Every now and then, as a family we take a day out to one of the main Buddhist sites in the Issan region. Today was the turn of Kham Chanod, about 80km north east of Udon Thani, and somewhere most ferang don't get to see unless their Thai wife takes them.
Kham Chanod is basically a highly sacred site, with a unique cluster of trees. By all accounts the Chanod tree is only found at Kham Chanod (so my wife tells me). The site attracts Thai's from afar at weekends in particular, coming to pay their respects and hope that the spirits that are believed to live here will present them with some good fortune.
Many Thai's rub the wide range of gongs here, in the hope that their rubbing will create a decent vibration, which will make quite a noise when it does, and if this does happen, then good luck has been granted by the spirits.
If you have a closer look at the picture on the above left, you will notice all the flip flops lined up against the wall. No shoes of any kind are permitted at the end of this causeway, where the spirits live.
Depending on who wrote what article etc, there are many different spellings, as there seems to be for everywhere in Thailand. What I have called Kham Chanod, is also typically labelled as Kham Chanot, Kam Chanod, Kam Chanot or Kham Chanod, although there may well be other variations out there.
Below is the location of Kham Chanod Forest and the temple.
Depending on who wrote what article etc, there are many different spellings, as there seems to be for everywhere in Thailand. What I have called Kham Chanod, is also typically labelled as Kham Chanot, Kam Chanod, Kam Chanot or Kham Chanod, although there may well be other variations out there.
Below is the location of Kham Chanod Forest and the temple.