We Are Only Making One Post Today,

as it is a big one, 

 and this is where we are going,

 the Sanctuary of Truth, Diana and myself had visited here before,

 in Thai: ปราสาทสัจธรรม Prasat Sajja Tham, it is a religious construction between Pattaya and Naklua,

 on the coast,

 going from the dolphin roundabout towards Naklua,

on the Pattaya-Naklua road, as the road goes downhill, 

 turn left into the Na Kluea 12 alley as it is called,

 follow the road,

 and the entrance to the Sanctuary is on the right,

 if you have never been here before,

 and Diana's parents had not,

 it is a stunning place to look around, but one thing to remember,

 it is an ongoing construction site, so you are given safety helmets if you go inside,

 but I guess taking them off,

  for a picture is OK!

 the sanctuary is an all-wood building filled with sculptures based on traditional Buddhist and Hindu motifs,

 the top of the building is 105 meters high, and the building covers an area of more than two rai,

 it features contemporary Visionary art based on traditional religious themes, 

  the project was initiated as an idea of Thai businessman Lek Viriyaphant in 1981,

 and is scheduled to be complete in 2050,

 amazingly we were told that every joint in the sanctuary is made of wood,

 now for a bit of fun,

 inside there is a set,

 that you can have your picture taken in,

 so Diana's Mum and Dad,

 strike the pose,

 for the photo,

 and very regal,

they both looked too,

 a smiling Mum,

 and Dad with the sword,

 Ta-Da!

  going back to the building,

  the main style of the sanctuary is based on the Thai architecture of the Ayutthayan period, richly decorated by Hindu-Buddhist hand-carved wooden sculptures drawn from various artistic traditions,

 including Dravidian, Angkorean, Chinese, Mon Dvaravati, Srivijayan, and Thai,

 it has four gopura, respectively representing images from the Buddhist and Hindu religions and mythologies of Cambodia, China, India and Thailand,

  according to the official website, its purpose is to use art and culture as "a reflection of the Ancient Vision of Earth, Ancient Knowledge, and Eastern Philosophy. Within this complex, visitors will understand Ancient Life, Human Responsibility, Basic Thought, Cycle of living, Life Relationship with Universe and Common Goal of Life toward Utopia",

 it is a wonderful place to visit,

  just remember to bring plenty of memory cards and batteries for your camera,

 you will be taken around by tour guides that speak your language,

  when you buy your tickets,

 which are 500 baht each,

 you are asked where you are from,

  you will then be assigned to a tour guide that speaks your language,

  Mum strikes the pose,

 the wood carving just has to be seen to be believed,

 the sanctuary itself is built on the shoreline,

 looking out towards the sea there is a small garden, 

 back inside huge wooden pillars support the ceiling,

 whilst below all manner of creatures,

are carved in wood,

Diana, Mum and Dad walk down the steps to the outside,

 there goes a tourist,

 no wait a second,

 it is me!

 whilst they had been inside,

 I had been walking around the outside with the normal and infrared cameras,

 the view looking along the seawall,

 four faces looking over the sanctuary,

 Mum and Dad were amazed at how big the place was,

 as they are having their picture taken I am snapping away in the background,

 another pose,

 and this picture gives you some idea of the shear size of the building,

 you may notice the building has two different colors,

 on the left the building is brown, which is the new color, painted I guess to help stop the wood from weathering,

 on the right the 'old' or untreated part of the building,

 and there I am, waiting for the elephants,

 meanwhile Mum,

 Dad,

 and Diana wait and have a cooling drink by the lagoon,

 and then there is an elephant,

with a family having a ride,

 a quick picture,

 and then a look,

 at the gold tree, and it was time to make our way home, but before we go, here is a picture I took with the two camera set up I was using,

 this one taken with the normal camera,

at the same time as this one, taken with the infrared camera at the side of the normal one, this is how the camera sees in infrared,

 then putting it through a converting program and adjusting the color to how I like it, looks like this,

 using the different program I can convert it to black and white,

or give the picture an antique or old look,

and if I play with the colors I can achive a really wild look, not everyone's cup of tea, but playing with the photographs is great fun for me, arriving home in the afternoon and having a bite to eat we were off again, 

 this time to the Friday night market on Thepprasit Road,

 slightly cloudy looking towards Jomtien,

 and the same looking inland,

sushi, that will be my evening meal but Diana will buy it from the sushi stall in Tesco lotus as she, along with Mum and Dad are shopping there,

new for this week, barking, walking, light flashing puppy's, with hats and shades, these dogs are so cool they wear their mirrored sunglasses with the mirrors on the inside,

 I made my way past one of the more colorful stalls,

 instead of the fruit seller this week a drinks seller,

 at the end of the row a stall selling soft toys,

 opposite the bar tonight a stall selling clothes and another selling,

 yes you guessed it, soft toys,

 at the auction part of the market there was a seller with a loudspeaker,

 looking along the steelworks, not much seems to have happened, until you look closely,

 a layer of concrete has been added to the roof,

 by now I had walked to the auction stall,

 and then to the fruit stall, where a tour guide was showing his group around, I bumped in to him and his group a few times in the market, and I have to say I was very impressed, on each of the stalls he stopped by the stall holder gave him a plate of samples for his group to try, a really neat touch and one that he had taken the trouble to lay on for his group, and I would guess not for commission, because in most counties you can not bring fruit or produce in with you,

 on to the pet section,

 a few stalls not opening, the owners I guess still on holiday,

 I stopped by the usual shop to buy 3 boxes of wet food,

 I had a bimble around,

 some of the food stalls in the covered area,

 taking a few pictures as I went,

 these fish slowly turning over glowing charcoal,

 the sushi stall getting ready for business,

 on this stall,

 something I had not seen before, some type of herb I would guess,

 sunset over the market,

 the toys opposite the bar,

 and then a nice surprise, Brian and his wife Sa and son Nicky arrived,

 Nicky trying not to smile,

 Dad has just said he is going to buy him a toy,

 it was soon getting dark, I said my farewell to Brian, Sa and Nicky and made my way home, Diana and her parents took a baht bus,

 arriving home every one had pizza, except me, here was my treat, sushi, after we had finished eating, we watched The Family Chase, followed by a couple from Peaky Blinders, and with that we were off to bed.