Our Lady Of Lourdes In Hat Yai

It's always surprising to see a Western religion stick its toe in a Far Eastern country. In Hat Yai, the Catholic Church has a big toe, running one of the major schools in the city. Of course, a church is attached.

The church has a funky mid-century modern design with a little pagoda nod thrown in.

Inside looks, church and a classroom.

Saint behind glass. Serious.

Jesus and his flock. Eating area, trying so hard to be one with nature. Epic fail.

Mary and child, drifting through the school hallways.

A Walk Around Hat Yai, Part Two

More wandering around Hat Yai, more moments worth preserving.

Hanging out the underthings to dry.

Shoe store and dress shop displays.

Ugh oh.


Plastic soldier, preserved. Giant lobster. This impressive beast has been mounted in a mirrored box, installed within the wall like a medicine cabinet.

Kids, doing what they do, an ode to Helen Levitt.

A Walk Around Hat Yai, Part One

Collecting random images in Hat Yai.

Mannequin, bringing attitude in fancy dress.

Video food. US Army camouflage folding chair.

An ethereal moment among the power lines.

Getting wrapped for religion.

Altered clothes.

A Visit To Hat Yai's Munincipal Park

Hat Yai has a nice main park, a meandering green space that heads up a hill overlooking the city. Nice view, some nice attractions.

The gateway view from the top of the hill.

The park is dotted with quasi religious and mystical figures. A huge dragon you're expected to walk through and the lily white Goddess of Mercy.

Behold the Supreme August Jade Emperor. Colorful chap.

Baby Buddha, practicing a power fist move. Putting power all together, our friend the Mercy Goddess with support staff and the mighty standing Buddha up on the hill.

Even the parking lot isn't exempt from a little God bling.

Tile Teasing In Hat Yai, Thailand

In Hat Yai, they've taken trompe-l'œil to new heights, the floor. Tile is a default flooring choice in the tropics for its cooling and no-rot attributes. But maybe you're just sooo bored with what tile looks like. You want something else.

One (two) option/s, tile that looks like grass with a chaser of rocks. And don't get us started on the picnic table. Are those onions on LSD?

More grass and rocks, upping the variety and adding white borders. A more traditional pattern getting overrun with some sort of stone crazy look that can sprout flowers. OK.

A fantastic mix, a real trompe-l'œil masterpiece of rock tiles and a "wood" picnic table set made of concrete, finished in volcano orange. Sure, we buy it.

Stone and bamboo, fooling no one.

Mixed media, fake grass astro turf and tile. The best part? The grass tile includes clover. Clover!

Finding A Little Funny In Hat Yai

Bizarre, funny, irreverent? Yes!

A Star Wars storm trooper, on a little R&R at a sport shop.

Military figures. Guarding an army supply shop and in a garden center. Yes, you can place a Thai officer in your landscaping.

For when you join the zombie rubber apocalypse.

Plastic bags on humans, no. On figures? Please!

A well trained dog that knows the limits to how far out it can hang.

Basking in The Presence Of A Big Buddha In Hat Yai

The tallest Buddha statue in South Thailand is in Hat Yai. One gaze at the big boy and a confirmation is easy to make. He brings 20 meters in height, plenty of length to crane the neck.

Lording over the city.

In case you didn't get the message that bigger is better, they break out just the feet for you.  Hang 10,000. Inside the base of Buddha, some icons.

The most impressive display is a sort of Hall of Fame of past monks, forever remembered in incredibly detailed wax.

Back outside, the hilltop location is a favorite spot for pictures. We can get behind that.

Faking The Flora In Hat Yai

You'd think that fresh flowers would be commonplace in a tropical city, such exotic options abound. Why bother? In Hat Yai, fake flora is all over the place, a testament to people that hate watering plants.

Hotel hall bouquet.

Planters.

Vertical "garden" at a restaurant entrance.

Half full view, the execution is well done and the details are nice.

Flora fantasy.