BIG Buddha

My last tour in Phuket included the Big Buddha which I'm thinking maybe they should call "Enormous" Buddha. It sits at 45 metres high on top of the Nakkerd Hills between Chalong and Kata. To give you an idea of the size if you look really carefully at this photo you can see that little person at the bottom in front of the column is me!

I'm sure the view from there is spectacular on a clear day but unfortunately it was a little cloudy the day I went. But that didn't diminish my enjoyment of this gigantic and beautiful structure.

The tour guide told me that they have been in process of building it for about the last four years and project end date should be about a year if people keep making regular donations. The project is being built entirely on donations, but they make it interesting for foreigners wishing to leave their mark. Your donation buys you a small piece of marble (100 Baht) or a larger piece (300 Baht) which you can write your name or message on, and then becomes a piece of the Big Buddha (if you look closely you'll see the whole thing is made of little tiles of marble). I'm imagining that mine will become a part of whatever he is sitting on, because everything else has been finished. I donated enough for the bigger one and I wrote the following... (most of you will understand why)

I was told that the inside of the Buddha (which is presently in horrible condition) will become a small museum of Buddhist history so it would be worth it to return when it's finished.

The outside is surrounded by other Buddhas and shrines. You can see a couple of other Buddhas in the first photo.

After the Big Buddha we went to the Wat (meaning temple) Chalong. Extraordinary and beautiful there are a few different temples. One with the most beautiful wall paintings and on the top level a glass protected piece of bone from Lord Buddha. Another temple has these human-sized wax models of some other famous Buddhas. And another temple has some statues (other Buddhas?) covered in gold that is coming off everywhere and covering the floor.

As you can see, despite the incredible heat, I covered myself with a long sleeve white shirt and wrapped a sarong around my shorts, as well as taking off my shoes at the door, to enter the temple. I also knew, simply from reading etiquette guides in the travel books, that the feet should only face away from a Buddha because they are considered vulgar. So why then did I see so many tourists at this temple with short sleeved shirts and shorts. Not only that, but what shocked me more than anyting, were the tourists sitting with their feet facing the Buddhas for a souvenir photo! If I can read a book or look on the internet why can't they? It's not that difficult is it?