More temples (another travelogue)

One last batch of temples so read no further if such things don't interest you...

I visited all these with my boyfriend a few years ago. All were in the Ratchaburi/Kanchanaburi area and we travelled from his home in Ratchaburi.

I'd no idea with any of these where we were going and was a bit intrigued when he insisted that we had to be at one of the temples at sunset.

However there was a rather obvious clue outside when we drove up.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_04.jpg

The temple itself is fairly ordinary but the reason for it being called "The Bat Temple" becomes clear at sunset when a stream of bats fly out from caves in the cliffs behind. There are so many that they look like a stream of smoke and it went on for about twenty minutes. It got too dark for successful photos, unfortunately, so this early one only gives a hint of the sheer numbers that followed. My boyfriend was suitable pleased with himself that I'd been impressed and surprised.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_05.jpg

I never got the full story about this next one but the temple had become some sort of shrine to a recently deceased Movie Star (or "Star Movie as my BF says). She had also been a singer and her songs where being played at deafening volume so the whole place shook.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_06.jpg

There were bits of movie sets and props all over the place as well as a life sized models of the Movie Star. There was also part of a fitted kitchen and this model of a soldier all behind the normal central Buddha.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_08.jpg

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_07.jpg

Another rather strange feature were piles of cheap dressing tables, complete with mirrors, that were stacked on both sides of the temple. They appeared to be gifts to the temple but why they should want so many dressing tables I've no idea. Indeed there was a lot that puzzled me but at this point my BF was obviously tiring and I needed to get him back home. He had gone into "Vague mode" and any hope of getting answers to my questions had gone. Those large brown eyes had lost focus and I knew to leave him alone and left him to curl up on the back seat of the taxi.

Another day - another temple...

This was notable for its setting as it was perched on top of a rocky outcrop.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_01.jpg

Access was by a funicular railway.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_03.jpg

I was very surprised that a woman attendant on the railcar was riding shotgun and carrying a rifle and even more surprised when she started firing at the monkeys that were leaping to and fro from the railcar to the trees and back again. However it turned out that she was only firing pellets that gave the monkeys a sting rather than any injury. There were so many of them that they had become a pest and they were trying to discourage them.

The area was very beautiful with spectacular views from the top and a fine group of buildings.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c156/Jons_photos/Temple_02.jpg

I would have never seen any of them if it hadn't been for my BF. He treats my liking for such things with a mild sense of amusement and tolerance and I just go along with his plans and never know what to expect next.

[Bob]

Enjoy the travelogues, Jon. Thanks.

The second temple is actually part of the hilltop "summer palace" Phra Nakhon Khiri built by King Rama 4 (King Mongkut of "The King and I" fame).
The hilltop overlooks the city of Petchaburi.

I'm a big fan of "Temple Trawling". I've never seen 2 that are the same. Each local temple grows organically out of the community it's a part of and they all have fascinating idiosyncrasies.

Love to know where that Bat/Movie star temple is. :study:

The second temple is actually part of the hilltop "summer palace" Phra Nakhon Khiri built by King Rama 4 (King Mongkut of "The King and I" fame).
The hilltop overlooks the city of Petchaburi.

I'm a big fan of "Temple Trawling". I've never seen 2 that are the same. Each local temple grows organically out of the community it's a part of and they all have fascinating idiosyncrasies.

Love to know where that Bat/Movie star temple is. :study:

Thanks for the information about the Hill Top Temple. The Bat Temple is Khao Chong Phran which is the nearest to where my BF lives of all the places we visited so not far from Ratchaburi.

One of the downsides of my expeditions with my BF is that I'm usually totally lost and as many of the places are small and not well known I've no idea where I am. That's the case with the "Movie Star Temple" which I'd never find again. I'd be interested if, a few years on, it's still so centred around the memory of one person. If I'd been a monk there the constant playing of her songs would have driven me mad. I assume that there was a local connection with her but I don't know for sure.

We also visited a Temple where a Buddha statue had recently developed a frown due to the attentions of an "evil spirit". Prayers and offerings had been made and the serene smile was restored, apparently, so there wasn't actually anything to see.

Another site we visited was a ruined temple where you had to eat the fruit of a particular tree. It had very small sticky fruit that were very sweet but I don't know what it was.

The most awkward we visited was up a very rough track on top of a rocky outcrop. The temple itself was inside a cave but the entrance was narrow and almost like going down a pot hole. My BF hit his head and ended up bleeding all over the place. The monks sold pieces of, what looked like, quartz and other pieces of mineral from the cave and there was a small display of "interesting" rocks to look at. It was our driver who came up with that one and I've no idea where we were and my BF hadn't been before either.

[Dboy]

Thanks for the posting. Really liked the photos of Phra Nakhon Khiri...it's now on the list for next adventure. I enjoy exploring the temples as well.

dboy