Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • - [Narrator] In Thailand,

  • there are over 40,000 Buddhist temples,

  • but there's only one that looks quite like this.

  • Completed in 2004,

  • Wat Plai Laem is a collection of temples and statues

  • located on Koh Samui, Thailand's second largest island.

  • These are active temples in a tranquil place

  • where quiet reflection is encouraged

  • and appropriate attire is a must.

  • One of the most eye-catching figures

  • is the statue of the Buddha, which is 30 meters high

  • and painted in bright red, white, and gold.

  • The main statue at Wat Plai Laem

  • is the Buddhist goddess of compassion and mercy, Guan Yin.

  • Here, she's represented with 18 arms,

  • which shows her ability to help many people in need at once.

  • The temple is surrounded by a lake filled with hungry fish.

  • Visitors who make a donation to the temple

  • are given a bag of fish food.

  • People also buy fish and turtles at the local food market

  • and release them into the lake.

  • Buddhists consider it an act of spiritual merit,

  • and the fish and turtles do, too.

- [Narrator] In Thailand,

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it