I woke promptly at 7am. My body clock was well in sync now and along with the others we planned the day over breakfast. The dive boat would be going out this afternoon and Kris needed to be at the Dive Centre by 2pm , that left us a whole morning to fill. Sheana suggested a visit to the Sanctuary of Truth in the north corner of Pattaya, she would use her bike to take Ty to school and get to work, if we could get Moto's to the Dive Centre, we could use her bike to go off for our visit. Happy with our plans we all set off in our different directions.
At the Dive Shop a map was produced, a few arrows were drawn and with a borrowed helmet we were off. Government regulations state you must wear a crash helmet when riding a moped or bike. Nothing else mind you, just a helmet, so with sarong flapping around my knees and my flip flops in my bag we raced along the streets looking for Sol 16 (the road leading to the Sanctuary). When we ran out of town we realised we had perhaps gone a bit far and turned around. The bike ride in itself was an adventure. Lanes of traffic blended together, people rode the wrong way down our side of the road yet no one got upset, anything and everything was accepted and we all just wove our way in and out of obstacles, people and other vehicles.
How Kris found that tiny sign jumbled amongst the other hundred while also watching the road I will never know but soon we were bumping along a quiet track and through a huge gate to park the bike under a tree.
The Sanctuary was an amazing place. Horse drawn carriages took us down the drive way to the main complex where we were asked for our language of choice and the accordingly educated guide was sent for. The Sanctuary was founded just over 27 years ago by a business man who wanted to give something 'Organic' back to the country. His idea was to build a wooden structure that could preserve and revive Ancient Knowledge.
In the 17th century it was documented that Thai artists built wooden structures over 100 meters high, his dream was to recreate these achievements and decorate the whole place with carvings of gods and goddesses along with other elaborate beautiful designs. Regardless of nationality or religion his idea was to show the relationship between human beings and the universe, in his eyes the 'Truth' began with the Father, Mother, the Earth, the Sky, the Moon and the Stars.
Words cannot do justice to what we saw that day, the scale, the detail, the intricate designs and the shear size of the undertaking these craft people, both men and women, were achieving. As it is a work in progress hard hats were issued. 200 carpenters work at the site everyday, artists continually design, sculptors continuously carve. Piles of wood lie awaiting their turn, other piles stand rejected, still others lie covered awaiting their placement on the growing construction.
There are four wings to the structure. Each pointing in the four directions. The East wing is the entrance with two curving staircases adorned with elephants and pillars. Another wing is adorned with carvings from Indian philosophy, Shiva, Parvati, Ganesh, Brahmin among others are carved into the walls along with elephants and other enchanted animals. The huge pillars supporting the roof are round, the only colours come from the woods themselves and the preservatives used this close to the sea.
The next wing is decorated with Chinese culture. The pillars are eight sided, the sign of infinity and a very lucky number to the Chinese population. I unfortunately do not know enough about the culture to describe accurately who and what I was looking at. I can simply say it was all breathtaking.
The final wing was adorned by Thai art. 12 sides pillars supported the huge roof that was in itself adorned with huge detailed carved roses and enough complexity to make you want to lie down and stare at it all for hours. Dominant in the Thai wing was a carving of 'The Family', Mother, Father and various children. We sat for our photo as instructed by our guide then walked around as she explained all the planets and their respective gods in charge of the various days of the week, all of whom are carved into the surrounding walls.
Eventually we left, mainly as we needed to get Kris back for his dive. What started as one man's dream has now grown into an attraction and so the place has developed, a bit like C.A.T.'s has over the years.
The sanctuary now covers 32 acres and includes a cafe, lake, dolphin show, elephants, beautiful gardens hiding intricate carvings, rope bridges over plant infested ponds, pony rides and probably lots of other things we just didn't have tine to find.
We drove back via 'Walking Street' interesting to say the least in the full light of day but I was banned by Kris from coming back after dark when 'Everyone' came out from behind closed doors!! With the bike safely back at the Dive shop we popped across the road for traditional Thai food – Chips and Beans followed by a Mars Bar – Kris really knows how to spoil his Mommy!!
Our meal completed, I watched the local electricians do a few simple repairs to the most amazing spaghetti pile of wires arranged strategically, I presume, on the nearby telegraph pole as Kris sorted his kit,
then just as the boys were about to get into the minibus to the boat, the heavens opened. I declined the offer of a lift back to the house claiming that the rain would stop once the thunder and lightening passed and I would enjoy the walk home. I waved them off and settled to reading a book Sheana had lent me about working your way around the world! ISBN 185458-329-8 a very interesting book by Susan Griffith.
The rain did indeed stop just as suddenly as it started and I roused myself to the 5 km walk back to the house. The walk was delightful. The rain had smothered the usual dust, large pools of water washed away leaves and more unsavoury things into the drains. Some drains gave up and poured water into the roads but it was still a wonderful walk back. I stopped at shops along the way picking up baguettes, onions, tomatoes and other such delights for our evening meal of bolognase. The prices in Thailand are quite random at times. You can get a huge meal at a street stall for pennies but to buy a bit of butter costs over £2.00, sun cream also cost me over £10.00 and a basic mozzie spray £7.00.
Back at the house I set about preparing the evening meal. Kris and Terry wouldn't be back until 9pm and Sheana wouldn't be home until 6. Ty was playing next door again so it was up to me to explore the kitchen. With supper in the pot I went for another swim and shower. Ty had his shower and decided he wanted to take photos with my camera! For a 4 year old he was very good and had a good imagination for photo ideas too. First I had to be 'shocked', well that is what I thought he had said, Sheana later translated it as 'shark'! They demonstrated for me and then Sheana and I continued as Ty clicked away with the camera. Monsters and Hippos followed. Have you ever tried looking like a Hippo!!!
The boys arrived and more photos were taken before we persuaded Ty it was now time to eat. With the camera safely hidden we ate (I can now appreciate why one eats out or sends out for food so often as that kitchen got incredibly hot !) As we were leaving the next morning, bags were packed, gifts of Dive T-shirts and Rash vests were given and my bed was found quite early. Kris stayed up chatting with Sheana until the early hours - the days were racing by too quickly already.
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