Around the world

Around the world; a Nation Hopper's journy to teach on all 7 continents.




Saturday, September 3, 2011

Wat Khao Angkan


Nathan came by today to pick up P Ui and myself and took us to an old Thai Wat. Wat Khao Angkan. It is about a thirty minute drive from Nang Rong and located on a ‘mountain’ which was really just a big hill. There were four or five Wat’s and several small shrines scattered around. What made this Wat particularly special was the giant golden reclining Buddha out front. 





The first Wat was the biggest and the ‘main’ Wat. This one is my favorite. Inside were gorgeous murals of Siddhartha and his life, a big golden Buddha, a picture of the king during his time as a monk, and two cases of old books that I drooled over. Nathan told me that the books contained old manuscripts written by famous monks. One manuscript in particular tells of a man who would come, his brow would bleed and his palms priced. The manuscript was written before Christ and has no ties what so ever to Christianity. You are not allowed to take pictures inside of the Wat’s I was very disappointed that I could not share with you all the beautiful art that lined the walls in the main Wat. It was truly breath taking. 




The second Wat was just to the right of the main Wat. It houses the golden foot print of Buddha, but the ‘real‘ print is located under the main Wat. 



The third Wat is my second favorite. It has these two giant serpents that sit in front of the entrance. The serpents are said to live in a river in the north parts of Thailand, kind of a loch ness monster of Thailand. 




Sanskrit was engraved on their scales. Nathan told me that Thai language is a derivative of Sanskrit. 



Nathan was looking for a Wat he had been too years ago but couldn’t find it. He said we simply could not leave without seeing it, so we enlisted the help of a monk (who gave us umbrellas when we got there because it had started to rain). He took us to the side of the second Wat and pointed up a hill.
As he was leaving I asked Nathan to ask him if I could take his picture. The monk debated with himself for a moment. Nathan said not all monks will let you take their picture. I stood there with my fingers and toes crossed and was thrilled when the monk decided it was alright. He would not how ever take a picture with me. Monks are not supposed to touch a women in any way. If I was to hand him something, I would have to set it on the ground or the table before he could take it. 
The last Wat was just as beautiful, with a steep tiled staircase that lead up to it. 

I am so thankful that Nathan brought me along on this trip. It was a wonderful experience. I only wish we could have stayed longer. The hour and a half we were there was no where near enough time to truly see all the beauty in the Wats. I would have liked to talk with the monk via Nathan. I have so many questions, I probably could have talked to him all day. But it was an incredible adventure and I can’t wait to go see what else is out there. 

1 comment:

  1. Oh my goodness!!! That sounds so totally, completely, absolutely AMAZING!!!!!!!!! :D I love the pictures! :)

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