Vihara Avalokitesvara — Attraction in Serang

This is an ancient establishment from the 1800 ... There was a fire in early 2000 and it was rebuilt ... A testament to the power of the faithful to this establishment, must have helped them a lot for so many donors to chip in to rebuild.

There are murals on the left corridor upon entry to the temple. Unfortunately it's not allowed to take photos on the inside of the temple but the reliefs are quite well illustrated & clearly portrays the history of this temple.

The main deity is the Goddess of mercy: Goddess Kwan Im. It's obvious many have worshipped here and burdens have been released thru the faith here.

On the north wing there are a lot of rooms for pilgrims to stay overnight. The kitchen is quite big as well to accommodate.

The remarkable thing here is that the caretakers are mostly locals of different religious faith ... This is the power of the local culture that welcome diversity and the ability to flourish together is evident from the mix of Banten, Chinese, Dutch history all over this area.

Behind the north wing are a lot of ponds for fisheries farming. A short walk outside the walls to the north will yield a very nice open view of Gunung Sari to the left n the Indonesian sea to the far north. Simply beautiful less the stell mill...

One of the many temples in Banten which is also a cultural heritage. It's supposedly had been there since the 16th century. This is probably the second time I've been here. The first time I was here there wasn't any Buddhism celebration so it was pretty quiet and very clean. This time around though, the experience is slightly unpleasant. First, before we even reach the parking space, there was a guy who knocked on our car window and showed us an 'admission' ticket, like this is some kind of theme park. Sigh. Then because apparently this is the Goddess of Mercy (this is a GOM temple by the way) birthday, it was pretty crowded. Outside there were people, kids, women, men begging for money and literally banging on our car. Le sigh. Also while inside you get those bird sellers who keep soliciting us to buy those birds you release. Another sigh. Anyway, because of the crowd, the temple was dirty. The toilet was dirty, eventhough there were practically staffs everywhere. However, the architecture was beautiful. I love the sculpture on the tables, the depcition of stories on the walls, the colours. I hope to return again on one of quieter days where the temple will actually offer some peace instead...

The temple is well-known for surviving Mt. Krakatau violent eruption in the 19th century. The lava destroyed most of the surrounding area and left the temple intact. The main deity worshipped there is Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, an important figure in Mahayana Buddhism as the embodiment of ultimate compassion. The huge Avalokitesvara statue itself originated from Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, the local government does not seem yet interested in developing the area around the temple as a tourist destination. Many beggars are found around the temple and can be quite disturbing. Nevertheless, on the way to the temple, the view of rice fields is beautiful and history lovers wouldn't be...