A Rambling Writer Rerun: Thailand, part 10: Wat Plai Laem
Join Thor and me as your virtual vacation continues with our last stop on the island of Koh Samui — the mind-boggling temple complex of Wat Plai Laem.
NOTE: Due to health issues, Thor and I haven’t been able to do much travel the past few years, so here’s our Thailand trip from 2020. We were lucky to squeak through the pandemic flight closures that February of 2020 as we returned from our three-week trip. Now crazy times just keep getting crazier. So escape for a few minutes from our new American dystopia to a country as beautiful and colorful as a dream! I’ll interrupt the reruns with occasional book reviews or Geezer Adventures…. (This blog series began 3/15/2025.)
Last week, our visit to the Big Buddha shrine prompted reactions from awe to bemusement, and now this ramble around the exuberant displays at nearby Wat Plai Laem took us right into the realm of the surreal. Both complexes are of fairly recent construction (1970s), and the aesthetics are quite a step from the traditional wats we visited in Bangkok. Again, a combination of Buddhist, Chinese, and Hindu deities and imagery flourish, here in vivid colors. Come on along!
The complex holds a collection of shrines and statues mostly suspended on platforms on a small lake, appearing as if floating on pink lotus blossoms. Outsize statues loom over the lovely temples with startling impact. Joining the few pilgrims that day, we earned merit by buying a bag of food for the schools of fish swarming around the platforms.
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You will find The Rambling Writer’s blog posts here every Saturday. Sara’s latest novel from Book View Café is Pause, a First Place winner of the Chanticleer Somerset Award and an International Pulpwood Queens Book Club selection. “A must-read novel about friendship, love, and killer hot flashes.” (Mindy Klasky). It’s also a love letter to the breathtaking wilderness of Sara’s native Pacific Northwest. Sign up for her quarterly email newsletter at www.sarastamey.com
