This is Big Buddha!

Lots of golden (well, not real I presume) statues here of Buddha knows who

Long snakes guarding the steps towards Buddha

There is the odd lovely breeze up here, that’s sooo nice

Does a human have 32 organs? I don’t know, I’m not a doctor

7 minutes happy meditation

Extremely happy

Tourists getting blessed by a monk is what I think is happening here

Head meets tail

Jolly old chap mister Buddha

Chalong in the distance

Chalong Pier, this is where the boats for all the diving around Phuket leave from

Lots of elephant heads

And snakes

Dragon, or is it 2 dragons? Siamese dragons perhaps? And which one decides what direction to walk in? So many questions

Not sure if it’s visivle in the photo but this Buddha has a black nose, the Thai touch his nose (for good luck?) and over time it has rubbed off the gold paint

More statues, more every year it seems

I don’t know if there’s any religious significance to it but mister Big is facing due east

Hey! There are monkeys running around here!

Ah, they’re cute!

Or at least they look cute, as you have to really guard your belongings or they will steal everything from you given the chance, which almost happened to this lady, luckily the staff here is constantly scaring and chasing the monkeys away

Which is a shame as they are so great for a photo

And they monkeys have been living here forever (I guess)

Everywhere in the forest below us there are monkeys in the trees

Jumping big distances from tree to tree

Buddha has been watching too much Steve Irwin

It’s already stupidly hot for me, imagine what it must feel like wearing a fur coat like Madame Puss here

Anyway, that was Big Buddha again. I haven’t had pizza so this evening I had a yummy pizza. Pizza is still kind of a novelty here so they are pretty expensive and mostly something for tourists

Even here at Big Buddha, which is still a work in progress

I guess pouring water over Buddha is all part of the water festival

Lots of bells everywhere

And they say money doesn’t grow on trees…

Buddha galore

Lots of incense sticks burning

You can see why the call it Big Buddha

I mean, it’s Buddha, and it’s big

Buddha will be very pleased with everyone touching the gong

As I said, bells everywhere, and I must say they do sound nice

Inside the (hollow) Big Buddha

As if he’s saying “thou shalt not pass”

Yet another Buddha

View from Big Buddha towards Kata Village

You guessed it, it’s Buddha

I wish I understood what they are doing, to me it looks like baptising Buddha

Yes, he really is wearing a plastic pot on his head

Rawai Beach

More Rawai Beach, as seen from Rawai Pier

Rawai Seafood Market, this made me very sad, I’m used to seeing all these wonderful creatures while diving, and here they are in a plastic bucket, away from their natural habitat, awaiting a tragic death

Seeing these beauties under water would be one of the highlights of a dive, and here they are in a plastic bucket wondering where they are and what happened to them

Poor souls

Such beautiful colours, they don’t deserve to end this way, they should be in the ocean, enjoying life

As usual, things might look beautiful and pristine

But turn around and see what an incredible mess the Thai are making of their country

More Buddha things at Praphakhan Kanchanaphisek

This is a statue of an Indian elephant, not an African one, but how can you tell them apart?

Admiral His Royal Highness Prince Abhakara Kiartiwonges – Prince of Jumborn