a visit to a Buddhist Temple and monastery

We visited the Namdroling Monastery in the small town called Bylakuppe, just outside of Coorg. The monastery was built in the 1950's as a refuge for Tibetan monks. The monks are visible in town as you approach, easily identified by their yellow and maroon robes and their bald heads. ( The bald look has not made it's way to India.). The highlight of the visit is the Golden Temple, an ornate Buddhist temple. Inside there are 50 foot gold-plated statues of Buddha (a young and skinny Buddha) and two other figures. While we were in the temple, the rain started in earnest so we used some of the guest cushions to sit in the quiet. We could hear some of the monks drumming in another building. We saw monks of all ages walking around, some who looked to be as young as 8. None of the boys wanted to join the monastery.