***I'm having writers block, so sorry if this is badly written
Today Ryan, Ginny, Shelby, Becky and I visited a somewhat famous Buddhist temple just outside Kalasin. What a magical place. The whole area was shaded by giant trees, and paths twisted in and out of the forest. Everywhere you looked, there were peacocks and chickens clucking and scratching the dirt. This temple in particular is special because they have mummies! We entered the room in which they are kept and it was the most eery experience. It was like a bizarre antique shop, skeletons and skulls were piled along the walls, and jars of strange pickled fetuses were just hanging out. In the center of the room were about nine glass cases, and in each was a preserved monk. It was surreal. Apparently they were kept on display to show us that one day we will end up like this, a sort of humbling exercise. On the other side of the room were three wax monks that were so lifelike it took me a good while to discern whether or not they were in deep meditation or if they were in fact fake.
We then wandered over to this lake like structure with another temple on an island in the middle. The island itself had a few rabbits that lived there, and it was such a funny image to see the rabbits lounging next to a Buddha. The top part of the temple had a giant gold buddha, and the basement contained artifacts of deceased monks. There was a shelf full of little glass amulet things that containing teeth. Many urns of monk ashes were also stored there.
As we were walking along the lake we encountered a MASSIVE iguana, I'm not sure how he ended up there but he was quite impressive. We then walked over to this other structure where a highly esteemed monk would bless the visitors. We removed our shoes (which I initially forgot oops) and then bowed before him. He then threw each of us a bracelet that he himself had blessed. A very cool experience.
Lastly we visited a room that contained all the possessions of a highly revered monk who had passed away a few years back. Everything from his golf cart to his tea kettle were there, and people considered it an honor to be able to look upon his belongings. This little temple excursion was SO COOL and so bizarre, especially because Buddhism is such an exotic religion to us farangs.
After, we drove out to Lam Pao dam, about 30 minutes outside of Kalasin. It was sooooooo nice to be able to swim in a natural waterway. You could rent an inner tube for 40 baht and raft down the little rapids. We were SUCH a spectacle haha. Floating down the rapid, I had an audience of about 40 people staring so blatantly it was hard not to laugh. Thai people avoid the sun because they do not want to darken their skin (oh the irony) so everyone was swimming fully clothed. We initially were going to swim in our bathing suits but thought better and followed Thai suit.
After we'd had our swim, we hung out in these little bungalows and had a meal of Som Tam, sticky rice, grilled fish and chicken. What a pleasure it was.
The ride back was absolutely beautiful. We drove past so many rice paddies, water buffalos, cows, and beautiful little Thai homes. The surrounding area of Kalasin is truly stunning and it felt so good to get out of town. It made me really consider getting a motorbike so I could access these beautiful places.
Today Ryan, Ginny, Shelby, Becky and I visited a somewhat famous Buddhist temple just outside Kalasin. What a magical place. The whole area was shaded by giant trees, and paths twisted in and out of the forest. Everywhere you looked, there were peacocks and chickens clucking and scratching the dirt. This temple in particular is special because they have mummies! We entered the room in which they are kept and it was the most eery experience. It was like a bizarre antique shop, skeletons and skulls were piled along the walls, and jars of strange pickled fetuses were just hanging out. In the center of the room were about nine glass cases, and in each was a preserved monk. It was surreal. Apparently they were kept on display to show us that one day we will end up like this, a sort of humbling exercise. On the other side of the room were three wax monks that were so lifelike it took me a good while to discern whether or not they were in deep meditation or if they were in fact fake.
We then wandered over to this lake like structure with another temple on an island in the middle. The island itself had a few rabbits that lived there, and it was such a funny image to see the rabbits lounging next to a Buddha. The top part of the temple had a giant gold buddha, and the basement contained artifacts of deceased monks. There was a shelf full of little glass amulet things that containing teeth. Many urns of monk ashes were also stored there.
As we were walking along the lake we encountered a MASSIVE iguana, I'm not sure how he ended up there but he was quite impressive. We then walked over to this other structure where a highly esteemed monk would bless the visitors. We removed our shoes (which I initially forgot oops) and then bowed before him. He then threw each of us a bracelet that he himself had blessed. A very cool experience.
Lastly we visited a room that contained all the possessions of a highly revered monk who had passed away a few years back. Everything from his golf cart to his tea kettle were there, and people considered it an honor to be able to look upon his belongings. This little temple excursion was SO COOL and so bizarre, especially because Buddhism is such an exotic religion to us farangs.
After, we drove out to Lam Pao dam, about 30 minutes outside of Kalasin. It was sooooooo nice to be able to swim in a natural waterway. You could rent an inner tube for 40 baht and raft down the little rapids. We were SUCH a spectacle haha. Floating down the rapid, I had an audience of about 40 people staring so blatantly it was hard not to laugh. Thai people avoid the sun because they do not want to darken their skin (oh the irony) so everyone was swimming fully clothed. We initially were going to swim in our bathing suits but thought better and followed Thai suit.
After we'd had our swim, we hung out in these little bungalows and had a meal of Som Tam, sticky rice, grilled fish and chicken. What a pleasure it was.
The ride back was absolutely beautiful. We drove past so many rice paddies, water buffalos, cows, and beautiful little Thai homes. The surrounding area of Kalasin is truly stunning and it felt so good to get out of town. It made me really consider getting a motorbike so I could access these beautiful places.
Preserved monk mummies, so very eery
A wax figure, sooo incredibly lifelike, from the wrinkles to the liver spots
#fashion
Monks on Facebook in the background, monk mummies in the foreground
Jovial skeletons
offerings
treasures hidden among the trees
Bunny and Buddha
Deceased monk teeth
monk ashes
Lampao Lake, look at those colors!
This creature supposedly existed at one point, but was blown out of the water by the Americans during one of the wars
Lampao Dam
Feast!
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