More Temples

Someone on FaceBook asked if I was back from this trip. Yes! We flew there last Tuesday and returned on Thursday. Everything we saw from the water lilies through the monastery in this post happened on Wednesday. We had a car and driver and drove all around the countryside to get to these places. Yes, it was a long day (about 10+hours), but well worth it!

After Ban Chiang, our next stop was at Wat Pa Dong Rai, a temple built in the shape of a lotus flower. It was lovely, but it was very hot and I didn’t walk all the way over a bridge to see it up close.

There was a goldfish pond alongside the usual group of food and souvenir stalls. For 5 baht (about 12 cents) you could get a small baby bottle filled with tiny balls of fish food. The fish obviously knew what to expect and they rushed to have a turn sucking in the treats. Very weird!

Next up, Kham Chanot Wang Nakhin. From the website:

A small forest monastery on a lake where a mythical large snake, the naga lord Sisotho, is believed to live underground on an island in the lake. From the main Wat, the island is accessed via a 300-meter long elevated walkway that winds through swampland and a forest with huge trees where giant iguanas live. Visitors are required to remove shoes before using the walkway. The island holds a number of shrines and a sacred well. Traditional Thai dances are often performed and offerings made to the spirits in exchange for prayers being offered. Many Thai people come here to pray for the next lottery numbers, which they divine by examining the bark of the giant Chanot trees. Located about 80 km northeast of Udon Thani city center.

As we entered the temple area, we were required to remove our shoes. We had anticipated this, and brought socks to wear, as neither of us is good at going barefoot. The walkway into the woods to the temple had a pebbly surface, and we were glad we had the socks! At the end of the walk was a clearing with several small buildings. People were lined up in front of the tables holding their offerings while a monk spoke for a few minutes. They then put their items on the table and the next group of people came up. 

Here’s a closeup of some of the elaborate arrangements, with leaves woven to look like snakes. We watched for a while and saw some young men behind the tables scooping the arrangements into large garbage bags. It wouldn’t take long until the tables were full again. I can’t imagine what happens to them all. The purpose is to get merit and/or good luck. We also saw people rubbing cash along the snake railing on the walkway, presumably also for good luck.

We stayed there for a while and chatted with a police guard. He was very friendly (tried to get Barbara’s phone number, but not in a sleazy way) and walked with us into the forest. I was eager to see the giant iguanas, but we didn’t see any there. On the way out we did see one climbing up in a tree. It wasn’t possible to get a photo, but at least I did get to see one! (It wasn’t that giant, about the size of a rabbit.)

I stayed away from this plant with many thorns!

After we returned to the main area, we saw this large golden Buddha statue. There were many shops and lots of people. As we drove away, we saw many roadside shops selling the plant/flower arrangements.

We had planned one more stop, but our driver told us it was a market and we decided to head right back into town. It was a long, tiring day. After a rest, we headed back to the mall for dinner again.

Thursday morning we had a wonderful breakfast and took a short walk around our area of town. Around noon we checked out and headed for the airport.

PS for my India people: yes, snakes are called naga here too!