Being one of the towns bordering Malaysia and Thailand, Kelantan is obviously rich in culture and religion. It’s considered to be the cradle of Malay civilization and is predominantly a Muslim state but inevitably Buddhist temples sprung like mushrooms.
More than being tourist spots, these temples are apparently sacred sanctuaries. However, one could not help but admire its architecture, interiors and ambience.
On our second day in Kelantan, we had temple visit overload. We went to see the Temple of the Sitting Buddha…
The Shrine of the Standing Buddha…
And a Reclining Buddha that’s bigger than the one in Penang… *yes! position matters!*
This Reclining Buddha is enshrined in a bigger than life gymnasium-like-temple. At the lateral and the back areas of the enormous image are even more images!
Few kilometers away, we found ourselves appreciating the facade and interiors of the Sitting Buddha Temple which are truly spectacular!
Awesome looking dragons guard its entrance…
And there’s spontaneity in its interiors…
Tina and Gabby went inside the temple of the Sitting Buddha first, as I was still in awe outside. Then as I walked in, my wife hurriedly called my attention to see these art works…
A few we found to be disturbing…
Every detail gave us goosebumps, or we’re only clueless of this religion, sorry!
Can anyone share anything on this? *so busy lazy to research and google!*
I wonder if people from other religions also get curious and fascinated with our very own. Either way, I am definite that whenever we go to a new place, my family and I will always include temples and mosques and other houses of prayer to visit.
Do we think the same?
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——-This blog series includes :
- RENAISSANCE HOTEL, KOTA BHARU
- WAYANG KULIT or SHADOW PUPPET PLAY
- WAU BULAN or MOON KITES
- RENAISSANCE HOTEL KOTA BHARU
- KELANTANESE BATIK MAKING
- SITI KHADIJAH MARKET / KOTA BHARU CENTRAL MARKET
- BACK FROM KOTA BHARU, KELANTAN
i love visiting or including in my travel list mosque, temples and churches. esp that one super ganda and what’s amazing eh super laki nila. i wonder why they like their buddha to be big? does it mean that is how they value and praise their buddha?
and the disturbing pic oo nga what is the meaning of it. parang hell katakot. hehehe timely yung pic sa sinasabing “End of the World” hehehe
good point! they like their buddha statues, even in bangkok when tina and i had our honeymoon there (yes, gabby’s bangkok-made!) they have huge buddhas there, golden pa karamihan!
sumisigaw na kailangan huwag mong kalimutan ang imahe ng sinasamba nila.
to each his own.
Great pics …the buddhist paintings remind me of ones I saw at Angkor in Cambodia.
Nice work,
John
welcome to my blog, john! i like your site too! i already linked you up! i wish i could bring my family to cambodia too one day.
amazing the number of mosques and temples and shrines available for your exploration. i am most fascinated with house of worship too and include them in my list whenever possible.
doc, off topic, how are you enjoying your nikon? is it peforming to your expectations?
it’s not surprising for bloggers like us to be interested with these places of worship.
with my nikon d7000, i am so happy despite the fact that i need to learn the tricks more (and i still need to find time to read my photography mags and online forum), it serves me well; been using manual mode. i could be happier if i can further my skills (wala pa nga e!) in photography!
ang gaganda! i am fascinated with temples! ewan kung bakit!
tama ko docgelo, sa mga buddahm position counts, pati sa hands, head, feet, may meaning!
thanks, grace!
off topic : please do let me know if you have received the prize in 2 weeks time. thanks! congratz again!
.. masyadong mukhang rigid ang itsura ni reclining buddha diyan (nagreklamo? haha.) i really love the colors of temples doc!
rigid? baka pagod lang! *biro lang po*
Anak ng buddha naman, ang gaganda ng kuha ng Nikon 7000 mo!
hahaha! salamat, bert! :p
Never mind the temple fatigue – which inevitably sets in – visiting houses of worship is always a learning experience. I wonder if those art works on the 9th & 10th pics are their visions of hell?
i think so too. perhaps those were their depiction of hell.
Doc!!! Ang ganda ng pics mo. They’re so colorful!!!!! I ask the same thing before eh. If other cultures and religion are fascinated with our religion. I’m sure meron din.
teka teka, an dame ko na pala na miss na post mu, ganyan ako ka busy at d nakapag bisita ng mga blogs lately, at pati post ko, d ko na din nagagawa. backlog kung backlog. hehe
I like this temple, ang ganda nya at madameng detalye at design,even the 1st pic of Buddha is unique. Sabe ko na nga ba, sana pala tlga tumuloy ako ng North kesa sa nag SG ako, interesting ang mga province sa north, na disappoint lng ako sa SG. tsk tsk.
Nice! They are ginormous! I like the way they respect their religion, now, if only we Christians can be as dedicated to our god like that.
thank you for the pictures. I don’t mind a bit of temple overload. Wondering did you use your own transport or taxi?
thank you for visiting my blog & leaving a comment-inquiry.
we hired a taxi-cab driver for 2 day-tour of kelantan, the 2 friendly malay drivers also served as our tour guides….the contact details are on my other posts in this series.