Always find it enjoyable peeking through grooves and taking photos framed by the foreground from where I take them. Angles do make a difference as well.
I believe these people here are Spanish / Catalonians, I remember them speaking the language and doing this human-stack-up stunt (which I saw in Catalunya). It was pretty cute, but I wasn’t sure whether it was culturally appropriate in a temple, in front of Buddha. But Buddha looked entertained, brows a little furrowed and worried about their safety, or maybe a little puzzled, “huh, what you guys doing, mai?” As I ventured in to pay my respects, this angle looked more about right. ❤
Finally uncovering the stash of beautiful photos from the Thai days. Here are more wat (temple) photos from Sukothai. These temple complexes are architectural marvels in their own right. Even more marvellously, I discovered that they hold an aura too. The misty air in some of the photos – they were not there when I was walking the grounds. Maybe water vapour from the hot humid climate? Shrugs.
Oh, border! 
I love how Buddha looks a bit different from country to country. I was used to the fat Buddha in Japan and was surprised when I went to Thailand that their Buddha was so slim.
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Yup yup, I think they are meant to be “different ones”. There are also those in different postures of sitting, standing, reclining, sleeping, dancing (also different Buddha figures). This trip in Japan, I saw the Moon and the Sun Buddhas beside the main Buddha in the same temple, very amazing – same same, but (very) different. Hard to explain my awe of discovering that “there are different ones”.
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I never saw the Moon and Sun Buddha. Temples are different too. In Malaysia, the temples were very colorful while in Japan, the temple is the natural color of the wood. Except for Nikko, the temple there has a lot of color — I think maybe it must be an early temple.
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There’s a possibility the Malaysian ones you visited are Taoist temples. Taoist temples tend to be more colourful, and there are more of them in areas of predominantly Chinese diaspora – e.g. temples in Taiwan are super colourful with intricate carvings.
Buddhist temples tend to be less focussed on “image” and more on the inner world, hence usually using elements in their original form/colour (minimal intervention on materials).
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I just found this article http://www.bigchitheory.com/buddha-statues-meaning/. It provides a broad stroke of the different buddhas. In the different religions/branches of the religion, there are even more detailed delineations, very subtle differences. It is interesting. I don’t really read up on these, but when I cross paths with them in my travels, I find it intriguing to dig deeper.
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