reached our destination.
At first, I walked along the shore of the small lake, and discovered it was extremely rich in fish and turtles. From the far corner of the lake, I had a good view on the hill and the temple clinging to its slopes. I walked back, and started ascending the stairs alongside the cable car. As soon as I stepped inside the main hall, I was struck by the fact that it was completely packed. Not with people, but all kinds of articles. Large Buddha statues, models of tempels, Chinese warriors, but also tiny things. The quantity of items was truly amazing. A monk approached me, and although he did not speak English, he was guiding me through the complex before I knew it.
He first took me to the roof, which I had wanted to leave for last. The view from all sides of the roof was truly excellent - even a waterfall was visible in the deeply green hilly distance. On the roof, there were smaller rooms with all kinds of artefacts, and the monk proudly showed me his favourite hall. He begged me to sit down on the floor and before I knew it, he was showing me how to bend forward with my hands on the floor and my head on the top of my hands. When we got down again, I had another look at the enormous hall before walking down to the lake again.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Wat Khao Sukim (Thailand). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Wat Khao Sukim.
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Wat Khao Sukim > Thailand > Asia

[Visited: October 2005]

Around the World in 80 Clicks