We took a Grab to the Hat Yai Municipal Park. From ground level, we took a bus to where a giant golden statue of Buddha stands looking over Hat Yai. From there, we took a cable car even higher to where the Four-Faced Buddha shrine is. People were praying, making offerings and giving thanks to Buddha. Two stalls stood out; one sells birds that people could set free as an act of compassion, and one rents out dancers that we later saw accompanying a man as he prayed to each of the four sides of the Four-Faced Buddha. He’s either very sinful or very grateful. Or, he’s asking for a lot from Buddha. Firecrackers were also a common offering.

We took the cable car back down to the big Buddha statue and checked out the interior of the building. Then, we walked down cement steps and trails to where the statue of Kwan Yin (Goddess of Mercy) is. Before reaching Kwan Yin, we saw statues of The Jade Emperor and The Laughing Buddha. We heard what we thought were wind chimes. They were actually heart-shaped aluminum sheets tied to porcelain bells. Written on the sheets are people’s prayers ranging from getting good results, finding a job, buying a home, etc. One lady wanted a baby girl by December 2018. I don’t know if she meant conceiving or delivering the baby girl by then. Especially heartbreaking was the one praying for her husband to wake up and walk again.

While we were taking pictures of Kwan Yin, the bus driver honked and asked if we would like to use our return tickets for the last ride down. We said we would walk. We encountered quite a few dogs, joggers, bicyclists and motorcyclists. It is a municipal park after all. Everyone was friendly.

Map of Places Visited