TEMPERATURE SCREENSHOT
AMETHYST AND SAPPHIRE BALCONY CAFÉ
Deep Fried Chicken Feet with sticky rice (from a street vendor)
Mandy’s Chicken Livers in Red Curry & Coconut Sauce & Jasmine Rice
ADVENTURES OF THE DAY
Another stunning sunny day on Koh Samui. Today they would be visiting a nearby temple.
Visitors to any Buddhist temple are requested to show respect by dressing appropriately as these are places of worship. This generally means that from one’s shoulders to one’s knees one should be covered. Seen as Mandy made breakfast, Richard kindly ironed Mandy’s long-short pants for her, using their travel steam-iron for the first time in Thailand.
As planned, Richard and Mandy scooted off to the nearby Buddhist temple, Wat Plai Laem, which Richard had found the previous day on google maps. Wat Plai Laem is a living and active temple. There are also various statues on the temple grounds to Buddha and other deities.
They couldn’t believe they had driven past this temple and the statues found here several times and did not see Guanyin (hidden by the trees). in all her glory,with her 18 arms extended, from Moo Road. She is absolutely magnificent. Guanyin is the Goddess of Compassion, Mercy and Kindness and is the most popular and well known female Goddess in Asia.
Guanyin is also believed to be a source of unconditional love and a protector of all beings. Her multitude of arms is seen as an illustration of her ability to reach out and provide help across the world. She is also seen as a fertility goddess and many who come here pray for her help in bearing healthy children.
There is also a statue of the the Laughing Buddha with four other Buddha’s in each corner. The Laughing Buddha is the “Buddha of Wealth”. He is believed to bring abundance and happiness. It is very easy to recognize the Laughing Buddha as he always wears a robe with prayer beads around his neck and is bald and has a big fat tummy. He is always happy and smiling.
Besides the main temple there are several other abundantly decorated buildings. Once again the architecture was magnificent. There was also a new building being erected and it was fascinating to see that the support structures and scaffolding was what appeared to be bamboo and wooden poles. Their building practices suspect but amazing!
They took some fantastic photographs of the various temple buildings, statues, Buddha’s and the main temple building from a distance away.
The statues and the Temple is situated in the centre of a man made lake full of big fish. As there were signs where fish food could be purchased for 10 Baht, they bought some fish food and went to feed the fish also hoping to get some great photographs. To their surprise, they could not believe the size of what appeared to be “Cat Fish”.
It was so cool under the pagoda where one stood to feed the fish, that they sat there for a while taking in all the beauty surrounding them. They both felt a sense of peace and tranquility being in this place of worship. Once again they were reminded of how blessed they were to be here fulfilling a dream. They spoke about never taking each other and their love and the life they have together for granted.
After taking all this in, it was time to enter their first temple and they walked hand in hand to the bridge, where they removed their shoes, before entering the temple.
The temple is the main prayer room and on entering they both immediately felt humbled. They spoke to each other in whispers, respecting that this is a place of worship for many. In the center of the room is a red carpet and the entire inside walls including the ceiling is painted in exquisite detailed and colorful murals. The window shutters and doors have exquisite intricate carvings in colorful splendor. And in the center was a golden Buddha Altar. Although there was no one praying in the Temple at the time, the impact was still profound. Almost breathless. Like you knew you are in a place of peace and love. Richard who was brought up Catholic didn’t expect to feel such an intense feeling of “wholeness”. He felt quite emotional and described the feeling later to Mandy as that of being in the presence of something wonderful and kind. He felt total acceptance and that everything was as it should be. No judgement or criticism.
They left Wat Plai Laem feeling warm and happy and at peace.
Richard was keen to show Mandy the Bob Bar he had visited when he had taken a solo scooter drive and saw the “Big Buddha” for the first time, so they stopped there for a cocktail. While listening to Reggae music they chatted about their earlier experience. And Bob Marley’s lyrics of “One Love – One Heart” also just set the mood and fitted in perfectly with the way they were feeling since visiting the temple. They were loving the vibe.
While sitting chatting, a lady came to sit at the table next to them. She arrived with a packet and called the owner’s dogs to her and after greeting them, she proceeded to take out cooked chicken (that she later told us she had purchased from a street vendor across the road), and proceeded to feed the dogs small tit bits at a time. They were so well behaved and gently took the tit bits from her hand. She had one of those bubbly personalities that just radiated warmth and she was obviously a dog lover so Mandy couldn’t resist the urge to start chatting to her. She was so friendly and chatty and shared her love for dogs and her adventures with them. Esther went on to tell them that she was retired after having worked for the NYPD for 20+ years, from New York and was spending her retirement years travelling, (South Africa and Cape Town also on her “bucket list”).
After wishing Esther awesome holidays, they decided to pop over to the street vendor (as the chicken Esther was feeding the dogs looked delish). It was the same street vendor Mandy had spotted earlier who was selling Deep Fried and Battered Chicken Feet which she was eager to try. They purchased a few along with sticky rice and sweet dipping sauce and included 2 pieces of deep fried thighs (Richard not so keen on the feet!)
They zoomed back along Moo Road to their hotel and lunch. Richard took a nibble or two from the chicken feet before handing his portion very eagerly to Mandy. LOL
After lunch in the sweltering heat on the balcony, they walked down to the beach for a much needed swim. On the way back to the hotel they took a dip in the pool and discovered that there were Jacuzzi jets on the side where one could relax and enjoy the water pumping out of the jets.
By the time they got back to their hotel room the sun was setting. Mandy cooked them supper on her miracle “Electric Pot”, Chicken Livers with freshly chopped veg in a Red Curry Coconut Sauce on Jasmine Rice. They enjoyed this with tingling lips and running noses LOL Thank heavens, the evening had cooled down. Another perfect ending to another perfect day.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY
Their first visit to a Buddha Temple. An uplifting spiritual experience they would never forget. There is a misconception that Buddhism is a religion and that Buddhists worship Buddha. In actual fact, Buddhism is a practice like yoga, and a way of life. Buddha is the teacher, who guides followers in living their lives according to Buddhist principles.Truly wonderful, gentle, kind and loving principles. This was one of the reasons drawing Richard and Mandy to Thailand which made today’s experience even more special.
Even though Richard felt an overwhelming sense of peaceful belonging he assured Mandy that he would not be running off to become a Buddhist Monk. Mandy had visions of having to shave her head and dress up as a monk to go and drag him back home. LOL.
Namasté dear friends.
Oh thank the Lord you are not running off to become Buddhists. Your mother would not be smiling. Lol. So the rain is gone and the heat is on. Drawing closer to your course which I’m sure you are both excited about. Enjoy the last few days of exploring the island. Lief jou. Xx
Absolutely Stunning,