Our Next Stop,

the temple of the 300,000 baht coin Buddha,

I would tell you its name, but I do not know it!

I have searched the Internet, and found a few temples with a similar theme, but not this exact one, 

but then our guide Suwat did say he would be taking us to places seldom visited by tourists, 

before going inside, 

Diana was told that touching one of the temple terrapins would bring good luck, 

the trick is not to poke one in the eye,

beside the pond some statues, 

just outside, the Phra Naga Prok Mongkolkit will protect you, this image is often seen as a amulet, the image or statue is often referred to as the “Buddha Sheltered by Naga,” it is one of the most distinctive and revered images in Thai Buddhist iconography. The image portrays the seated Buddha, meditating deeply, while being shielded from above by the multi-headed serpent king, Mucalinda,

and a bit of fun, 

going inside there are statues representing 7 different days, one for each day of the week, this is Diana's,

the reclining Buddha,

covered in coins, 

the statue is huge, 

I am guessing some 35 or 40 feet long, 

all totally covered, 

in coins, 

I have no idea, 

what the thought is behind it,

but it is certainly impressive,

coins of different colours, 

are used to make highlights on the statue

at the foot of the statue, a footprint, that you can leave coins in, 

going behind the statue the back is also fully covered, 

I took a few photographs, 

of some of the other statues,

in the temple, 

then outside a strange surprise, 

this is a offering 'tree' what was surprising was that all of the notes here were from the Philippines, 

a last look at the reclining buddha, 

the staircase,

with Naga on each side,

it was a wonderful side trip to a unique temple, back into the mini van and we were on our way.

It Is A Fact,

that over the years I have very bad luck with anything electrical,

especially computers and laptops, so this is a 'must have' for myself, a low-tech IT amulets that promise to keep computers from freezing and restarting randomly, as well as free from viruses and malware, the Kanda Myojin, is a popular Shinto shrine in Akihabara, Tokyo sells a variety of amulets and prayers, but none as intriguing as the “computer function amulet”. Consisting of a small, CPU-shaped sticker meant to be stuck onto the gadget in need of divine protection and a larger piece of cardboard meant to be worn by the computer operator, the amulet is one of the most popular items offered by Kanda Myojinm. If used correctly, the amulet will allegedly protect your machine from viruses, malware and random errors, as well as keep it from freezing up,

just the sort of thing that I need, the Kanda Myojin shrine sells its IT amulet for 1,200 yen via its official website, at today's rate £7.36 or $9.25, and offers domestic shipping as well, it sounds to good to be true, what is the catch?. unfortunately, there is no overseas shipping, so it means I will have to visit the shrine personally, I wonder how much a return ticket to Japan, is and the cost of a taxi to the Kanda Myojin shrine?

Never Drive Fast In The Rain,

as things can go badly wrong very quickly,

as the business man driving this 36 million baht ($1.1 million) black Lamborghini found out when driving in the rain at 150 kilometres per hour, losing control he hit a tree and the car split in two,

before the crash, the businessman said he stopped at a temple in Nakhonsawan province to make merit and his friend warned him that he should wear a Buddha amulet while driving a long distance, He then put on the amulet, well may be the amulet worked, amazingly when medics arrived the owner was standing by the roadside talking on the phone with his insurance representative, He sustained only minor injuries, but I think the crash was fatal for the car.

I Have Split Todays Post Into Three Parts,

as when I use many pictures in one post it slows up the whole process of posting them,

today we were off,

 to the International Livestock Show which is a three-day event, held at the National Sports Stadium on Soi Chaiyapruek 2,

 but as we arrived we were in for a surprise,

 there was also an International drift competition taking place,

 I was aware of the sport but it never really watched it on television,

 but here it was in real life,

 having said that these are just warm up laps, the real racing has not take place till later on this afternoon,

 so on into the National Sports Stadium,

 the sign outside says it all,

we have been to the stadium a few times before, once for this livestock show,

 and one other time when a Thai Buddhist Amulet exhibition was taking place,

 then we were inside looking at the different types of livestock that were here,

 there were not just cattle here but also goats,

 and chickens,

 it was of course an exhibition and there were prizes to be won, these for the best goats in the competition,

 this I believe is the final lineup,

 with one of the judges asking one of the exhibitors to move the animal slightly,

 then the lineup was complete,

 then moved onto the cattle section,

 it is amazing how many different farms are in Thailand,

 that specialise in Thai Brahman cattle, although of course they are originaly from India,

 the animals themselves are huge,

 and again like goats they are all being exhibited in a competition to find the best,

 each farm taking their best animals around the competition arena,

 this is one of the many booths where you can buy cattle or enlist breeding services from bulls and heifers,

 each farm owner proudly displaying the trophies that his herd have won in the past,

 we then passed a pen where small goats were displayed,

 this one seemed to like having his picture taken,

he always seemed to adopt the perfect pose, after looking around the rest of the livestock we then made a move outside to watch some of the drifting in the next post.