Tigers, caves, and leaping ladies

My blogfriend, inveterate traveller, photographer, and travel writer, Nisha Jha, was recently in Cambodia and Thailand, and visited the Tiger Cave Temple in Thailand, near the town of Krabi.

 Known locally as Wat Tham Seua,  this temple is situated 8 kms from Krabi, in a tropical forest.  The main hall is built into a long, shallow limestone cave. On either side of the cave, dozens of monastic cells are built into various cliffs and caves. You may see a troop of monkeys roaming the grounds. A set of steps lead up into the clifftop, 600 metres high up.  

The climb is  arduous , consisting of 1237 steps, each of 18 inches height. Those who make it to the top, are rewarded with a Great Buddha Statue, a Stupa,  a 360 degree view of the tropical islands, other limestone cliffs,  and the blue of the Andaman Sea as far as you can see.

 

As Nisha says, the climb is not for the faint hearted, or those with compromised knees.  

 

Very clearly, Nisha was able to make it right to the top, which is why you see the photograph here.

(photo by Nisha Jha)

Some cavernous
deep stuff,
camouflaged by green
narrow dark damp entrances,
entered by
hardy tired folks
swiping through the trees,
bending to enter,
and then mesmerized
by the memorial art
on the mossy rocks inside.

And some,
once
residences of tigers
now dedicated to prayer,
with stairs going
way up there
amidst the cliffs
a beacon in the sunlight,

A lone girl,
with great quadriceps,
leaping
tigerlike
across 18" steps, 1237 times,
no camouflage,
no swiping trees,
but a great emergence
into some great
natural art
all around,
amidst seas, forests
and a blue canopy,
and
the Painter Up There,
applauds ,
waving a cloud her way......
:-)