These photos were taken a long time ago, in December 1980. The first temple is the very small Snake Temple or The Temple of The Azure Cloud. It has live Wagler's pit vipers living all through the temple. They are fed eggs & seem to be in a fairly stuporous state during the day, due to the constant burning of incense offerings. Still scared the life out of me. Never knew exactly where they all were. Some were in open cabinets, close to where people were standing or walking by. Shudder.

The entry.

The elaborate roof decorations.

The pit vipers coiled around a srand. There is an egg down at the bottom of the stand. The haze at the left of the pic is from the smouldering incense, or joss, sticks. There were more in the cabinet below, as I found out, much to my horror as I had been, quite innocently, standing right beside them. They were pointed out to me by a very amused elderly local who had come in for her normal worship.

There is plenty of smoke from the incense sticks.

The gardens outside the temple.

Kek Lok Si Temple, or Temple of Supreme Bliss, complex is much larger than the previous Snake Temple. In fact it is the largest Buddhist temple in SE Asia.

The Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas at the Kek Lok Si Temple. It combines three styles of pagoda architecture ~ Chinese, Thai & Burmese.

The lower section of the Temple of 10,000 Buddhas. The octagonal base is Chinese design, the middle section Thai & the crown is Burmese. This is to reflect the harmony of the different branches of Buddhism.

THe monastery of the Temple of Supreme Bliss.

A boulder, with a carved inscription, in part of the temple gardens.

MOre carved inscriptions.

Some more inscription on the rock face.

Looking down from the Pagoda of 10,000 Buddhas at the imposing gateway. (I think)

The chimney-like structure on the left is where devotees burn paper with their prayers written on them. In the centre is a large brass bowl filled with sand, where incense, or joss, sticks are stuck in & lit as offerings.

Smoke from the burning prayer offerings.

A statue of Buddha with one of his warrior protectors in front.

What an experience you have had Joy . Lovely photos

Thank you for showing us.

Re: Snakes yes shudder shudder, especially when they are free to roam everywhere, I have goosebumps all over my arms.

Thanks Dawn. You should have seen me jump into the air with a little scream when the lady pointed out the ones, down in the open cabinet, right next to my legs. She gave a bit of a grin too. Probably was used to getting that sort of reaction from visitors.

Such detail in their buildings. Very artistic.

They are stunning, Glad. The snakes in the Snake Temple scared me witless, though.

Wished I had had a digital camera back way then. I would have taken hundreds of shots.