Wat Khao Sanam Chai (วัดเขาสนามชัย) is a Buddhist hilltop temple just south of the seaside resort town of Hua Hin (หัวหิน), in the vicinity of Uthayaan Rachaphak (อุทยานราชภักดิ์) in the southern Thai province of Prachuap Khirikhan (ประจวบคีรีขันธ์). The temple is a famous meditation place and was established by the monk Phra Worawit Worathammo (พระวรวิทย์วรธมโม) with the intention to disseminate proper meditation practices according to the Tipitaka (त्रिपिटक), known in Thai as Traipitok (ไตรปิฎก), i.e. the ‘Three baskets’. It is the name for the Theravada Buddhist manuscripts containing the teachings of the Buddha, divided into three parts (pitaka or ‘baskets’) and written in Pali, traditionally on palm leaves. From the temple's main prayer hall is a path that leads further up the mountain and which is lined on both sides with countless small International Buddhist flags that consist of 5 vertical and 5 horizontal stripes of the same colours, symbolic of the 5 Buddhist precepts, known in Thai as sihnha (ศีลห้า). The path leads to a platform with a Laotian-style pagoda topped with a gilded lotus-flower and which contains a bone relic of the Buddha known as Phra Boromma Sahrihrikathat (พระบรมสารีริกธาตุ). Also at the top is a Buddhapada (बुद्धपद), i.e. a ‘Footprint of the Buddha’ which in Thai known as Phraphutthabaht (พระพุทธบาท) and that are worshipped as a reminder of the Buddha's doctrine. It consist of a large, horizontal sculpture resembling a footprint with iconographic symbols on its sole, which can also be seen on the bottom of some reclining Buddha images and which represent the 108 signs of a Buddha. Aside from the small temple bells known as kradeung (กระดึง) that tinkle in the wind, the area is a rather quiet place and one can imagine coming here to meditate. About halfway on the path towards the top is an image of Phra Siwalih (พระสิวลี), a monk who as a result of his merit attained immediate Enlightenment on the day of his ordination, as soon as he got his hair cut off, i.e. with the very first cut of the razorblade. Near to this is a bodhi tree, i.e. a sacred fig tree with the scientific name Ficus religiosa and also known as the ‘tree of knowledge’, under which the Buddha sat when he gained Enlightenment. The top of the mountain has several viewpoints that offer panoramas of the area, as well as of the nearby coastline and sea. 回