A Very Enlightening Day

We went to 5 different Wats / Temples. We also stopped by markets, had coffee, snacks and coconut water! Here are just some of the hundreds of pictures we took.

At the second to the last one we visited, Nok showed us how receiving a Monk's Blessing works. First you buy a small bucket of various foods and staples to give to the Monk, then a container of blessed water. We knelt in front of the Monk who was sitting in a higher position than us and he instructed us to pour the water from one container to the other. Vince and I touched each others hands as we poured while the Monk said a blessing. He then continued to speak while we sat with hands in Wai / Prayer position. Our friend Pong had been having a very joyful day experiencing each Wat we visited. He touched his heart, smiled and said “Happy” every time we left a Wat.

The Thais are very spiritual and superstitious. They believe in spirits that protect your car, house, person, animals, rice fields, gardens etc. At the Wat where we received the blessing Pong was overcome with spirit and promptly flopped over and lay on the floor for a few minutes. Nok asked the Monk if Pong was ok.........the look on the Monks face was peaceful, loving, and caring and he was grinning like a Cheshire Cat! As if he was thinking, “Ah! That was awesome” Pong sat up as the Monk was tying blessed knotted strings around our wrists as he spoke another blessing. I helped Pong up as we took our blessed water outside to pour on the garden flowers and plants. Yep! It WAS AWESOME!

The last Wat we visited was the favorite of Momma and I can see why! The statues of Buddha images and elephants were massive. The buildings were ornate, jaw dropping and we could have easily spent hours wandering. It was early evening and the Wat was closed but as we were heading back to the car someone said something to Nok and she waved for us to follow her.......She said, “You are Good Luck, they open Temple just for you!” WOW!!

Inside was the most beautiful image of the Buddha I have seen and I am certain it will be my favorite for quite some time. We were also allowed to take pictures! Another WOW!! Looking at Pong, I touched my heart and said, “Happy”..........He grinned and gave me a thumbs up!