Thursday, January 13, 2011



Wat Chalong

Wat Chalong is the main temple in Phuket and it is all of 200 yards from the house. It's an amazing temple with plenty to look at. For the past 3 years I have been putting a Guide book together for English speaking people. It's all finished now and the print run actually started today so now, when any of you come, you can take your own booklet....free of charge to our honoured guests...and go and get a good understanding about what the temple (and quite lot of Thai culture) is all about.



The temple has a number of highly decorative buildings. This one is called the Mondop. It's a very busy building with lots of people constantly going in to make offerings to the three revered monks to whom the temple is dedicated. Buddhism is a very easy going and tolerant 'religion'. Anyone is welcome to take part in any aspect of the various rituals that go on....and nobody minds if you take photographs...anywhere within or without any of the buildings. The Thais love photography and certainly don't mind if you take photographs of them..........and they are really good at striking a smiling pose for you. Nice people!!



Here we are at the nearby Big Buddha complex which is an on-going project supported entirely by donations. Thus it will progress at the rate the donations come in. Our intrepid explorers are posing with the Buddha image associated with Saturday. Saturday's Buddha is easily distinguised by the seven headed Naga that guards it. The Buddha is also seated on a Naga........the mythological serpent which is a protective spirit ....when it wants to be!!

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