Created January 1, 2007, Revised February 17, 2008 and September 2, 2011.
Copyright 1998-2011 by John W. Allen
Big Buddha as of September 2006
Click on each image to enlarge
The pages of this segment of the Exotic forays site represent 11 trips of visits at Big Buddha between 1986 and 2006. During this period, I visited many more times but I wanted to display in this pictorial, the progression of the repairs to Big Buddha and the surrounding sculptures, which, over the years since I first visited this beautiful spiritual habitat of the Chao Samui have been repainted, repaired and or restored to their original luster. |
The dirt road to Big Buddha from the highway from at about six kms from the turn off at Bo Phut Beach. Eventually this road will become repaired.
Here we find the two Guardians of the entrance Gate to Big Buddha, one of many such large sculptures throughout Thailand. Over the years, These Guardians of the Gate have been repainted several times with different colors.
The Stairway to Big Buddha. You can see damage to his plastered chest.
One of the two Guardians of the gate to Big buddha.
Three sculptures opposite from Big buddha and near a short causeway, which is ususally covered by water.
Here is an image of me with one of these sculptures. Image taken by my friend Nigel Graham of Scotland. I met Nigel on my first trip to Koh Samui while on the Don Sak Ferry boat. He was, at the time, the sole representative and CEO of ZIppo Cigarette Lighters from Glascow, Scotland. You can read of his mushroom omelette experience in my paper on Koh Samui and Koh Phanghan in my article section of this site, co-authored with Mark D. Merlin, Ph.D. of the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Oahu.
An image of the causeway and some of the above sculptures with my back to Big Buddha
I took this picture of Nigel from Glascow on my first visit to Big Buddha
And here is a view of me at the fountain pond. Later on a different visit there were bushes planted on the outer side of the pond and then they were also later removed for more renovation, including the introduction of small water plants to the water and heads of more Guardians. The sculptures in this fountain represent Hindu dieties from the 8th to 12 century or so before the Thai's and Cambodians switched from Hinduism to Buddhism.
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