Asia Mega Tour 2026 - Day Sixteen (2) - Buddhism Photos

 The de-I audience speaks. de-I Listens. You want MORE temples! You are going to get MORE temples. 

HOWEVER, I am going to show my un-freaking-believable compassion for you, my faithful readers by restraining myself and NOT showering your with WAT (the Thai word for temple) 'play on words' jokes. 

The second part of our photo shoot marathon was dedicated to things Buddhist. There was a massive 'BIG BUDDHA' statue (I kid you not, that is the official name). Then two temples Wat Chalong and Wat MongKholNimitPhra.

Big Buddha

The Big Buddha is a relatively new monument. It was first proposed by a major monastery abbot in 2004. It was finally deemed completed in 2010 though it is worked on constantly to this day. the statue is made of reinforced concrete but is covered by small plaques of white marble. People make donations by purchasing these plaques to this day and they are added.The influence of Buddhist faith is ubiquitous in Thailand. The entire complex was funded by donations.

Unfortunately, the light was about as bad as it could be for us to get reasonable pictures. There was full sun and the sun was right behind the statue. It required some creative camera settings to get anything other than a silhouette.

 

Many large Buddha statues we've seen have names like 'Laughing Buddha' or 'Reclining Buddha'. I think I would name this 'Enigmatic Smile Buddha'.

 

 

 

The Serpents/Dragons were much easier to get a shot of

 

 

 "Yo! Down There! It's a Freaking Giant Serpent (or Dragon)!

 

 "We need to do SOMETHING!"

 

 "Sure Babe. Let's get an Instagram-able picture"

 

 Not Buddha (but not sure who)

 

 It was an incredibly steep drive to get to Big Buddha and there were some great Phuket views

 

 

 

 And we could see our next stop - Wat Chalong

 

 Wat Chalong

Wat Chalong was built in the early 19th century and came to prominence when two of its noteworthy monks provided healing and protection during a Chinese coolie rebellion in 1876. 

Exteriors 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Architectural Detail

 

 

 

 

 

 Misc.

I really have no idea who this is

 

 

 On the Benefits of Obtaining Great Merit 

If you are true and dedicated to your practices, you will attain merit. In de-I's case I was blessed with a rare sighting of Espouses Fotograficus Asia Meridiorientalis, the Southeast Asian variety of Fotograficus. She can only be found at very rare intervals.

 

 

 

 Wat MongKholNimitPhra

Built around 1880, it was elevated to third level royal status and has become a center of Buddhist education

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Signs of the World

People with white smiles...No! People with red smiles...Yes!

 

 There is a prominent S&M community in Phuket