Wat Phonimit, Surat Thani

The temples within the city Surat Thani did not impress me that much, there are neither really historical ones - maybe except the one building of Wat Pattanaram - nor as lavishly decorated. Slighly outside the city center however is one temple which is worth a short visit just to admire the architecture and handicraft necessary to create it. Of course compared with the temples in Bangkok it is just a normal one, yet for Surat Thani city it is apparently the most interesting one.

Named Wat Phonimit (วัดโพธิ์นิมิต), the temple is located on the road towards Kanchanadit, about 4 kilometer from the city center. I went there together with family, and while they attended a ceremony in the Sala I was free to stroll around in the temple complex and took lots of photos.

The main building is of course the Ubosot, most lavishly decorated and with a small fence around it. The gate inside as well as lion statues, and of course the gable of the building made great photo locations. Note the wasp nest glued on the gable in one side. Sadly the building was locked, so I could not get a view on the Buddha statue inside, or see if it has any interesting murals on the walls inside.

Interesting were also several statues located around a tree, the hermits in behind I could recognize, yet I don't know about the symbolism of the other figures. Also, several smaller chapels and Salas are spread over the compound, for example the one housing three monk statues.

Separated from the main compound by the street towards Rama IX park is the crematorium and the graveyard - the small chedis house urns of the deceased.

Since I could not add all the photos here I have created a set on Flickr, and when I have the chance to add more photos of the place I will put them there as well.