One afternoon on Koh Larn, we left the beach to walk around the island's tiny village for some lunch. While in town, we wanted to stop by to have a look at the small local temple, Wat Koh Larn.
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| inside Wat Koh Larn |
There was one monk sitting outside of the temple. There, you could pay 100 baht ($3) to buy a new roof tile for the temple to help support restoration. We decided to do that. The monk, named Phra Udom, could speak English, and was excited to chat with me.
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| Wat Koh Larn Temple |
He told me about how he's been a monk for four years, but he's lived on the island for all of his life. He told me about how the American servicemen used to visit Koh Larn when they were in Pattaya for R&R during the Vietnam War.
Phra Udom gave me a blessing, and he also gave me a prayer flag and a few amulets.
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| a prayer flag and an amulet |
One amulet was made of clay, and the other was a tiny piece of manganese from Koh Larn.
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| a local manganese amulet |
It was really nice talking with him. He told me all about the island and which beaches to visit. Usually monks in Thailand don't speak English, or they act very serious and don't just visit with people. Phra Udom was different. He was super friendly, very nice, and visiting Wat Koh Larn turned out to be a really great experience.
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