After some city time, it was really nice to escape the city and head into the countryside with some fellow travelers from the hostel. The destination: a temple full of snakes! Even as we were arriving I was not sure if I really wanted to enter!
Looks quite innocent from a distance!
After a ferry and taxi ride, we arrived in Twante. The temple itself is in the middle of the lake. What a gorgeous location!
At first I don’t really notice the snakes. There don’t seem to be so many. How blind could I have been?! When they’re not moving, they just seem to be part of the furniture, you know, the buddhist statues and offerings. But when you actually open your eyes and scan the room, you start seeing snakes everywhere! They are hanging out on the windows, hidden underneath the tables and zigzagging around the statues.
All these pythons really gave me the creeps. The locals seem to think the snakes have special powers, granting wishes like a genie, and leave offerings including money. I saw a bank note on top of a pile of python. Personally, I was happy to leave again. The photo below really shows how I felt!
