Lop Buri Monastery

On our second day in Lop Buri we ventured outside of the city in search of a Buddhist Monastery that I had read about while in the States. My research stated that it was built into the side of a limestone mountain and the inside of the monastery had areas that descended down into the mountain itself. However, both finding it and getting there would be a little difficult.

I inquired around until I found someone that knew some basic directions. We were recommended to take a "songtail" out of town to a specific highway which would eventually lead to a split in the road. That was where we were to get off. A "songtail" is a form of public transportation. It's basically a converted pick up truck. The tailgate is left down and to it there is welded a small step to access the bed of the truck. On each side of the bed there is a long bench seat running the length of the bed so which you now have two opposing rows. There is also welded to the bed frame a metal cover which provides protection from both the sun and rain to its passengers. These "songtails" are plentiful and each has specific routes that they run. Standing on side the road all one has to do is wave them down and they'll pull over.

After finding the right "songtail" and explaining to them where we were trying to go they agreed to let us off at the right area. From there I was suspecting that we may have to do some walking but didn't say anything to Phyllis just yet. Sure enough after about a 20 minute ride the "songtail" pulls off the side of the highway and driver points to the road we are to take. Standing there looking down the road we both got the feeling that it was a road that wasn't traveled much as the lush vegetation was hugging the sides quite close. So with little reluctance we continued on. After about 30 minutes we could see a monastery off in the distance hugging this mountain. If that was it then it was way too far away to even think about trying to get there. We decided to go a bit further as the road seemed to end not to much further and if by then things still looked bleak then we would return to the main highway. And sure enough at the end of the road we found that it turned sharply left and on the right was a large reservoir. We could see down the road that there were various little food vendors along one side. As we continued our walk a lady appeared and started walking up to greet us. We explained to her that we were headed to the large monastery and she suggested having her friend with a scooter take us. At this point it sure sounded good to us. She proceeded to yell out to her friend and soon here was this man on a scooter coming to fetch us. With all three of us on the scooter he started out. And within 10 minutes or so he delivered us right to the steps. I asked him to give us about half an hour or so and return which he agreed.

The monastery was quite large and did extend on into the mountain. While wandering around we stumbled onto a resident monk. After speaking with him awhile he asked if we would like to see more of the areas inside the mountain. He then proceeded to guide us. He had a flashlight with him as some of the areas were quite dark. One area in particular he turned his light on the ceiling and we were greeted with thousands of little eyes glowing from the light. The ceiling was covered with bats. With the light disturbing them they began their little "squeals." The air was quite pungent with all the bat guava that covered the stone floor beneath our feet. It didn't take long before Phyllis had seen enough and was ready for some fresh air.

He continued to lead us to yet another chamber that happened to be quite small. He explained to us that this one was used for meditation. Then he led us back out into the monastery and took us to an area that had the remains of a venerated monk. The body was lying in a glass coffin which was open on the top. He had me stand beside him and reach down and touch the arm which looked as though it had been preserved as you could discern the ligaments that covered the bone. This entire chamber was a memorial to this monk. As we stood there I had Phyllis take a picture of us together. It wasn't until after I saw the picture that I realized that he had his arm around me. Being inside this monastery was quite a humbling experience. I felt so fortunate to have had this resident monk take enough interest in showing us about.

Our time was running short so I explained to him that we had a friend returning to pick us up. Before departing he led us back to his room so that he could give us a pamphlet on the monastery. Of course it was all in Thai. Since I did not have a picture from afar I decided to take a picture of the cover which is the shot I used for this post. He then pointed us the way and we said our goodbyes. Sure enough once outside our friend with the scooter was waiting. And without saying a word he proceeded to take us all the way back out to the main highway where we had originally been left by the "songtail." I paid him for his service, waved goodbye, and then patiently waited for either another "songtail" to come by or a returning bus to the city. It happened to be a bus which Phyllis didn't mind as it had padded seats and proved to be a much more comfortable ride. What started out as a questionable adventure turned out better than I had anticipated. This one experience will always stand out when I recall Lop Buri.


It was time to head back to our hotel, the ThepThani. This hotel is a nondescript, very common, Thai hotel located on the main street adjacent to a university. We found it to be very clean, with air conditioning, running hot water, all for 400 Baht per night which is about $12.00 U.S. Mind you it was nothing fancy by no means. How could it be for that price...right? Anyway, it turned out to be a great day, and a great adventure. This evening we'll say goodbye to all the monkeys and head back to Bangkok.