The Temple

Past the monuments, at the end of the road, was the actual temple. A long stone staircase led up to the entry building above. Once inside, we realized it was more like a temple compound, with several temple-type buildings, each more ornate than the previous as we progressed up the hill. At the sides of the compound were several buildings dedicated to what I imagine to be lesser deities, including a room with a gazillion little statues of the same goddess we had seen much larger at the monument site. The series of temples in the middle of the campus all had a large Buddha at their center. Monks in orange robes tended to each, helped worshippers with the kneeling pads, and politely asked for donations. It was really cold, especially for those foolish enough to assume that a light sweater and baseball cap would be warm enough because they though it would be a driving tour. The temples were definitely not heated, and the wind felt like a 7 foot sword slicing me in half

I took a lot more pictures at this place, but they didn’t really do it justice. Additionally, some of the better ones included a large pink UFO on the left third of the shot that was later determined to be my thumb seeking its 15 seconds of fame, So here’s a couple of the more colorful shots that dodged the wayward digit …one thing for sure, this place needs a pretty sizable paint crew to keep things looking nice…every inch of every building had incredible detailing.

This was the eaves of side building where the monks had their quarters

Each temple entrance had a place to place incense and make an offering

And here’s a couple of videos of the insides of the temples. I think I recognized a couple of stone characters from the monument side around the walls of the big temple