Category Archives: Holy Curiosities

Holy Curiosities

This Hindu God has 1,000 Vaginas!

So I'm in the middle of R.K. Narayan's condensed version of the Ramayana -- one of the great Indian epics -- and I have to re-print the amazing story of Ahalya, Gautama and Indra. It's too amazing. Now Ahalya was gorgeous. Like, insanely gorgeous. Brahma had created her from the ingredients of beauty, itself. Of ...

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Dean Pickles / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

Another Little Bangalore Boat Church

53 weeks ago, I posted about my first boat church. The other day -- deep in Bangalore's Austin Town -- I found another. So what does this represent? St Thomas coming to Kerala? Or Jesus and Mary coming to India? Is the boat a little Fisher of Men? Or the stormy trip ...

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

Noel Wilson’s Awesome Soccer-Themed House

In a street filled with single-storey houses, Noel Wilson's juts up like a skinny football-worshipping minaret. It's bizarrchitecture! You know Noel, right? He plays football. (Of course he does.) The outside is decorated with over 100 footballs, a shrine to Mary, and the words "God's Gift." The inside is plastered with IFA trophies, ...

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Andy Deemer / 1 Comment

Holy Curiosities, Modern Ruins

Hindus Are Buried…?!

I didn't know Hindus were buried. Like, they're always cremated, right? And then we stumbled on our local Hindu graveyard. And realized how wrong we were. The Bangalore architect laughed at me when I asked him about it later. "That's the great white myth," he said. "You Westerners still like to romanticize us Indians ...

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Holy Curiosities

Gorgeously Gory Paintings in a Burmese Temple

Most people visit Ananda Phaya to see the massive gold Buddha. I'm not surprised: it's remarkable. But hidden in a side-alcove, propped up in the ceiling, I couldn't help noticing a series of paintings. Gloriously gore-filled paintings of demons wreaking havoc on mortals: boulders rolling over bloody victims, body parts dangling from coatracks, quartered corpses ...

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

The Ancient Roots of Swamp Thing?

This weekend we trekked down to Shravanabelagola, to see the 57'-tall statue of a naked god, apparently carved from a single piece of rock. It was big. It was holy. It was awesome. But at the same time, something about it looked so very familiar...

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

Sweet & Holy “No Pissing” Signage

If there's a wall in India, someone's planning to treat it like a latrine or a dump. Official signs, unofficial pleas, it doesn't matter. Notice the dribbles of urinet spray below. What if you tried painting a Hindu god or two on the wall? Surely that would help. Is that spray diarrheal??? Really?!!?!? ...

Posted on April 8, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

Jesus and Mary in a Little Indian Boat

It’s Good Friday, and so why not mention this delightful little boat I pass every day? It gives passage to Baby Jesus and Mama Mary, who endlessly sail the open seas of Bangalore’s Shanthinagar district. Of course, by “open seas” I mean a dirty, dusty, honking, traffic jam. And by “sail,” I mean sits on top ...

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities, Somewhat Perverted

The Cockiest Shrine in Bangkok

At Bangkok's Goddess Tuptim Shrine, there's something prickly going down. At this veritable penis park, there are whoppers, dongers, cocks and dicks, carved-off woodies and sleek shiny johnsons in stacks. Every last one is circumcised. Even the cocks of cocks. Known locally as the Chao Mae Tuptim, this overgrown shrine is tucked--ever so discretely--behind ...

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Andy Deemer / 10 Comments

Holy Curiosities

Creepy Mianshan Devotional Statues

One of them even looks a little like Ving Rhames...

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

Sweet gruesome statue asking for donations

(Also known as "The most bad-ass 'donations please' advertisement ever conceived" - io9) Halfway between the hippie-mainstay Pondicherry and proto-Jonestown Auroville lies this incredible 15-foot-tall Indian shrine of some awful crime in progress. Evisceration, again! But this wasn't just any old gutting-for-god shrine -- it was an eye-catching call for cash. The local village was ...

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 4 Comments

Holy Curiosities, Theme Parks

15 More Pictures from weirdoid Tiger Balm Park

AsiaObscura friend Dawn Xiana Moon (dawnxianamoon.com) sent over a pile more pix from the absolutely incredible statues and terrifying dioramas at Tiger Balm Park aka Har Paw Villa. See our original story here, or click on her pix below for full-sized versions....

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities, Theme Parks

The Creepiest Amusement Park of All Time?

Singapore is bland. It's a high-priced row of shopping malls and fine eateries, with a few hawker markets thrown in. "It's soooooo boring," warned my hairdresser Miss P. But then you stumble on something like this. The Tiger Balm Gardens: The most disturbing theme park of all time. There's sex, violence, bear-maulings and scabies. ...

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 11 Comments

Holy Curiosities

Giving Babies The Right Way

Okay, okay, I've been dwelling on the dark side of Taoism for too long. Sure, 19 Incredible Taoist Gods was an awesome series of sweet court officer pix, and Terrible Moments from a Taoist Temple was a collection of terrifying dioramas, but what about the lighter, cuter side of the religion? Is there one? ...

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities

18 Terrible Moments from a Taoist Hell

A few weeks ago, I posted about the Incredible Taoist Gods -- cool court officers tasked with enforcing rules of life and the afterlife. Well, to further display how far traditional Taoism strays from the mystical romance of the Tao Te Ching, here are some of the darker views of the Taoist "Way." I found ...

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities

Beijing’s Dongyue Temple and Their 19 Incredible Taoist Gods

So the rapture left you behind, eh? Feeling cheated? Looking for a new deity? Try Taoism. These gods will kick your ass! Okay, maybe not all of them. Some, like this swarthy fellow, will just make sure when you're reborn, you'll get your deserved rank. Fail to accomplish enough good in this ...

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Holy Curiosities, The Occult

The Modern Afterlife

With Melaka being a culture mix of Indian, Malay, Chinese, Dutch and Portuguese, amongst others, local customs are very much honored and preserved. Buddhists, keeping up with modern times, offer their ancestors the very best in the afterlife. Apart from the expected cash to spend and incense to purify and keep them from ...

Posted on April 26, 2011 by The WooLand Hotel / 2 Comments

Holy Curiosities

Celebrating Easter in China…

When you're in a country that doesn't officially celebrate Easter, like China, sometimes you get nervous. Will the Easter Bunny get his visa yanked at the last-minute? Are you sure those chocolate eggs are melamine-free? Is the holiday even legal here?Well, we had those same concerns too, but finally decided China's gonna love Easter!Good ...

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Holy Curiosities

Instead of getting glasses…

If you're having any troubles with your eyes, head to the cliff-side Temple of the Eyesight Buddha on Mianshan Mountain to make your prostrations. After all, this Buddha would know - he has 5 eyes himself. But watch out, although he can cure diseases of the eyes, he is able to "perceive all things."

Posted on March 1, 2011 by The WooLand Hotel / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities

The Mystery of Shuanglin’s Scooped-Eye Statues

A $2 tuktuk ride from the ancient city of Pingyao 平遥, in the deserts of Shanxi Province, there's a wonderful little temple called Shuanglin Temple (双林寺). The name translates to something like A Pair of Forests Temple. Cute. Inside, though, you'll find a strange sight. Walk to the back, and you'll come across the Goddess Temple, ...

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities, The Occult

Keep the Evil Away For Chinese New Year

In Zhangbi, an ancient Shanxi village surrounded by sprawling factories, we just discovered the perfect antidote for bad ghosts... and it's.... Apparently, cypress! I'm not sure how prevalent this is across China, but every old Zhangbi door had a sprig of cypress shoved into it. "避邪," explained the guide Lucy, who had no idea how to explain ...

Posted on February 14, 2011 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities

The Story of (These Creepily Awesome) Big Head Buddhas, with video

Michelle's spent a slew of Chinese New Years here in Beijing, but she's never seen these before -- 大头娃娃 (Dàtóu wáwá or Dai Tao Fut) -- incredible paper mache masks that we found in the back of a junk store, in Bangkok's Chinatown. In English, they're called Big Headed Buddhas, and for just a few ...

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 2 Comments

Holy Curiosities, Somewhat Perverted

Strange Moments in a Bangkok Temple

Wat Suwannaram, a 12th-century temple, is hidden on the far side of the river in Bangkok. It's remote -- no tourists, only two praying women in short skirts (they'd left their high heels outside.) The real draw here is the mouth-dropping murals, which tell the most bizarre and glorious tales. While we tiptoed ...

Posted on January 19, 2011 by Andy Deemer / 3 Comments

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities

Three (Really Huge) Wise Men

An hour east of Beijing on the 930 bus, you'll pass a couple of ominous industrial (nuclear?) chimneys. They're real big. Springfield Simpsons bastards, if you pardon my French. Hop off the bus, and sneak behind them. That's where you'll find the most charmingly bizarre guesthouse, The Tianzi Hotel (天子大酒店). Apparently, business was bad. The ...

Posted on July 25, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Historical Wonders, Holy Curiosities, Offbeat Museums, The Occult

The Craziest Holy Sculptor in Laos

The long, slow, dusty bus-ride cost 20 cents and took lord knows how long. But eventually it delivered us to the incredible Buddha Park. You see, 40 or so years ago, some loony Lao was hiking along a remote mountain trace, accidentally tripped, and fell into a hole. A deep hole. It was a lot like ...

Posted on March 10, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

The Weirdest Temple in Chiang Rai

An insane Thai artist, who resides somewhere between Henry Darger and Moebius the Frenchman, realized he needed to return to his hometown, Chiang Rai, and build a temple. Not just any Wat -- it had to be something bigger, something bolder, something more... white. It was to be the most renowned tribute ...

Posted on February 28, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

Holy Curiosities

The Weirdest Temple in Chiang Mai

Out near the zoo, hidden in a dusty residential neighborhood, miles from the nearest high street, is a Chiang Mai forest. In the middle of that forest, lies this piece of majesty: Wat Umong. The koans, which you'll find nailed to trees at random, read like a stocking-stuffer self-help book. But they're great. Chickens peck ...

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Andy Deemer / Leave a comment

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