We are pretty much on schedule so far, and our driver has been radioing back and forth with others to keep up with traffic conditions – because it can get very congested around the city, as well as going to the port. But we seem to be doing well enough that we can make it to the scenic viewpoint above Pattaya and still have enough time to fully enjoy the Sanctuary of Truth – which is our main objective (and concern). Cha assures we will be fine, and we set off for the Phra Tamnak Hill viewpoint.
Our trek takes us through Pattaya town proper, which is a mass of crowded, busy streets populated almost exclusively by farangs. Ugh. We never thought we’d like this town, and just driving through it has definitely confirmed our beliefs. As everyone knows, we are not all that into the beach, and when we do decide to visit a coastline, it will be more tranquil and natural than this commercialized bedlam. But, at least we got to see it from the air conditioned coolness of our van as we glide through the mess.
We arrive at the lookout after a lot of stop and go traffic, and while the driver turns the van around, we go out to the point for pictures. They call this the condo viewpoint now, because there is a huge multi-story building that was started a few years ago and then abandoned situated right in the middle of the view. Sigh. Over building is everywhere. But, nonetheless, it is still a gorgeous view – if you look around the condo building.
We’re all very glad we made this little 5 minute stop for the views, now it is onto the Sanctuary of Truth.
We’ve all read about this place, which is the project of a businessman who wanted to show how the human civilization has been nurtured and achieved by the goodness of religion, philosophy and art, that materialistic things are only superficial, truth and goodness are immortal and true happiness is intrinsically spiritual. Purchasing the land on a small cape jutting out into the ocean, the project began in 1981, and will never be completed – simply because it is made entirely from wood and requires much work and re-work to replace dry rotted pieces. We are all excited to see it, but to be honest, none of us expected to be so awed by the sight of the sanctuary when we get to the entrance and the viewpoint overlooking the building. It is magnificent and otherworldly – seeming to float out of the water with its 4 spires soaring 150 meters into the sky. The pictures do not do it justice.
After walking down a forested staircase, we all don hard hats (it’s a work in progress after all)…
There is a display of the different types of joints used (all wood – no metal) and after marveling at that feat, we enter into the wood carving workshop where a whole host of workers are carving different statues and pillars in various different stages of completion.
Once out of the wood shop, we pass by a model of the structure – which in and of itself is incredible for the detail…
..then we have some free time to wander about at the base of the Sanctuary and snap some photos while a short little cultural show is going on. The detail is astounding, and very hard to take in all at once – it is overwhelming.
After the cultural show, we all regroup, ready to start our interior tour. Cha gets into a short little tussle with the guide who says the tour won’t start until 4, but we can’t wait that long since we have at least a 2 hour drive back to the port. Cha wins out (of course) and off we go. Our guide is full of interesting information, explaining why the different colors are on the building – they were testing out different ways to protect the wood – the green color is some chemical that didn’t really work well, and the brown is their new remedy, some sort of treated paint. We circle the exterior marveling at all the work, and the intricacies of the carvings. Even the freaking steps have these detailed carvings in between each riser.
The interior of the building is made up of the Central Hall, with its shrine to the Buddha and 4 surrounding Halls each dedicated to The origin (Hall #1), The Sun, the Moon, the Stars and the external environment (Hall #2), Parental Pure Love (Hall #3) and The World Supporter (Hall #4). We start our exploration in Hall #1 and listen to the guide talk about the carvings that depict Shiva, Brahma and Vishnu, the gods that conquered the 4 elements of the world: earth, water, wind and fire. Or at least we try to listen. Cha has decided to give her own interpretation and in her inimitable style, will not shut up. So one of the other girls on the tour and I have to listen to her tell us that the statues depict how the King sits, and on and on and on. She’s lovely, she really is, and so totally full of information, but after a while….well…what can I say? Its hard to even breakaway to take pictures sometimes.
Moving on, we go into the 2nd Hall and learn all about what our birth days mean – I am honor and social (Sunday), Ed is gentle and polite (Wednesday)…hmmmm…..So, anyway, the carving in here is awesome as well, LOL…..
The tour is great, but we are running out of time, so we rush back through the Central Hall with its Buddha relic and Nagas and a great example of an inch thick wood panel ready to be carved juxtaposed with those already done…
…and on into a separate entry hall that is probably the main entry, but not used now because the wood stairs are rotting – at least that’s what I think, because at this point we are all sort of spread out and I can’t hear the guide, then out the side entrance, turning in our hard hats as we go.
We have a few minutes waiting for the van to arrive, so we manage to take some more wide angle views of the whole Sanctuary. Amazing.
That was just stupendous, and we really wish we could have spent more time exploring and finishing up our guided tour – but the Sapphire Princess beckons, and we certainly don’t want to miss our sail time. We end up getting back fairly early, because traffic wasn’t all that bad, but who’s to tell what 15 minutes longer would have done to our travel time? Better safe than sorry, especially when traffic can be an issue. And as it turns out, some of the tours are late returning due to traffic, so it was the right move for us (being a non-Princess organized excursion!).
Back aboard, we watch a hazy sunset in between commercial container cranes…
Then commence with out nightly dinner and show ritual. Excellent end to an excellent day.
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