CLICK ON PICTURES FOR A LARGER VIEW
Well, just when I thought I had seen or heard about all there is to do and see in Thailand , I come across this story while reading a few newspapers on the net. I'm talking about the Wat Pa Maha Chedio Kaew Temple also known as Wat Lan Koad or "The Temple of a Million Bottles"
The Temple which sits in Thailand's Sisaket Province ,370 miles northeast of Bangkok ,is made of more than a million recycled beer bottles."The Temple of a Million Bottles"features glass bottles throughout the whole Temple complex, including a Worship Temple,a crematorium,monk shelters,and even toilets for the tourist,water tower,and prayer rooms.There is an estimated 1.5 million recycled beer bottles built into the temple and they are planning on building more buildings, as they get more bottles, folks donate lots of bottles for the projects.All the buildings have a core made of concrete to give strength for the structures.
It all started in 1984 when the monks were using the beer bottles to decorate their shelters and , they got a lot more bottles ,so they built a Temple, and so on and so on, they also use the bottle caps in Mosaic Murals. The green bottles are Heineken beer bottles and the brown ones are Thailand's own Chang beer bottles.The monks say that the bottles let in a lot of light and are very easy to keep clean with a little soap and water .
I've never been there ,Ciejay says she has many years ago, BUT, you can bet that it is high on my list of things to see in the near future. How about you? , have you seen or heard of the"Temple of a Million Bottles" before and if so ,what did you think ? , were you amazed ? and did it impress you as much as it has me so far.????? Malcolm
Source:Mumbai Mirror.com--Thailand News .net
Pictures:Evelyn Lee and Jill Fehrenbacher
10 comments:
Wow... that really is an amazing glass-bottled temple! I agree, this is something that needs to be seen 'live' to truly appreciate its wonder.
I wonder - have they had problems of the bottles breaking (whether on purpose or as a result of unusual extreme temperatures), and how they would go about replacing it.
Lynne, I'll get the answers to those questions as soon as I go there to see live ,the story I read did not address those questions .
Thanks for stopping by Malcolm
Hi Malcom and CieJay,
How wonderful that this idea has been taken into action. Too many people talk about good ideas and priciples but they never happen.
I dont think there would be a problem with breakages as glass beer bottles are surprisingly very strong. A great find and should be well worth a visit if you get the chance.
Thank you for continuing comments on my blog, I really appreciate it considering the lack of return you get from me recently.
Warmest Greetings from Martin and Galia in Bulgaria
Hi Malcolm i haven't visited this temple but I had heard of it. makes me wonder if there are any other temples here made of unusual material.
Hi Malcolm,
Heard of it and it's high on my list of palces to visit in the LOS!
Beautiful temple and a must visit for a Wat chaser like me. I doubt they have many problems with the bottles breaking. Once they are cemented the tube structure is very strong.
Malcolm this is the first I have heard of this most unusually constructed temple. I checked the location as I thought it might be near Udon Thani but is actually a fair way short of there.
'Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach.' That rings very true in Sisaket Province. Lovely photos.
Just came back to Australia from a wonderful week in beautiful Sisaket.
The temple is beautiful and the roofs shimmer in the sunlight. The most interesting thing is that all the functional buildings are made with bottles - not just a showcase temple.
Well worth a visit. It will make you smile and snap your camera like crazy.
Thanks to everyone for your comments and looks like the temple is going to be getting aaa few more vistors this season , I've got a few e-mails with folks wanting additional info , maybe we'll see each other there .YA
Barton ,thanks for the read and stop by , I too am looking foward to the visit and of course will take lots of pictures for a follow-up post , if you have a blog and it's informative and family friendly , send me info and I'd love to add to my links and would like you to do the same Malcolm
I was there ten years ago and it's a strange place.
A curious thought... were the locals asked to drink lots of beer and donate the bottles to make merit for the next life?
Andrew Hicks
Post a Comment