Nick and I started off late in the morning (sleeping in each day has been such a wonderful thing!) after I made us some fried egg and cheese sandwiches for breakfast. Our friends went to the beach as we took a bus/pick-up truck to Northern Pattaya. We didn't really know for sure where the Sanctuary of Truth was, but our bad tourist map showed it on the border of Pattaya and Naklua, the bordering town. We met some interesting Australians on the way who have been coming to vacation in Pattaya for the past 28 years! When we thought we were getting close, we saw another temple that looked interesting so we decided to hop off and take a look around. We figured we would walk to the Sanctuary afterward.
The temple we had found was next to or part of a school. Middle school aged children were running all around. The temple grounds were also full of chickens and very large and colorful roosters. Monks quietly swept up dust with large wicker brooms and except for the sounds of children laughing and playing all was serene. We wandered about for some time and then decided to get a move on to the Sanctuary.
After pausing in a 7-11 (they really are EVERYWHERE) to buy a water bottle and ask for directions we started walking down the street. We were looking for Soi (Thai for Street) 11 but we managed to miss it and get almost hopelessly lost. We traversed the Thai streets, not a foreigner in sight, and got a chance to see real Thai life away from the resort towns. Garages, open air markets, grocery shops with dusty old glass Coke bottles piled precariously around the slanted sidewalk, antique shops overflowing with old statues and wall panels, men and women working and talking in the harsh yet melodious Thai language flowed past us as we continued to walk along in the heat, hoping for a glance of the Sanctuary. Finally we gave up with the street and headed for the ocean, since we knew that the Sanctuary was supposed to be right on the beach. Looking up and down the coastline, we finally saw its soaring towers...very far away, back in the direction we had come from. Not only had we passed it, but we had walked almost an hour passed it. Nice.
We made it back and found the road we had been looking for. After a few MORE wrong turns on that street we FINALLY approached the gates of the Sanctuary. Sweaty and hot, we went to buy our tickets and found out that there was a nice package where you could indulge in many more things than just visiting the Sanctuary. We decided to purchase the package deal, and boy was it worth it! First we were whisked into a horse drawn carriage. The carriage rode down the dusty dirt road towards a clearing near the jungle. In the clearing there was a large tree with ladders going up to a platform. Next to the tree...was an elephant. A great large elephant with a fuzzy head and pink freckles on its nose and ears. A Thai man sat on a fence next to the elephant. When we arrived at the tree the carriage stopped and we were directed to go up the ladders. The elephant had a small bench tied to its back. The Thai man swung himself up onto the elephants neck and motioned us to hold onto a rope tied to a tree branch and "make ourselves comfortable" on the elephant's bench. We excitedly and carefully positioned ourselves in the bench and we took off!
The elephant ride through the jungle was exhilarating. We precariously shifted our weight trying to keep our balance as the elephant lurched forward. We were going slightly downhill and the rolling movements of the elephant made me feel like I was constantly going to fall. It was fun though watching the "driver" steer the elephant using a small metal hook that he would use to pull the elephant's ears in the direction we wanted to go. The elephant was pretty cute and we were very happy to have the chance to fulfill all our desires for the day in one place!
Suddenly the jungle broke and we were at the ocean. There was a massive dusty clearing and the Sanctuary of Truth rose up from the nothingness that was all around. It was stunning. Our elephant slowly walked around the entire building in his constant, rolling gait and brought us to another tree with a platform. We got off the elephant and hurried over to the building, our excitement barely contained at such an amazing sight.
Inside the Sanctuary we were blown away even more. The building is entirely made of wood, and thousands of statues cover every inch of space, both inside and out. Large panels covered each wall, depicting beautiful scenes of men and women with all sorts of animals and plants. Oxen, yaks, bulls, horses, lions, elephants, monkeys, dragons, even a squirrel (!) adorned the walls. Mythical creatures and gods and goddesses covered the walls, ceilings and even rose out of the floor. We could not get over how beautiful and awe-inspiring everything was. We spent our time trying to look at every single statue. We took an almost ridiculous amount of photographs. There was so much to see. And yet, for such a visually busy place, it was completely serene. There was no landscaping outside to distract from the Sanctuary, only sand and a plain wall that dropped down to the Indian Ocean.
After much time had passed we walked over to a small sound where the ocean's water quietly lapped against soft banks. There was an outdoor restaurant and a small open hut where we were told we would receive Thai foot massages. With the towers of the Sanctuary soaring up above the sound we had our feet cleaned and rubbed. They also did acupressure on our toes and the balls of our feet. It was so relaxing and felt great after the long walk we took searching for the Sanctuary. We then were sent back to the sound's edge to eat some delicious pad thai and super spicy seafood. Several orange cats rested at our feet and we flicked our shrimp tails at them, much to their delight.
Feeling fully rejuvenated, we left the Sanctuary to return home. It was almost sunset - it had been a busy and fulfilling day. We are going to do nothing tomorrow after such an active day. Back to lazing about on the beach!
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