Wat Phanan Choeng

After touring the ruins of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, the next Wat I visited was the Wat Phanan Choeng. It looked like a modern temple complex. But the truth, which I found so hard to believe, was that it belonged to 14th century. The fourteen meters wide and nineteen meters tall image of seated Buddha, made of mortar, primed with black lacquer and covered with gold leaf was built in 1344. The present form however was attained after many repairs. The last repair was done by Royal Institute in 1929 after the face started developing cracks.


Standing at the base, my jaw dropped wide open seeing the glitter of this majestic huge image. There were men standing in the palm of the statue like Lilliputians (click to enlarge the picture and see). I was lucky to be there then to witness the ritual of merit transfer. Men standing up there were wrapping the statue with saffron robes; there was one man at the shoulder too. The robe was then used to cover the devotees and worshipers sitting down below. One of the priests there was chanting hymns and prayers. After the completion of the ritual, the robes were pulled away gently, folded and kept away for the next session.



If ever you visit this Wat and you find a huge crowd, wait patiently, watch the ritual, it is worth it. I found it the most active temple complex of Ayuthaya, with many devotees inside. It is a popular pilgrimage destination for weekenders from Bangkok.

As I walked around, I saw many many more Buddha images of all sizes. The picture below is of the wall just behind the image which had around 84,000 niches. Each of them housed small idols of Buddha. Devotees make offerings, donations, place their idol of Buddha in the niches and pray for good luck.



Outside there was a small Chinese shrine made in honor of a Chinese princess who died, rather killed herself, because her husband the King of Ayuthaya did not go personally to receive her. I could not visit this because of lack of time and I could not do one more thing, that was buying a bag of fish from the vendors there and release it in the river flowing just beside the Wat. It is supposed to bring in luck.

Ayuthaya requires at least two to three days of stay there if you intend to visit and explore each of the Wats.

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Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, Ayuthaya

Third day in Thailand and our next destination was Ayuthaya, a World Heritage Site. It is a city with ruins but with a magnificent past. There are around twenty three sights that are listed in the must see list of Ayuthaya. Due to lack of time I had to prioritize the places and focused on just eight of them. Very disappointing, if luck permits may be I will be able to make a trip there once more in this lifetime.



The first and the most memorable Wat I visited at Ayuthaya was the Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon. Also known as the “Great Monastery of Auspicious Victory”, it has a giant chedi that is the tallest structure of Ayuthaya today. To the left of the entrance, is a huge reclining Buddha, seven meters long, covered in saffron robe. After paying respects there I moved on to the ruins and I was enthralled to see the idols of seated Buddha all around the Wat. So many of them, all in a row, in different sizes, all dressed in saffron robes!



The ordination hall in front of the huge chedi, measures about 16m by 14m houses one of the most sacred Buddha images of Ayuthaya. There were many smaller chedis around which we were told contain the ashes of the sponsors of the Wat.



There are two huge seated Buddha statues on either side of the chedi. One can climb up the chedi on to an elevated base. Inside the chedi there is a chamber like space which must have housed the relics once. It was dark inside and I couldn’t capture good shots here. View of the Ayuthaya city from the elevated base is mesmerizing. A clear contrast is visible… Ayuthaya outside these walls of the ruins is fast turning in to an industrial base. I just hope this glorious piece of history doesn't get lost in the chaos of the city.

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Phra Mondop

At Grand Palace Complex, Bangkok.

The Grand Palace of Bangkok, a huge complex of 98.5 hectares, is unforgettable place because of the various mesmerizing visual delights. Each ornate building there competes for attention and focus of your lens; however I feel the Phra Mondop is the most beautiful of all of them. Built by Rama I, it houses the Royal Golden Edition of Buddhist Cannon inscribed in palm leaves, enclosed in a mother of pearl cabinet. It belongs to the Rattanakosin Era. The original Canonical Library was surrounded by water to prevent damage to the manuscripts by fire and termites. Ironically, the original building was destroyed by fire on the day of its inauguration caused by fireworks.

King Rama I then rebuilt it and placed the precious holy scripts in his new structure. This building is closed to public, and I stood wondering if the exteriors are so captivating, how much more beautiful the interiors would be! The floor of the Phra Mondop, I read, is lined from wall to wall by a woven mat from strips of pure silver. That must be truly a precious sight to behold!


The glittering walls were covered in green mirrored tiles inlaid with gold medallions depicting Buddha. Click the pictures to enlarge and see.


At the four corners of Phra Mondop are stone Buddhas carved in ninth century Javanese style.


Sixteen twelve cornered columns support the intricate multi-tier roof.


A pair of guardian angels, each slightly different from the other guard the four entrances to the building.

If ever you are there in Bangkok and you can outsmart the Tuk Tuk drivers, do visit this Palace.


Hosted by Cecily and She's a moron and can't remember...

Temple of the Emerald Buddha - Bangkok

It is the Indian connection of the Emerald Buddha that made me put Wat Phra Kaew in the must see list of Bangkok. This temple, considered the Mecca of the Buddhists is housed in the Grand Palace. So beautiful is the architecture with golden spires and glittering mosaics that it is easy to get lost admiring the details in the 98.5 hectares compound.

The idol is 66cm tall and 48.3cms wide at the lap. It is dark green in color and we saw it wrapped in a golden robe, since it was the rainy season. We were told the idol is wrapped in three different costumes at the start of the three seasons the rainy, the winter and the summer. The King of Thailand is the only privileged person in the country to carry out this duty. The actual material is probably jasper quartz or nephrite jade and not emerald.


The history of the idol is interesting. Wiki mentions: The Emerald Buddha was created in India in 43 BC by Nagasena in the city of Pataliputra (today Patna in Bihar, India). The legends state that after remaining in Pataliputra for three hundred years, it was taken to Sri Lanka to save it from a civil war. In 457, King Anuruth of Burma sent a mission to Ceylon to ask for Buddhist scriptures and the Emerald Buddha, in order to support Buddhism in his country. These requests were granted, but the ship lost its way in a storm during the return voyage and landed in Cambodia. When the Thais captured Angkor Wat in 1432 (following the ravage of the bubonic plague), the Emerald Buddha was taken to Ayutthaya, Kamphaeng Phet, Laos and finally Chiang Rai, where the ruler of the city hid it.

This it seems is a legend. The mudra (hand gestures with a religious meaning) of the idol resembles the images of Buddha in Southern India and Sri Lanka; it is only this fact that adds some credibility to the legend.


Historians have a different story. Records mention, the idol is believed to have been carved in Northern Thailand not earlier than fifteenth century. According to reliable chronicles: The Emerald Buddha first appeared in 15th century in Chiang Rai and based on its style it seems to be from the Chiang Saen period. It is said that lightening struck the pagoda of a temple in Chiang Rai in northern Thailand and a Buddha image covered with stucco was found inside the temple. The statue was left with the abbot of the temple who removed the stucco and found the Emerald Buddha under it. Read more here.

At Wat Phra Kaew, the idol was placed high up on a pedestal and photography is not allowed from inside. So one has to position himself/herself outside and zoom in to the image over the heads of the worshippers and visitors. My shots aren’t doing actual justice in capturing the brilliance of the image, nevertheless…




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