There are some weird places in the world. Before I settled down with marriage and kids, I traveled a lot in Asia. I was based there for a few years with breaks in my work schedule, so I had time to explore. By the time I came back to North America, I had set foot in ten Asian countries from India to Japan. Later, I made several trips to Mexico.

4,000 Buddhas

One of the last places I visited before leaving Asia was Luang Prabang in Laos. About two hours north of the city by boat, there are some caves in the limestone cliff that overlook the mighty Mekong River. As a bonus, the caves are near a village that is famous for making whisky and not far from a small waterfall where you can swim.

These Pak Ou Caves are packed with about 4,000 statues and icons of Buddha.

Buddha statues in Pak Ou Caves, Laos. Photo: Creative Commons via Wikimedia by Walter.jenner

People go there to worship Buddha and the river spirits, but it also has a different feel to it: like a salvage dump or a refuge for upcycled idols. Most of the statues and icons are old and damaged. People take statues to the caves to give them new life and honor Buddha, but the caves also provide people with a guilt-free way to rid themselves of old statutes.

It’s a place where gods go to die. Or maybe just to retire.

At least their statues get a nice view. Photo: Creative Commons via Flickr by Avi Alpert

And it’s not the only such place.

Recycling Gods in Hong Kong

What’s a devout soul to do? You have a small apartment and a 30-year old statue of some god that’s fallen on hard times. It’s broken and chipped. To honor the god, you’d rather have some fitting tribute on your shrine. A nice, new statue helps the cause and it also does wonders for your faith. But what should you do with the old one?

Throwing it away might anger your spirit. What about sending it to a retirement home for statues?

Hong Kong has several recycling centers for old gods and goddesses. These double as shrines. The largest such site is in the Wah Fu district in the southern part of the city. People send their old statutes here to retire them, often blaming Hong Kong’s small living quarters and lack of space.

On a slope overlooking the coast, thousands of discarded statutes from various religions sit together on the rocks, watched over by a volunteer armed with glue.

Man prays before the gods and goddesses. Not a bad way to hedge your bets! Photo: Still image from AFP news video below. Source link to the accompanying article appears at the end of this post.

The steward of the Wah Fu site is 85-year old Wong Wing-Pong. Mr. Wong, a retired butcher, has spent the last 17 years receiving and repairing broken idols of gods. Most are Buddhist, but they share space on the hillside with Christian, Taoist, and regional deities like the Chinese bodhisattva Guan Yin.

An outdoor Guan Yin altar. Photo: Creative Commins via Flickr by yuksing

Quoted in a recent AFP news story, Mr. Wong says that he feels peace of mind after tending the statues.

“I will come here until I can’t walk…I don’t care which religion they belong to. I will look after all of them.”

Here is a short video of Mr. Wong and some of the statues. The direct video link is blocked, but you can click on it to watch the video on YouTube if you want.

Island of Chucky

“It winked at me! It turned its head and f---ing winked at me! Oh my God, this place is haunted! Let’s get the f--- out of there!”

Some of the many dolls (are they alive or dead?) on Mexico’s Island of the Dolls. Photo: Creative Commons via Flickr by Kevin.

That’s what you’ll hear if you visit Mexico’s Island of the Dolls on a weekend when tourists are snapping pictures and getting spooked by the many discarded dolls that inhabit this strange place. If you go there on a weekday, you’ll get to spend some quieter quality time with Chucky and his buddies.

Island of the Dolls, just south of Mexico City, is a hot spot for ghost hunters. It must be a terrifying place to spend the night. I’ve only been there during the day when the spirits are taking a siesta. Even then, the place is spooky as hell.

The gods are living better than these dolls. Photo: Creative Commons via Flickr by Kevin.

Legend has it that a young girl drowned in the canal and that the island’s caretaker was unable to save her. Soon, he found a doll floating in the same place and he hung it on the island in her memory. Her spirit haunted the caretaker, who continued hanging more and more dolls for the next 50 years until he died also in a mysterious drowning. And visitors keep bringing more dolls to hang.

Today, many people believe that the girl’s spirit remains on the island. A number of ghost and paranormal investigations have occurred on the island. Those who have spent the night locked down on the Island of the Dolls have reported dolls’ faces lighting up, their heads turning, and their eyes winking. Also, there are plenty of unexplained sound effects as well, from screaming to spooky laughter.

Scary stuff. Photo: Back to the Future, Universal Pictures

There is something quite unsettling about being surrounded by so many likenesses of children, many of them damaged and decaying. Childhood is a time of life, not death. We do not normally associate it with such decline.

This is a warm and wet environment with lots of vegetation, so I can understand why the caretaker may have hung the first doll. That would have been a better tribute to the dead girl than placing the doll on the ground, where it might have been lost quickly in the tall grass. But today there are hundreds of dolls attached to shed walls or hanging on wires, clotheslines, and wooden frames. These often sway in the breeze. Cats, birds, and other wildlife also make their homes on the island, so they may account for the nighttime sounds.

But none of that explains why the dolls’ faces light up and blink at people in the middle of the night.

Happy Halloween!

Source Credits:

Thumbnail image: Island of the Dolls, Creative Commons via Flickr by Wa17gs
Last Image: Island of the Dolls, Creative Commons via Wikimedia by Emmanuel Eslava

1. Destination: Pak Ou Caves (Lonely Planet): https://www.lonelyplanet.com/laos/luang-prabang-region/attractions/pak-ou-caves/a/poi-sig/1036475/1341140
2. Pak Ou Caves in Laos (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pak_Ou_Caves
3. Unwanted Gods find new home (AFP article; source of quote and video clip above): https://www.yahoo.com/news/unwanted-gods-home-hong-kong-035107828.html
4. Guan Yin (Wikipedia): https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guan_Yin
5. Island of the Dolls in Mexico (Informational Site): http://www.isladelasmunecas.com/
6. Ghost Adventures on Island of the Dolls (Travel Channel): http://www.travelchannel.com/shows/ghost-adventures/photos/ghost-adventures-island-of-the-dolls-pictures
7. Haunted Island of the Dolls (Daily Mail): http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3185228/Enter-Mexico-s-haunted-Island-Dolls-dare-Thousands-creepy-toys-hang-trees-quell-tormented-screams-ghost-little-girl-drowned-there.html