Buddha Protected by a Naga at Wat Naiyang
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Buddha Protected by a Naga at Wat Naiyang |
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You are now staying at ECO Guesthouse and of course you are interested in discovering your new vicinity and to learn a little bit about local people's customs. Let's follow the Californian couple Ross and Jean who stayed in ECO Guesthouse just after their arrival in Phuket and prepared their trip by bicycle there. They write on their website http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/thailand2006: "Ross put the bikes together and ... we decided to go find the Wat to have our bikes blessed before beginning our journey. Nong had written our request in Thai ... " |
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"Down the road we pedalled, passing a mosque, until the Wat appeared to our left. The sky also grew quite dark and the wind picked up drastically. Jean warned Ross that it was going to rain, and soon. Just then it started to pour and we pulled over to a shelter just in time to avoid being caught in a drenching downpour. The shelter was in front of an outdoor market that was in front of the Wat, and we sat there for a good half hour, watching all the activity. People riding by on scooters holding umbrellas. Eventually the storm blew over and we turned into the temple grounds. Found two monks to give our note to, and we were led to the right place. The monk performed a ceremony, putting white paste on our bike handlebars and sprinkling the bikes and us with holy water, all the time saying prayers. Then he had us hold our hands out flat where he placed a yellow prayer cloth with Buddha images in our hands and on top of that a medal which he blessed." |
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| And what do local people tell about Wat Naiyang? |
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"About 250 years ago an austerity monk from northeast of Thailand peacefully died on a tiger leather seat during his meditation. Then people here called him "Tiger leather monk". Every end of October people go to the temple to celebrate a great donation. We call it "10th month's donation"". |
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But people do not go to the temple once a year in October. There are many other reasons like letting the dogs be vaccinated by an ambulant veterinary, obsequies or wedding ceremonies ... |
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A very important reason to go to the temple area is the local market. We are used to the market being hold three times a week: |
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The merchants offer fresh fruit and vegetables, flowers, cooked food Thai style, beverages, clothing, shoes, sun glasses, handicrafts, jewelry, music on compact discs and by loudspeakers. Get an impression of Thai life far away from the tourist beaches. |
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| Excursions |
