Last Tuesday, Mike took a day trip out South to the Buddha Mountain area. It was a really nice day and a break from Pattaya. What made it special was the unusual locations we visited.
We started in the morning at 10.00, leaving from Mike’s Bar La Cage. We had a short 25 minutes minibus ride to the first site – Wat Yansangrararam (better known as Wat Yan). This delightful collection of temples, set around a lake is an enigma in itself. The temples are all different styles and sizes. Some are very ornate, others quite plain. but they all have their own unique points. They were built around 15 years ago. We started by feeding the hoard of catfish in the lake, who seemed willing to climb over each other to get to the food. Then on to a number of the monuments before heading on.
After about 90 minutes we got back in the bus and drove most of the way up the hill to the mondop at the top. There are meant to be two replicas of Buddha’s footprints inside the Wat, but after climbing 297 steps to the top, not only did we find a road going up the side of the hill we hadn’t noticed before, but the mondop was closed. (-1 point to Mike there! ). However the view was very impressive and this made it all worth while.
The next stop was to the Chinese temple, Viharnra Sien. This contains many interesting exhibits, donated by the Chinese Government. Including the only real Terracotta Army statues outside China itself. There are many black bronze statues, including a number on a first floor terrace. The younger visitors can’t resist posing next to them for the photos!
After that it was off to Buddha mountain itself. The 130m high gilded outline of Buddha was projected onto the mountain by lazer, to give the perfect proportion when viewed from below. We stayed a few minutes, took a few pictures (including one of the Navy soldier standing guard as he was good looking) and moved on to the final stop.
Silverlake Vineyard is right at the foot of the mountain. In a few years this will be fully developed and have (among other things) a full size concert hall. Now there is the vineyard, a few souvenir stalls, but the reason we came is the restaurant. The food is Italian and really well prepared. You can also buy glasses of Silverlake Wine (not cheap at 300B a glass). We all sat down for a rest and some great food in good company. This made a really pleasant end to a perfect day. Even the weather behaved – slightly overcast and no rain.
If you wonder why we put up with the problems here – this was one day of tropical paradise at its best. For more information on future trips just subscribe to the website watch our newsletters for announcements of more days out. Now enjoy a (few) photos!
Just click on any picture to open up the “lightbox” and enjoy working your way through the day’s memories.
