Pattaya, Thailand

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On Dec. 5 we said farewell to Cambodia and flew into Bangkok, Thailand, then took a bus to Pattaya. We had heard a lot about it, but turns out to be great if you are into the bar scene, or you are a single old man looking for companionship. We had booked our hotel for a week, so decided to turn a blind eye and just make the best of it. We enjoyed walking along the great sea-wall, and generally exploring the area. We did the usual city tour of temples and points of interest, helps to get the lay of the land. Then, someone suggested we visit the Sanctuary of Truth,and we're glad we did.

Sanctuary of Truth. One man's vision was to have "the magnificence of heaven re-created on earth". It is very hard to explain, but there is loads of information on it on the web. In a nut shell, the idea of this is to bring together the three main religions of Thailand, and to show the history of the old ways in a structure that is being built using only wood, only from trees native to Thailand, and using methods that were used centuries ago. Everything is hand carved and held together using various wooden fasteners. It is a work in progress, started 30 years ago by a man named Prasat Satchatham and is continued today by his son. Apparently, according to his vision, this work will take another 30 years to complete. You have to wonder about how this is being financed, but apparently it is all private money being donated, first by the original builder, now by his estate, private donations by people impressed by the undertaking, and by opening it up to tourists and charging an admisssion. It employes hundreds of artisans and construction workers, so I guess in that respect it is a good thing. Anyway, we spent many hours there and totally enjoyed it.

On Dec 12 we flew from Pattaya to the south west of Thailand, to Phuket. Here we rented an apartment for 3 weeks, and will stay here over the Christmas season, then will fly to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia on Jan 3.

Next installment: Christmas in Phuket.

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