trip report: krabi province, part III

Well this is the last of the epic three-part recalling of our tale of Krabi Province. The morning of our flight back to Bangkok from Krabi "International" Airport, we visited Wat Tham Seua, very near the airport. It turned out to be a very good decision, as the temple was very interesting. Wat means Temple, Tham means Cave, and Seua means Tiger; put it all together and it means Tiger Cave Temple. We jokingly said (with excitement): "Temple! ... and Caves?!? ... AND TIGERS?!?!?" There were no tigers there (unlike Tiger Temple in the north), but it was very interesting. The main area of the Wat proper is inside a cave, and behind this area, there are 1,237 steps leading up a mountain to where there is a footprint of Buddha on the mountain-top.

What really struck me about this visit was just how nice the monks are. In my experience, a monk has never had a "holier than thou" attitude; they do not mind if you are not Buddhist, and they are generally very friendly and down to Earth. Most of them are happy to take pictures with you (or of you!) and these monks happily showed me their "Sak Yan" (Sak=Tattoo, Yan=a sort of Ward/Prayer/Script/Mantra). I really love some of the tattoos here in Thailand and the monk was more than happy to oblige me with a photo.

There is a fantastic photo of His Majesty the King entering the monkhood which is very popular in Wats around Thailand. I really like the photo because it reminds me of the conduct of wai-ing (bowing) between the king and monks. In Thailand, one generally bows to someone of more respect, and, if they are deserving, the person will return the bow (wai). However, everyone bows to monks, and the monks do not return these bows. Including the King. This is important because it shows that, for all the King's wealth and power and wisdom on Earth, he is still only the equal of monks in the spiritual realm.

As I've said, the monks were very kind, and because we donated a very modest amount to the temple they gave us little bracelets that were blessed by the monks.

We also had the opportunity to hear the monks chanting, which was a really great experience for me as a music education major. Check it out:

The other most notable part of this trip was our epic trek to the top of the mountain behind the temple, to see the footprint of Buddha. There were 1,237 steps, which doesn't seem like a lot, until you see the very healthy steps we were taking. At one point we had to use our hands and feet just to make it up a few steps nearly 3 feet deep. I hoofed it to the top before everyone else so that I could start a project on my way down. There was a bell to ring at the top (and numerous other bells, as per Thai tradition), and it was actually pretty gratifying to ring after the 30 minutes of arduous exercise.

Oh yeah, there were monkeys. Surprised? Didn't think so. Watch their funny antics. These ones were very nice, nicest monkeys we've encountered I'd say.

Listen to me huff and puff in these videos!

Oh yeah, Brian had another famous quote about monkeys which seems to hold true. "Monkey's love Wats." They do. Here Brian is on the top.

Here is Buddha's footprint (yes, I made the trek for you).

We came all the way from those fields to this, the 1,237th step (and down).

The view from the top:

I wanted to emphasize the length (or rather, height) of this trip, so I took a photo every 5 steps (or so) on the way down, then organized it into a simple stop-motion movie. Its at the end of this post, I hope you enjoy it! It goes to the top of the mountain, looks at Buddha's footprint and the view, then comes back down.