Wat Hat Yai Nai (Buddhist Temple) - Hat Yai, Thailand
On the last day of my trip to Hatyai, I decided to visit some of its famous temples. This temple is home to one of the largest reclining buddhas or the sleeping buddhas in the world measuring at 35 metres long (I wiki this).
Stunning architecture
I drove along narrow streets with street vendors. Near the temple, many people were selling live fishes. The aim of this; to be able to sell them for a profit while I guess to release to the nearby river to be recaptured back.
Skilled artisans and woods craftsman did a good job of carving out such intricate carvings.
The compound itself is huge. A few acres of land dedicated to this temple. Temples are sacred places.
This section of the temple was gated up
Perhaps some maintenance work was taking place.
I felt as though I was walking into another time somewhere in the past.
A time capsule. A time when modernization wasn't that rampant as compared to today. Perfect angles from all aspects. The perfect combination of various materials from wood, metals, stone. The perfect depiction of how cultures should have been preserved for the future.
The temples here contrast differently to those found in Malaysia
At most temples, monks are in the temples blessing worshippers. You can buy the monks here robes. I did pray here. Had those joss sticks lit up and prayed to have good luck.
A monk
The 35 metre reclining buddha
This is a popular place for tourist. While, I was there, I saw many Malaysians taking photos in front of the tourist. Just compare the human to the size of the whole reclining buddha.
Next to the reclining temple
A place where you can pray and get blessed by the monks. I just bought some joss stick. The four faced buddha is here too in that golden shrine in the middle of the photo above.
The four faced buddha or Phra Phrom
Sacred and highly regarded as an important deity in Thailand, is one of the most popular deities. Each side of the four faced buddha is an urn. So the best thing to do from what I can imagine is to look at all the different sides and pray.
My wife praying
After that we went and worshipped the reclining buddha
No shoes beyond certain areas. The caretakers here were adamant.
Behind the buddha
Is this little shop area where you could get an amulet. Buy an amulet.
I did not visit the inside of this building
Despite that , I admired its beauty from far.
So that's what this place looked like. One thing I found in Hatyai which is different from the way commuting works in Bangkok. I visited Bangkok a couple of times when I was a lot younger. All over Bangkok, skyscrapers tower the skyline while in Hatyai, it's more of a different scene. It is just different. You need to get a car. Either have the whole van rented to get around. I drove around. It was pretty fun.
Hope that you enjoyed reading this post.
Read these post prior to reading this post
Steel temple in Hatyai
@luueetang/stainless-steel-temple-hatyai-thailand
Walking around Hatyai city
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Meal at a local restaurant
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Walking around Hatyai
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One day left in Hatyai
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MAKRO HATYAI
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Hatyai city tour
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