Boats, Blessings and Monkeys, Oh My!

It's really hard to believe that in just 3 days Carl and I will be heading home.  We've had such a blast here that the time seems to have just sped on by.  But I think we've really made the most of our time here and that's really what counts.

Today was a day out and about.  And it started at about 7:30 this morning.  Cos that's when we had to get up in order to be able to have breakfast before heading over to sign up for the daily snorkeling trip.  So we got there and got signed in, got our lifejackets on:

We then walked down the beach to where we were picked up by one of the long-propeller boats and ferried out to an even bigger boat which took us north up the coast.

About half an hour later we pulled into a quiet cove and the engine was cut and we were told that we had 40 minutes of snorkel time so get our asses into the water and start swimming.

It was absolutely incredible.  At first the water seemed to be empty, but as my eyes adjusted to seeing through the goggles, I could see whole schools of tropical fish swimming in and around the rocks below me.  At one point I think I saw some purple coral and some anemones.  There were angelfish and bright neon blue fish.  It was just amazing.  Like actually being allowed to swim in a giant aquarium.  I could have floated there for hours just watching the fish.  It was so relaxing.

But like all good things, it couldn't last all day so we were summoned back to the boat so we could head back to Kata beach.  On the ride back we were given cool lemon-scented towels to wipe the salt off our skin and glasses of cold filtered water, as well as being offered cold slices of watermelon and pineapple.  It was so nice.  And of course it was another pretty hot day so we were pretty much dry by the time we got back.  Oh, Carl didn't swim, he just sat on the boat and took pictures.

After a quick shower to wash the salt and sand out of my hair (and probably some krill as well) we went to lunch before walking out to the street and haggling for a taxi to take us up to the Big Buddha (the giant statue in a photo from our visit to Wat Chalong).  The combination of heat and the exertion from snorkeling meant that by this time I was getting pretty sleepy, so I nodded off once or twice on the drive up there.  However once we arrived, I perked up (standing and walking meant concentration so I had to be at least somewhat alert).  And I really am glad I went, it was simply stunning.

It was built (or is being built I should say as it's still under construction) not only to honor Lord Buddha, but also in celebration of the king's 80th birthday.  Which I think is wonderful.  They are so proud of their monarchy here.

We wandered around the bottom of the hill, and into a pavilion where as well as the usual touristy souvenir stands, there were places where you could donate either 100 or 300 baht and get a piece of marble to write your name on and thus contribute to the building of the Big Buddha:

Which I thought was a neat idea.  Carl did too so we bought a small square and signed it.  We then wandered down the left side of the pavilion and saw this little fellow:

And he wasn't alone either.  There were at least five of them climbing the trees and then on to the roof of the markets.  It was amazing how totally unafraid of us humans they were.

At the very back of the market, there was a square where a small shrine was set up where you could burn incense for luck.  It was guarded by a very diligent temple cat:

Well, semi diligent anyway.  There was also a Buddhist monk who offered blessings for luck, protection, money and love.  Carl and I got blessed and also received a woven bracelet each.  It looks like a friendship bracelet, but I guess it's a trinket or something to reinforce the blessing.  Either way they're pretty neat.

On the other side of the market pavilion was a place where these boards were set up:

 Yep that's a NZ five dollar note there on the top left. I guess some people just took what little change they had in their local currency and donated it.  Which is pretty cool.

There was a LOT of it.  And I could only recognize a handful of the currencies.

We then finally headed up the hill to the base of the Big Buddha itself.  And if it looked spectacular from the bottom of the hill, that was NOTHING to actually being under it:

Magnificent.

Although this sign puzzled us a bit:

Um at 45 meters high, he's a bit big to hug anyway.

But it was simply amazing.  Even though there were signs that it was definitely still a construction zone, the entire place just radiated this sense of peace.  Everyone was just wandering, there was no feeling of being rushed or hurried.  And everyone was just so polite and reverent.

 One of the designs that I think is eventually going to run all the way around the base of the statue

Here it is side on.  It's not as thick as you'd think from looking at it.

This bell was tucked into a corner.  I think it might be slated to hang above what I think will be the main entrance to under the statue:

Which is here I think.  With two magnificent statues flanking it.  I so want to come back in maybe 5-10 years and see it when it's fully complete.

Up another small hill at the top was a lookout.  There were these gold chimes in the trees that tinkled every time the wind blew.  It was beautiful.

And a bit of commotion near the path turned out to be this guy.

Completely fearless...and completely addicted to coca cola.

Because we were getting a bit hot, we headed back down and spotted another temple cat on guard:

And lastly here's Carl standing next to one of the blocks of marble they're using in the construction:

It was about 4pm when we got back to the resort.  So we just chilled out in the room watching movies on tv before heading out to dinner.  After dinner we had a drink at the bar but I headed back to the room because I was hot and completely wiped out.  Apparently I missed a hell of a show cos Carl got dragged up on stage to act in a little skit put together by the costume designer.  But what can you do?  I probably would've fallen asleep there anyway.  Bed was the much better option.

That's it from our Friday out and about.  Hope you're enjoying our adventures so far.

See you all soon.