A long time ago in a land far away (Phetchabun), local people did see a floating orb disappear into a cave. Verily, those are Buddha relics floating in the orb, sayeth the locals (but in Thai); we should be build a temple complex in homage. Then some benefactors came along and donated a 29 rai site, and the rest is history.
The main attraction is Maha Vihan, the five Buddha statue.
There is also a large, ornately decorated building…
….a large garden…
….a building for meditation classes…..
…and a number of smaller buildings….
The complex seems to be substantially complete, although there are some areas still covered with scaffolding and incomplete decorations.
There are signs indicating that this is a holy site (the no hug/kiss restriction limited she who must be obeyed’s selfie endeavours).
But the usual temple commercial enterprises were absent, which was refreshing. There were apparently monks living there, but the only ones we saw were quite obviously tourists:
The defining feature of Wat Pha Sorn Kaew must be the decorations that cover every wall and floor.
The family crockery from ten thousand homes has been stuck on the walls; either as whole pieces:
or as the remains of a particularly vicious domestic dispute:
Elsewhere on the walls we found sea shells, semi-precious stones and pearls. You could spend days just admiring the designs.
Here are a few more shots taken during our visit:
I have plenty more, will probably stick them in a separate gallery so as not to outstay my welcome in a single post.
All shots taken with the Olympus E-M1 and the 12-40mm F2.8 and 40-150mm F2.8. The first shot in this post was taken at 19mm. This following shot was taken at 150mm (and slightly cropped) from the same location:
It’s great to have so much range with just two lenses.
Location (If you drive along route 12 from the East you can spot the temple and find the turn-off. From the West, you will likely overshoot because the temple is not obviously signposted):
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Comments 🔗
2015-02-13| Grant saysStunning photos, you must have been darting about in a state of great glee. Has SWMBO come back with a plan for a Bencharong wall at Spike Villas?
2015-03-02| Nick saysBeautiful photos!!!