Pra Pun Thao Kong Shrine

Whenever I am laying out at my favorite Tri Trang beach, this temple can be seen peeking out in the mountain behind Patong. Trying to figure my way to it, I pull up google maps, only to fail in finding its location. I asked Jason if he had any idea how to get there. Being a fellow Phuket explorer of roads unknown, of course he did.

Whenever I go to the Patong area, I take the curvaceously challenging Patong Hill road. At the peak of that road there is a temple that all vehicles honk at three times as they pass to receive blessings. I always participate in this and it brings me comfort knowing the spirits will help me decline the mountain without interference.

Apparently, there is a road that goes further up the mountain right beside this temple. At the top of that is the Pra Pun Thao Kong Shrine.

This was definitely the architecture I always spotted in the distance.

There were several people meditating throughout this temple. This monk, dressed in white, blended right in with the other sitting buddhas. Inside the temple I saw a wax sculpture of a monk that I thought was real and said hello to.

The human like figures seem to be holding up and helping out the multi headed snake.

Will forever be a symbol of Thailand for me.

The middle snake had a clear colored ball inside his mouth. Not sure what any of this symbolizes but it is fascinating considering my Christian upbringing.

The bell tower (wat) was majestic with its gold trim. Upon waking up, the bells help attain the Truth and feeling of Peacefulness.

I was unable to capture this in a photo due to my height and the sun glare but the movement of the snake around the perimeter mimicked the mountains in the background. Was cool.

Inside the narrow white structure was this worship area.

17 Quotes About Finding Inner Peace | SUCCESS

Suwan Kuha Cave Temple

Noni went to see his family up north for a couple weeks. Miss him in our trio, but with only a few weekends left on Phuket island, Jason and I decided to adventure without him. (Avengers – 1)

Jason has a car so he drove and I rode in comfort to visit what he called ‘Monkey Temple’. We downloaded the necessary app to exit and re-enter the island, but didn’t need to show it either way which was nice. Traffic off the island was a breeze. Very few cars travelling.

Phuket has had zero cases of Covid now for 28 days straight. We are still waiting to hear if they will open up the international flights on July 1 as anticipated. But even if they do, tourists will not be allowed back into Phuket until September soonest and travelling anywhere outside of Thailand will require a mandatory 2 week isolation.

When we arrived at the temple, there is no way I would have known to stop here. It just looked like woods with a lot of animals being fed by tourists. I refused to take part, but tried to capture the chaos of the birds while Jason took his turn to feed them.

The flapping of the birds’ wings was literally creating a breeze.

The monkeys and the birds competed for their nugget of food.

This mom was helping her infant with some corn scraps. I had never seen a baby so little before.

There was this huge limestone mountain beside the parking lot. It is difficult to capture the magnitude of it.

When you walk into the mountain there is a cave with ornate Buddhist statues.

You would never know they were there. Just hidden away inside.

It was just such a fascinating contrast between natural landscape and gold idols.

This one was tucked away and I had to take off my shoes and climb the staircase for a closer look.

Then you walk out of that cave up this staircase and there is another limestone cave area to explore.

I had wrapped my skirt over my shorts and put a short sleeve top over my tank to respect the Buddhist temple dress code.

A bit of electricity complete with colored lights.

Those black dots on the ceiling of the cave are full scale bats. Jason was getting a kick out of singing in a high pitched voice which made their wings flap.

Really unique place and we got to experience it completely alone. Nobody else was there.

I took a photo of this sign so I could remember its official name. You can see our reflection in it which is cool.

It was totally worth the trip to see this! It reminded me of the tunnels Sedona and I found when in Chiang Mai that had gold buddhas in their alcoves but this place was on a much larger scale.

After this we headed to see a waterfall but the road was blocked off noting the park was still closed due to Covid. I don’t believe that it should be, but in Thailand, they may not have made any sort of effort to take down the sign or lift the gate yet. I noticed on some of the beaches, they still had their closed Covid signs up. People just walked past knowing the ban was lifted.

Chinese Temples in Phuket

Random roads always reveal new discoveries. For this reason alone I will always love Phuket. I never get tired of the interesting temples or landscape. As I was driving around today, I came across two beautiful temples, both of which are located in ordinary residential neighborhoods asking for no attention whatsoever.

I wonder is this is how foreigners view our churches? Fascinating works of art.

I love the sandstone color contrasting the bright red and gold.

The dragons on top of the roof create such a theatrical feel.

I wonder how long these temples have been here. If they were built today would they be as detailed still?

The mint green color of this one captured my attention.

I may not understand or be educated on all the details of these temples and their meaning, but I certainly can artistically admire them.

100+ Clever Buddha Quotes Really Worth To Read ...

Wat Umong Suan Phutthatham. Chiang Mai

After getting food in our bellies, the sun was starting to settle and we knew we had limited time left before we had to return our rented scooters. I found one more temple that was within a 15 minute radius so I thought we could check it out before leaving Chiang Mai. Sedona was game and followed me through several odd twists and turns to land in a very strange but enlightening campus.

There were signs posted just about on every post reminding you of Buddhist beliefs.

The grounds were not well maintained and there were a lot of donation boxes throughout.

We crossed over a bridge only to find a pigeon haven where all the birds dwell. I felt like running- like in the movie ‘The Birds’, which by the way, scarred me for life. Even the statue there was encased and covered in bird poop.

Sedona spotted these two mud caked turtles bathing in the sun.

Found it interesting that the King’s bust was below the buddha, but represented nonetheless. I still really enjoy the spirit trees. I wish I knew how old they were.

“Our world has thousands of brilliant minds, but only a few kind hearts” Sadly true.

“Anger pays no attention to morality” Love these gentle reminders.

As we were wandering, we found a staircase that led up to this pagoda. Walking around and just looking is my joy. As frustrated as I am with the Covid closing down the city, I can still find places like these that help me appreciate and spark my curiosity.

Showing the scale with Sedona beside it. As I was walking around, I found a back staircase that led to a tunnel.

How exciting! We took off our shoes and wandered inside.

Ancient tunnels with buddhas throughout. I felt like I was in The Goonies or some childhood movie.

There were these little alcoves in the tunnel walls where there were several smaller statues placed. Took me three tries to get them to show up in this photo with the darkness..

There was one other group in there with us. Otherwise extremely empty and hallow.

This is what it looked like when we exited the opposite end. We were smart and carried our shoes with us, otherwise we would’ve had to habitrailed our way back to the odd entrance we started from.

When you left the tunnels, there was this graveyard. In the middle of the stones were old spirit temples. I thought that was interesting to have spirit temples on the same grounds, I usually see them in graveyards down vacant roads.

Maybe this wasn’t a graveyard. Maybe its some sort of spiritual stone stacking? Anyone know? Email me.

A few more reminders. “do what you want others to do”

“The more you think you are wise, the more you are foolish”

“Corruption is caused by selfishness and infinite greed of the ones who have power”

We were happy to find this very different final temple to explore. It left us interested and oddly uplifted from the signage. I think that’s probably why type-o-graphy art reminders are so important in one’s home. We always seem to forget and refocusing always helps set us back on track.

We made it back to Phuket around midnight. We were the only people not wearing face masks. It made me oddly want to buy one and I sort of embraced feeling that pressure and better understanding people’s need to conform. But I stayed true to ‘farang spirit and continue to think our western beliefs about how the virus are spread are true.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. Chiang Mai

In all the blogs I read, this was a must see temple. It is up another mountain, so first thing before heading out Sedona and I traded in our non powerful scooters for new models.

This time we got cute matching blue ones. We both were happy we made the exchange.

Today was a better day. I put a baseball cap underneath my helmet and it fit much more comfortably. The drive up the mountain was scenic and absolutely fun. Twists and turns along a banked roadway with views of the city. I kept thinking in my younger days this would have been a blast to drive up, but I took my time and tried to soak in every view.

Before hitting the mountain we zoomed in to see this place which caught my eye off the road. It is a place where they hold classes on meditation practice. It is also an all white graveyard called Wat Suan Dok.

As we climbed the mountain we pulled over to take a look at the city below. You can see the pollution in the air here. The airport is to the right of the photo. For an international hub it’s quite small.

I read this on another travellers blog. A little late for us, but we are making the best of it.

We made it to the temple and there were little gift shops opened along the walkways.

Then we spotted the staircase. I was just texting Jason earlier today because he found a 1200 step adventure he wanted us to go on and I told him they would have to carry me. I could envision my calves cramping and holding me hostage half way up and no pickle juice to save me.

We started walking around the grounds and did not see the big deal about this place.

Reminded me of every other temple we had seen before.

They are all different in some ways, this one having a wooden statue/god.

But seemed somewhat the same. We commented that at least the drive up was nice.

Then we took off our shoes and went inside and DANG- what a site!! You could not have prepared me for the amount of gold shimmering in the sunshine.

There were a lot of encased buddhas. Also a lot of donation opportunities. I wondered if the different buddhas represented different needs, similar to the saints in Catholicism.

Loved the jade buddha. I was thinking of Rebecca’s son Grayson who was obsessed with jade when we spent a day together in Bangkok.

Can you spot Sedona? Gives you a true feel for the scale. Being surrounded by gold is an interesting feeling.

Love being immersed in a totally different culture. It helps me feel small and yet still part of this world that I don’t fully understand.

The serpents that encased the stairs were made of what looked like ceramic tiling.

I couldn’t help but snap a quick shot of him! His outfit. His hello kitty shoes that matched and his utter boredom. I have no idea what he was doing there. Where his parents were. But he seemed to belong.

Temples in Old Town Chiang Mai

I read before coming to Chiang Mai that you could get temple burn out. Now I understand. After 4 hours plus of walking inside the old town, the diverse temples caught our attention at first, and then after a couple hours, we had to drag ourselves in to snap a shot. Barely wanting to bother taking off our sandals to see the latest gold buddha.

That being said, after reviewing my photos from today, I was thrilled with all the architecture and beauty captured. It’s definitely worth sharing, as these temples are fascinating. Filled with history, monks, peace and uniqueness. I hope you enjoy seeing them and don’t become blind to their beauty.

**A lot of photos- a longer than usual post. But those trapped at home hopefully can enjoy with their Saturday morning coffee.

Have to admit I started by taking photos of the signs in attempts of remembering where I’d been, but after the first few I gave up bothering.

This was the first temple we came across after crossing into Old Town. The white and gold buddhas lined up welcomed you inside.

Inside were many more white and gold statues. I often wonder why certain monks get stationed at certain temples. Is is like a church with a minister?

Next temple was not too much farther up the road.

As we kept walking we came across this bridge.

It was an unstable but beautiful walk across to the monk’s quarters.

This monk was giving readings or teachings. I loved the reminder.

This one says it all. “difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations”

A cool shot from inside a gazebo along the water. The sign inside says something about celebrating 2600 years of the Lord Buddha.

The next one was quite a candyland of sorts.

This looks like something straight out of a fairytale.

Once you walked past those pastel colored gods, the inside of this temple was a little more typical than expected.

I liked how the statues were lined up along the exterior walls. You can also see from this shot that Thailand in general has electrical cable issues.

This particular temple was under a lot of construction. I put a 20 in their donation box hoping to help them restore.

Within that same temple grounds, there was this cute guy sitting solo under a tree with lights hanging down from it. I’m sure it would be a magnificent evening site.

After you walked past the island buddha, you were captured under a bridge of colorful ribbons which instantly brought you joy.

This temple wins best kept. It was immaculate. The maroon colors were also refreshing mixed with the gold.

It’s hard to capture the scale of things with a camera sometimes.

Can you appreciate the detail level of just this single window? Stunning.

Wish I could hear the drum or the bells..

The three headed goddess. I do like how their buddhas tend to be genderless.

The colors. I love how there is even a maroon car parked.

But even more so, I loved how the monks of this temple also wore maroon wraps as opposed to the bright orange typically seen. Notice him perfectly positioned in the doorway.

You can tell how much I loved these grounds.

Even the serpent sea snakes were detailed welcoming you in to see the massive buddha inside.

So grand. Such difference in culture than what I grew up surrounded by. I wonder if the Thai people are as impressed as I am when I see this.

We walked a little further and this temple caught our eye. Was a tad more on the nightmare side of fantastical.

Looking back I loved the dark skinned statue with the club in hand looking as if he was protecting the golden buddha behind him Like I dare you to come see her closer.

We spotted another ancient temple across the dried up back end of the moat. We crossed over. I appreciated the flowering trees which were being watered by water trucks spraying them along the roads.

This one was an interesting compound of sorts.

Sedona posed in between the elephants for me. You can get a feel for the size here.

Looking up trying to capture some of the mosaic details.

This wooden structure was so old. I wish I knew more history than I do. Or I wish I cared enough to read about these places before I walk into them. Where’s Jeff when I need him?

There were all sorts of structures inside this temple.

I loved capturing the monk’s laundry hanging out to dry. I appreciate the color contrast. Reminds me of an exhibit we saw in Central park in the wintertime with the kids- where there were bright orange canopies that you walked under which contrasted against the white snow.

None of these structures seemed to coordinate. I was spoiled by the maroon establishment.

Sedona wanted to support this artist who was wanting to practice his sketching skills. His name was Ho.

I do think he captured us in a sad solemn way.

While walking back to the hotel this last quirky animal temple I decided to take a snap shot of.

I think tomorrow Sedona and I will take a break from temple visits and head 1.5 hours out of town. There’s a jungle treehouse cafe I want to check out. Plus by the end of this day’s adventures, my feet were barely making it up over the discombobulated sidewalks. Sometimes I am amazed how much walking I can do and still have the curves that I have 🙂

Wat Phra Nang Sang

On Sunday I decided, now that I have Mean Mia, to travel over the bridge and off Phuket island. A road trip I would have never dared with Tia. I have been to Phang Nga by boat, but there are supposed to be a few viewpoints on land worth visiting.

On my way up Hwy 402, there was an older Thai main with a cute button up plaid shirt that kept beside me on his scooter. When I passed him, he would stay near me. Then he would pass me and I would eventually catch up to him. It was sort of fun. We travelled like this for about 40 minutes. I wondered where we would go our separate ways.

Well I said goodbye as I abruptly turned into this temple that caught my eye. You all know I love seeing how different these places are from each other. I enjoy the architecture, colors and observing the different monk quarters and gods.

I loved seeing the sculpture of the ladies that saved Phuket! And on a pink stand no less. Girl power.

Later I noticed pink was a theme here. Loving the little pink houses! Reminds me of John Mellencamp.

I do my best to wander quietly, shoulders covered and hope not to disrespect their culture or beliefs in any way. I figure it’s like the foreigners that take photos of the cathedrals in Europe. It is a simply pure admiration of what we as humans build for our religious beliefs.

This was the building facing the road that enticed me in.

Again the pink color just makes this Buddhist temple unique!

Notice all the elephant heads with trunks lifted as if to support the upper level. Inside I believe was a market. People kept going inside and appeared to be buying something.

When I peered inside this is what I saw. I’m not sure if I will ever get used to the decor. Its beautiful to me. The colors and gold detailing.

These row houses were also on the property.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this water tower complete with a statue holding a hose.

“This time I would choose to err on the side of illogic. I had to trust intuition, and plunge as I had never plunged before, with blind faith.”
― Dean Koontz, Forever Odd

This is a great quote I found and pretty much describes what moved me to Thailand and how the remainder of this Sunday was going. A loose destination /goal with a lot of side “gut reaction” stops!

Wat Kathu

Driving home from lunch with only 45 minutes until my first Cambly class, I decided to finally stop into this temple that I consistently drive past. It’s the Kathu Temple. I always hesitated going in because it seems exclusive in a way, off the road a bit. As I pulled in, I felt a little bit like I was walking through a neighborhood where I had no residence.

The monks were out sweeping the leaves. There were tons of dogs, as there usually are in temple living quarters, but these particular dogs were sprayed with a red mark on their backs. It reminded me of years ago when I was in Turkey and noticed the sheep along the mountainsides were spray painted. The locals explained to me that they did this to keep track of their flock. Sometimes I saw a blue sprayed sheep in the midst of the red, so that explanation made total sense. An easy visual. I wondered if the dogs often ran away and then the locals knew where they belonged.

I parked Mean Mia in a spot under this money tree and gorgeous blooming flower plant.

Each temple has its own interpretations of the gods.

Bell towers are always present. Notice the dog laying on the table under it?

I noticed the cemetery in the background of this next building. I also saw a lot of burned areas in the yard around it. Wasn’t sure if they were burning leaves or…? I do know there is often a lot of smoke coming from the temples for various rituals.

Curiosity made me take a photo of this sign and google translate it

It’s not often you see that needing to be said. They should’ve posted a sign like this at the Cleveland Indians stadium where we made sure dad experienced one last game with us.

I was surprised how big it was inside. Many different structures.

A huge spirit tree with lots of elephants surrounding it.

I can only assume this is one of the monk’s places of residence.

Tons of roosters and chickens running around.

While I was walking around they rang the bell and all the dogs started howling in unison. I wanted so badly to record it. I thought maybe it was their dinnertime/feeding bell or something, but none of them ran anywhere. They just all cried out as if they agreed with whatever that bell was rung for.

Why do monks ring bells?

In Buddhism bells have many important meanings. They are often used as a call to prayer as they can be heard even at great distances. The ring of the bell can represent the heavenly enlightened voice of the Buddha teaching the dharma and can also be used as a call for protection and as a way to ward off evil spirits

I am hoping I was not interpreted as one of the evil spirits 🙂

Zoe and Sedona.s Excellent Thai Adventure – Day 3

On the weather radar, unreliable I know, it said it was going to rain at 2 pm. We decided a beach day was not a great idea. Instead we motored out at 10 am and headed toward the Big Buddha. The Wat Chalong Temple was on the way, so we decided to stop in for a visit.

Loved watching the girls walk amongst the gold statues.

Zoe was perfectly coordinating with the gold decor.

We weren’t sure if Tia was going to make it up the mountain to the Big Buddha so I kept an eye on Sedona in my rear view mirror. At one point she was quite far behind us and I was wondering if Tia was struggling. But in fact the key had fallen out of the ignition and Sedona was panicked. I thought we were going to have to drive back to get it but she was able to scoop it up off the street minus the pink helmet keychain 🙂 Always an adventure. Tia also coasts downhill and then you have to restart her once the road levels out. The girls are mastering her quirky personality and loving every minute.

We purchased a gold leaf and wrote our new year wishes on them and tied them to a tree.

Appears that it may have been a great beach day afterall.

Zoe took this shot of Sedona and I with Chalong Bay in the background.

On the ride back down the mountain, we decided to stop for lunch at a roadside cafe with an incredible view. Zoe, being the rider again instead of the driver, opted for a pina colada.

We got some free entertainment watching a snake in the road get nicked by a car and us all routing for him to make it back to the jungle without getting hit again. He made it, but we are sure he’s dead in the end.

As I paid Zoe wandered down into the yard.

Since the rain didn’t start we decided to stop at the three monkeys cafe which is close to my condo.

Drinks were quite extravaqant! I wanted to steal the three monkeys statue with the santa hat.

Wat Khao Rang Samakkhitham

I know you are probably tired of me saying that I just ‘happened’ to stumble across places, but I swear it happens to me all the time. Today I picked Tia up from the shop and took a wrong turn. Was getting impatient weaving in and out of cars and ended up having to turn when I really needed to go straight. I knew the general direction I needed to be going, so I decided to wing it.

This doesn’t always turn out well for me. Remember the jungle paths? and hills I can’t make it up? This time, I ended up spotting a view from the road that caused me to stop, discovering a very beautiful temple. I had to later look up its name based on the location.