Well, to be honest, I don’t think I have a religious neuron in my noggin. But that doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the architecture of places of worship, like churches, mosques, synagogues, cathedrals, and wat-ever.

So, this morning I was snoopying around in Surat Thani, and I spotted the building below.

Looks interesting, I thought, I’d better snoopy closer.

Well, now there’s a surprise. I wouldn’t have imagined there were enough Christians in a place the size of Surat Thani to warrant a cathedral. Just shows how much I know about such things.

Of course, Wikipedia knows everything there is to know about anything, and claims the diocese contains all the southern provinces, for a total population of some nine million. And of those, just 6682 are members of the Catholic Church. Is that enough for a cathedral? Well the Diocese of Surat Thani thinks so. And if would be far too many if they all turned up for Sunday Mass!

Anyhoo, I parked nearby and went to take a closer look. Interesting building. Tons of marble … probably local. A little austere on the outside. I’ve taken a few photographs, but I’m sorry, the ones of the interior are not that great. I tried to get in, but the place was firmly bolted, so I had to shoot through the windows. Shoot photographs I mean. I’d better say that before someone has me locked up. As it happens though, the camera has picked up more than I could see, and it looks quite impressive.

Strange though, I thought places of worship were never locked. Probably just as well. I might have been persuaded to confess all my sins, and that could have wasted a year or two of my life.

And here’s something strange. Unless my eyesight is failing, the photograph on Wikipedia doesn’t match mine. Here they are, with Wikipedia on the left.

I guess I was looking at a new one. The old church at the back is still there, and I have a photo to prove it, but the church seems to be connected to a well-guarded school so I couldn’t get closer. Shame. It looks more interesting than the marble erection. When you get to the photo in the gallery below, take a look at the right of the church. Aren’t those florescent tubes in the shape of the Star of David? Jewish Catholics, or did someone put up Xmas decorations and is unclear on the concept?

Here’s the gallery…