Cha Am July 2022

 Cha Am July 2022

Breakfast at Cha Am Beach

From the Sky Lounge

Cha Am Beach Renovation 

Cha Am Beach Renovation

Fishing boat reconstruction at Springfield Beach

Low tide at Soi Yoi fishing harbor

Cha Am Beach Renovaton

Rebuilt kitchen at Nong I-Team

Gilled pork and sticky rice at Cha Am Beach

Low tide reveals a big sandbar in front of Tuscany

Sand bar in front of Tuscany

Weekend night market at Hua Hin One

Beer Garden at Hua Hin One

Sunrise from the Sky Lounge

Bike Ride North of Cha Am

Fishing boat harbor at low tide taken from the Blue Crab drawbridge.

Fishing boat harbor at low tide taken from the Blue Crab drawbridge.

Tidal pool with brewing storm.

So green and set off by the rusted steel roofing.

Tumlay caravan (trailer) camp, cafe and bar. I'm not sure of the attraction of places like this. Why drive someplace only to stay in a trailer. But, this place was completely full that day. To each.

Tumlay cafe and bar.

Tidal sand flats

This is commonly known as Jurassic Mountain, but the actual Thai name is เขาตาจีน (Khao Da Jin - Chinese Eye Mountain?). The wall belongs to a Buddhist Monastery called Tham Chedi Nam Khao Ta Chin Bureau of Monks (สำนักสงฆ์ถ้ำเขาตาจีน - The English translation is bizarre.) I've cycled by this place many times but never stopped, thinking there was nothing to see. Recently I'd seen posters inviting people to come and see a cave with a Buddha Image. 

These are the steps up to the cave

View looking south at Khao Yai and Cha Am from the cave entrance.

Cave entrance.

Cave interior

Buddha Image encased in glass. Perhaps Sukhothai style, but not old.

Sala of the monastery. There was a religious service going on. And, yeah, that's my bicycle.

The first time I visited there were many broken and empty crypts. I'm not a believer in the supernatural, but I have to admit it was creepy. After that I always called it "The Scary Wat". The next time I visited, the broken crypts were gone. I assumed they had been hauled away. On this visit I discovered that they had simply been destroyed (with a sledge hammer?) and the detritus spread around the grounds.

Chinese crypts

Cool banyan tree.

I wonder who got away?

This handmade crypt is set into the limestone cliff. It was made from some cement and construction bricks. I have no idea what the blue pain signifies.

I believe this is Kaempferia galangal. Also known as galanga (ข่า in Thai), the rhizome of which is used in cooking all over SE Asia. This one was growing right out of the limestone cliff about two meters above ground level.

Thai stupa containing the ashes of the deceased. I like the praying or meditating figures on one face and the dancing figures on the other.

This stupa has inset Buddha images behind glass. I love the decoration on the frame.