Our Footprints - Temples in Kelantan

From my previous post about the list of Buddha statues, I was thinking how nice if I can left my footprints at those places. But face the reality, the big issue here of course is financial. If got extra money then can choose the place, plan and start the 'footprint' mission. Otherwise, take a shorter trip and travel locally. At least it is cheaper. 

In Malaysia, we have the statue of Kuan Yin, reclining Buddha, sitting Buddha, standing Buddha and Lord Murugan. Of course it is incomparable with other countries in the sense of size. It is not the greatest and also not the lousiest. Just like you owned a terrace house, someone else have a villa/bungalow and somebody got to live in flats. The point is that all of them owned a house. Be satisfied with what we have and it is good enough. 

Frankly speaking, we should be proud of the statues which we have in our own country. Many outstation tourists know about Penang's Kuan Yin. Whereas in Kelantan, an Islamic state but the people have freedom in practicing their religion. It is proven by the hundreds of temples/wats that were built in Kelantan. Even the three types of Buddha statues can be find in Kelantan itself. 

Here are some of the photos from my visits to the statues.

Wat Machimmaram in Tumpat are surely welcoming those who would like to visit and feel the tranquility of meditation pose by the sitting Buddha.


This statue sits as high as 30 m with 18 m wide, somewhat with brown reddish color still maintained since it was finally completed in year 2000. The temple stands on 2.4 hectares of land, so visitors have plenty spaces to park even right in front of the temple.
 
Somehow I think the temple's management need to do something with the address board. For those who can't see the wordings, here is the address :
Lot No 2367,
Kampung Jong Bakar,
Jalan Pengkalan Kubur, Tumpat, 16200, Kelantan

Our next spot is Wat Phothivihan which is famous for the reclining Buddha. Still in same district Tumpat, actually it is not far away from Wat Machimmaram. With the measurement of 40 m long, 11 m high and 9 m wide, it is definitely longer than the Penang's reclining Buddha. 

I read from somewhere that the reclining Buddha is representing the Buddha's death and is entering the passage to reach Nirvana. It also symbolized the peace and detachment from the world.

The wheel with the 8 spokes actually is called as Wheel of Dharma or Wheel of Law. It represented Buddha's teaching about path to enlightenment.

I understand that this temple existed in the year I was born 31 years ago. Actually I hope to see some repainting and maintenance job being done to some parts of the temple especially to the Buddha so that it can become more lively in colors.

 From Tumpat, we move to Bachok, another district in Kelantan to visit the newly built standing Buddha. This white standing Buddha stands at 33 m high, symbolize the giving of blessings to its believer.

Based on the photo below, I think this temple was opened to public on 6/6/2009. Therefore this temple is still new.

No doubt the buildings looked very colorful and nice.




Out of a sudden, there is a replica of dinasour! Kinda weird combination of temple and dinasour. But the purpose is to attracts the kids. So maybe this idea can be accepted.

I've seen wishing tree in Hong Kong but I am not aware we have one in Malaysia too. This is one of the uniqueness of this temple. So for those who want to make a wish, just planted their wishes on the colorful ribbons and throw it to the tree, hopefully their wish will be granted.


Here is another center of attention of the temple, the arch of two dragons or twin dragon about 600m long, completely surrounds the temple's wall and welcoming the visitors to this impressive temple.

So, that's all about the three main positions of Buddha in Kelantan. Beside these three temples, there are two more temples which visitors can drop by if they happened to be in Tumpat. I will share about it in my next post.