Nakhon Chai Si is one of the districts that make up Nakhon Pathom province, neighbor of Bangkok and whose main city is best known for housing the largest stupa in Thailand, the Phra Pathom Chedi. To put it in context, it's last August (2020), and while things have already calmed down for some time here regarding Covid, we hadn't moved from home since the beginning of the year. So after 8 months without visiting, in addition to being exceptionally long, it gave us want to explore a little outside of Bangkok. The opportunity arose when Jitima simply suggested going to a café in the neighbouring province. And to have the keys to my operation, it turns out that I have a document in which I list all the sites that seem interesting to me to see, as I find them while surfing the net.
Because if the starting point was this café, we certainly weren't going to be content to make a round trip all the way there just for that. And regarding the surroundings of Nakhon Pathom, I had just some temples where I wanted to take a look and take pictures to then possibly talk about it on the blog. And here we are!
A day of exploration on the outskirts of Bangkok
Let's be clear, this article is a bit "old-fashioned". Because lately, apart from articles about our various trips to Asia, I tended to write fairly "general" articles, especially informative ones, concerning a particular place in particular. This gave content essentially revolving around the questions "what to do here, what to do there, how to get there", because these are more sought-after and therefore popular formats.
I also know that this information will be useful to a greater number of people than an article in the mode "well, today, I did this, hung around there" etc. Said like that, it seems similar and yet, the nuance is necessary, because in the first case, there is not really a notion of time or a particular context, since I regularly present places that I have already visited several times. Whereas in the case of an article like today, it is ultimately a sequence of the day of the visits in question.
Not that it's less relevant, but it's a format that's almost more of a logbook and will be less read, in the sense that I know I'm going to talk about places that probably 90% of you won't have the opportunity to go see. This will usually be due to lack of time and because choices have to be made, and most of these decisions are made by going "to the essentials", which is not a criticism by the way. But in my case, having this opportunity to explore the country more in depth, these outings to "secondary" attractions make sense.
Talking about it remains relevant, because already, even if they are in the minority, some readers here are not new to visiting Thailand. They are therefore quite capable of exploring more in depth. Not to mention expats, temporary or established for the long term and others, who will simply be curious, even for a first time, and above all have the time necessary to allow themselves "deviations", compared to more classic circuits and visits. In short, writing an article like this allows you to get an idea of what is possible to do if you travel independently in Thailand, for example by deciding to explore the outskirts of Bangkok for a day.
There you go, I wanted to make this rather long "introduction" to understand the context of this article, which differs from the trend for months. A bit like I needed to justify myself for doing things differently this time, but it's to concretely understand my writing logic. Because I had the feeling lately that I was finally moving away from the "blog" format to go towards an "informative site" side, certainly practical and still appreciated, but with an almost too impersonal tone. It's been a long time since I really recounted a "typical" day walking around the country to find new places to share with you.
One of the reasons being that in general, I try to visit as many places as possible to optimize my travels, and these typical days will therefore sometimes have a speedy side, almost too "professional", to be mentioned in an interesting way in the form of an article. Except that this is not always the case, because in the end, I will tend, like any visitor, to marvel at what surrounds me, take a lot of photos, and therefore finally, take my time, even if it means leaving aside other visits for another time.
False start and “The Scene Cafe by The River”
Let's finally get to the heart of the matter and here we are going for " The Scene Cafe", located on the right bank of the Tha Chin River. It is only 40 km west of Bangkok, so it takes little more than 40 minutes to get there. Except that to be precise about this day, it was not the initial plan…
Because the coffee I'm talking about at the beginning of this article was actually the Irene's Cafe, a café/restaurant whose particularity is to be located within the grounds of Mahidol University, a major university, located 25 km from the center of Bangkok, still in Nakhon Pathom. The latter is renowned for its modernity and its facilities from which the city of Bangkok could take inspiration. We had already been there, because within the grounds, there are places and services accessible to the public, such as the animal hospital where our dogs had been sterilized.
And among these other public places, this includes this café, set up in a (recent) wooden building that is quite stylish and located at the water's edge, with canals filled with monitor lizards making up the surroundings. We left early (around 8:30) to have breakfast there, but, used to seeing everything open all the time (especially when it comes to eating and drinking), we didn't even think to check beforehand if it was open that day... However, it was a Sunday, the only day the establishment closes... In hindsight, since it's in a university, it seems logical... Afterwards, since we were going to walk around all day, we said too bad and decided to look for another spot. And after evaluating the options in the area, we set our sights on The Scene Café, located 17 km further west of the university.
The reviews are correct and above all, the wild setting of the banks of the Tha Chin River, make you want to relax for a while. Even if one of our important criteria is the possibility of finding quality coffee there (100% Arabica, with good aromas if possible). And if for the setting, we were served, for the good coffee, it was missed ... Taking advantage of the fact that there were few people, we sat down at a table by the water and ordered breakfast, namely in Thailand, a meal like any other, so fried rice was fine for me.
Meal quickly devoured because we were starting to get seriously hungry even though it was already 10am. Almost opposite, there is a beautiful house in the traditional Thai style but built on a recent concrete structure, a mix of genres. We can observe local life there, like these few locals going full throttle with their racing boat while another more laid-back one on his boat, seems to be taking care of his floating "garden". There is also this stork quietly going about its occupation which also consists of eating its morning meal, pecking at the small fish venturing to the edge of the bank.
And without us noticing, an hour passed before we took off from there to make our first real visit of the day.
Wat Klang Bang Kaeo
We didn't have to go far for the next stage since we only had to go up the river for 3 km. Here we are at Wat Klang Bang Kaeo, beautiful temple located on the banks of the Tha Chin River. Since it was already past 11am, the local market was coming to an end, but it's a bonus to see if you arrive earlier (however, I'm not sure if it's only on Sundays or the whole weekend, but for sure, not on weekdays). In addition to the large parking lot, which partly houses the market, there are several buildings like for every temple in Thailand.
The interesting part being the set of buildings visible on the left arriving from the main road. Side by side, you have a viharn and an ubosot (the glossary page will come one day, I promise!), both ancient since they date back to the Ayutthaya period. If the viharn, on the left, lacks appeal (I didn't go inside it though, but from the outside, it remains quite ordinary), what interested me here is the ubosot, all dressed in marble. Indeed, in addition to the sculptures of animals skillfully decorated with colorful mosaics, the The facade of the building is entirely covered in marble.
The interior, with its brown and reddish tones, is not to be outdone and is photogenic. On the sides, you can observe the "classic" wall paintings, most of them evoking scenes from the past, some evoking "hell" as seen by the Thais, while the main image (i.e. statue) of Buddha rests at the back on its small pedestal. The latter stands out well since the wall behind is a bluish fresco, which symbolizes the three worlds of Buddhist cosmology. Behind the ubosot, you can see the main chedi of the temple, with a square base and surrounded by niches housing statues. Next to the ubosot, you can't miss the pyramidal structure, I don't know what else to call it since I'm not sure of its function, but the latter is surrounded by a kind of chedis (more like niches) and had probably just been renovated.
Despite this beautiful appearance, the ubosot is surprisingly not the most frequented building in the temple since it is a small prayer hall ("technically" a viharn but I call it differently so as not to confuse it with the one next to the ubosot). This is precisely where we went so that Jitima could do a small local prayer. While talking about this temple, you will also see a beautiful house in its enclosure, right next to the prayer hall.
Finally, if we did not visit the latter, although open that day, note that it includes a museum, dividing several themes over 3 floors. On the first floor, there is an exhibition dedicated to several previous important abbots of the temple, Luangpu Bun (who oversaw the temple from 1886 to 1935) and Luangpu Phoem (his successor), including personal effects, talismans, sacred objects and their statues. You will also see writings on Thai medicine and herbs, and astrology manuals written by Luangpu. Some of these writings were compiled in a folding booklet made from the pulp of a tree (called Samut Khoi), and others on palm leaves.
On the second floor are displayed dishes, crystal objects, brassware and the Luangpu Bun pulpit with mother-of-pearl decoration, donated at the time by Phraongchao Athit Thip-a-pa, the viceroy of King Rama VIII. Finally on the third floor, there is a collection of silver-covered and carved Buddha statues and figurines, an ancient carved and gilded wooden pulpit and a wax model of Luangpu Bun.
It should be noted in passing that the temple, in addition to being on the banks of the river, is not far from a canal giving its name to the temple, the Bang Kaeo. If you go to the small bridge over the canal (where the road passes), you will have a photogenic view of the temple and the wooden houses lining the Bang Kaeo canal.
To open the menu showing the different buildings on the map, click on the icon next to the temple name.
Wat Maisupradittharam
Next, there was no need to go far, because it is simply the temple next door, but really, an alley actually joins the two temples, literally side by side. I can mention in passing that opposite Wat Klang Bang Kaeo, on the other side of the road, there is also another temple, which we did not visit (because well, otherwise we never stop), but which demonstrates the concentration, sometimes significant, of temples in a small area.
Le Wat Maisupradittharam, where I saw quite a few Burmese people frequenting it, stands out especially for its golden structures. You will be put in the bath directly since outside there is a Golden Reclining Buddha, placed on the roof of a small cloister surrounding a viharn, then under construction during our visit. The main building dedicated to prayers, is entirely gilded on its exterior facades, despite a more sober (although) but also quite atypical interior.
The classic structure of the rectangular temple is not found there., with the murals on the sides and the main Buddha statue in the background, like the nearby temple Wat Klang Bang Kaeo. No, here, the main Buddha image is right at the entrance and you can't miss it since it's an imposing standing Buddha statue.
Around it you will see a gallery displaying various wax statues of important monks. You will see some other Buddha statues of course and also a set of masks and dolls depicting people from Buddhist mythology and Ramakien. The rest of the structures like the roof of the main monk's dwelling also have gilding, as does the statue of the 3-headed elephant, Erawan, which dominates the square next to the viharn.
Wat Sisrathong
We continued the visits of the day, and after about ten minutes, we arrived at the next temple, Wat Sisrathong. So yes, another temple, but Wat Sisrathong is interesting because it is dedicated to the worship of Phra Rahu, the god of darkness. So no, it is not a Thai version of the antichrist, but Pra Rahu, dressed all in black, is, according to Thai legends, an immortal giant who periodically eats his brothers – the sun and the moon. In other words, he is locally considered to be responsible for solar and lunar eclipses… But beyond this folkloric imagery, this association with the color black also applies to the dark aspect of a day. It is implied that making an offering to Phra Rahu according to the locals will therefore help you to ward off bad days because the latter will be satisfied.
And as black is his color, the offerings revolve mainly around the latter. We can cite grapes, alcohol (whiskey), other drinks (coffee, coke), jelly, sticky rice (some rice is black), beans, cakes, "centennial" eggs (preserved eggs whose yolk turns black). To make an offering, you will have to place 8 objects - and it must be 8 - among one of his favorite dishes, on the tables placed for this purpose, in front of his representation.
And since it was a Sunday, there were people there to enjoy, like us, a beautiful day of wandering. We were thrown into the deep end right away when we arrived at the temple's parking lot, which adjoins the open hall where the statue of Phra Rahu is located, symbolized by a black torso, clothes including a golden headdress and what I imagine to be a sun (or a moon, your choice) in the hands. There is a lot going on in terms of offerings, which is completed by the laying of incense sticks, also black. For those who wish, it is possible to use the services of traditional dancers which will accompany your moment of oblation.
Concerning the rest of the temple, we are not strictly speaking "disoriented" by the external architecture of the temple, remaining quite usual if we observe quickly. But its configuration differs however because we are then facing three aligned buildings, plus another, hidden behind, so 4 buildings in total, placed on a promontory.
The central one is surrounded at its feet by two guards, also black although the predominant color is the gold of their clothes and accessories. As we approach, we can see better the many sculptures decorating the roof and its supports. The interior of this hall is not the most interesting because we stay on something quite sober (not that I necessarily like it more when it is flashy), with a statue of Buddha seated as the main element. On the walls, we find some paintings, embellished by decorations surrounding the windows and the tops of the columns.
The most beautiful interior belongs to the building on the right (when you arrive in front of the whole building), with its rounded ceiling, its paintings with dominant red and yellow and its Buddha statues. This is also where most of the locals knelt down to say a little prayer. When you look closely at the paintings, it is always amusing to notice the originality brought by the artist(s), with here some "daring" scenes. As I am curious, I took a look inside the other buildings, one is almost empty with just a statue of King Taksin The Great. Finally, the one on the far left, has a ceiling similar to the one on the right, but the difference comes from the walls, which are covered with sculptures and not paintings. On the other hand, it is empty of statues and otherwise, simply empty.
Wat Phra Prathon Chedi
Our last stop was a temple that brought us closer to the center of Nakhon Pathom, and therefore the furthest from Bangkok. It is in any case the most interesting historically speaking. With its 50 m height, it is certainly not as impressive as its "neighbor", only 4 km away (with a very similar name Phra Pathom Chedi), considered the largest chedi in Thailand. But Wat Phra Prathon Chedi is one of the oldest stupas in Thailand, whose origins date back several centuries before the birth of the kingdom as we know it today (whose establishment of Sukhothai as capital in the 13th century, is considered the starting point).
According to legend, at the cremation of Gautama Sidhartha, the historical Buddha which is generally referred to here (in Theravada Buddhism), holy relics were divided between 8 important royal families and the main disciples of the time. These relics, composed of pieces of bones, hair or teeth are placed in a golden container called "Thona" or "Thana" (from the name of an ancient unit of measurement), which explains the name of the temple, Phra Prathon Chedi, which can be translated as the “Holy Stupa at Thona”.
As you may have guessed, one of these relics was sent to Nakhon Chai Si and kept inside a stone stupa as early as 590. Nakhon Chai Si was considered by Thailand to be part of the mythical "golden lands", also known as the Suvarnabhumi Kingdom (and yes, like the name of the international airport). In any case, it remains indisputable that the city of Nakhon Chai Si was prosperous and held an important place at that time, as evidenced by the remains of other stupas and the excavations which have revealed the existence of important commercial exchanges in the region.
It also remains indubitable that this was part, shortly afterwards, of the kingdom of lavo, whose capital was none other than the current one Lopburi, and whose presence of a Phra Prathon Chedi in Nakhon Chai Si is proven from 656. Its architecture will subsequently be modified following annexation by the Khmer Empire neighbor, adding to its summit, a Khmer-style prang, similar to the one you can see in bangkok, the famous Wat Arun. Shortly after, the city was abandoned and the chedi was covered for centuries by the jungle.
However, the addition of this prang is what is presumed because the one we can observe today was actually added more recently by King Mongkut (Rama IV, who reigned from 1851 to 1868) when he ordered the restoration of the chedi. It is then estimated that the design at the time of the abandonment of the temple must have been similar to the Phra Pathom Chedi of which I recall that the current large stupa, in fact covers the original structure.
However, the site would still suffer the ravages of time, until it partially collapsed in 1962 after decades of neglect. It was not until 1999 that the Thai Department of Fine Arts restored the Phra Prathon Chedi to its former glory by restoring its base in the Dvaravati style, while preserving the khmer style top prang. Just to clarify, Dvaravati is the name given to the culture and civilization that dominated central Thailand at the time (from the 6th to the 11th century).
With this historical summary, you will understand the interest of the place especially since in the end, it is a temple that is not visited very often. Because if the other temples of the day were quite lively, this one was almost deserted. We barely came across one or two families passing by and when I climbed to the top of the prang, accessible via a ladder, I was just all alone (Jitima waiting in the cool of the viharn at the foot of the chedi).
Wat Samphran (dragon temple)
Probably the most famous on today's list, the Wat Samphran, nicknamed the dragon temple, and it is easy to understand why. Its centerpiece being its 17-story tower topped by an imposing dragon, whose body wraps around it. Its origins are rather dark, as it was founded by Bhavana Buddho, considered a member of a cult, although the temple was officially registered with the authorities in 1985. In 2004, the temple clergy was caught up in a sex scandal, earning heavy prison sentences for the head abbot and several associated monks. The temple even had to close for a while afterwards.
And this is felt in the visit. If in the past the temple attracted many, and had allowed the complex to quickly expand, adding many animal sculptures in its garden in addition to other usual structures such as Buddha statues, one felt that the temple was a little at a standstill in its "expansion". Everything seems unfinished, and the whole thing gives a bit of a “rough” effect. However, let's agree that the main pink tower and its dragon are still worth a look if you are passing through, if only for the beautiful view of the entire region from the top, from where you can make out the tall towers of central Bangkok when the sky is clear.
In our case, it was a Sunday as a reminder, and because there are quite a few factories in the area, we came across a good number of Burmese workers among the visitors of the day, even if there were also Thai families. The site is vast, so it seems like nothing. still allow a good hour to visit. As for us, the time to "get our bearings" by admiring the famous dragon from the base and we launched the assault on the tower.
FYI, the elevator never had the budget expected to be operational… So The climb of the 17 floors is done with the strength of your two legs (basically, it takes 10 minutes). The special thing is that it is not done via a simple staircase, but via the body of the dragon. The latter is hollow and forms a gently sloping tunnel that takes you up without requiring too much effort.
At the top, besides observing the view, the attraction is to try to throw a coin into one of the offering bowls of the monk sculptures decorating the central part of the tower. An exercise not as easy as it seems and which "rewards" a successful throw, depending on the bowl chosen, with better luck or better health. The game even became collective, some coins bouncing on the ground at will and collected by the participants, until I found myself with coins that were handed to me without me being the owner.
Overall, the architecture of Wat Samphran is a clever mix of components from mythology and Chinese and Thai beliefs, which remains quite common, but more or less marked depending on the temples, and here, it is quite obvious, if only the dragon itself! Among the other elements making up the temple, we find a "fountain" (or should I say, a pot) for wishes. We also see this alignment of nine dragons embracing a crystal ball in their mouths, a metaphor where the crystal symbolizes well-being and happiness while each dragon represents a member of the family.
At the back, clearly visible from the top of the tower, is the meditation center, recognizable by its golden Buddha statue perched on top of the roof. Some vendors offer fruits and vegetables, also something to make a snack, while others sell flowers and offerings. In the garden, with its air of a real jungle, we sometimes come across a white elephant statue, a royal symbol, but also a sign of happiness if you go around the animal 3 times.
Another animal, largely surrounded by vegetation and placed there on an artificial pond, you have a giant turtle whose interior forms a concrete tunnel. Next to it, there is another pond, with old barges placed there abandoned, while a small building not far from there is discreetly dedicated to the Chinese goddess of mercy, Guanyin. If you look a little, you will also come across the statue of a peacock.
Other places to visit near Nakhon Chai Si
I mentioned it in my introductory paragraph, but I didn't have time to visit all the interesting places in the region, since I decided this time to focus on the different temples. I know that for some it's not their cup of tea because they will find it "repetitive" but that's the case if you stick to "standard" temples. Most of the temples I visit each give off something, with sometimes unique characteristics that go beyond the simple religious place, moreover, this was the case today apart from possible donations, these remain sites accessible for free.
However, if you get saturated, here is what you can also visit in the area:
Thai Human Imagery Museum (Location) – A museum that could almost be compared to the Grévin Museum or Madame Tussaud in that it is a private wax museum featuring wax reproductions of people. The major difference being that while this museum does include some famous people such as members of the royal family or important monks, the Thai Human Imagery Museum mainly highlights scenes of life in Thailand in the past.
Jesada Technik Museum (Location) – Another private museum of a major collector of cars, motorcycles and other vehicles, as rare as they are eccentric and from all over the world. This is the place I would have liked to see the most from this short bonus list, because his collection is apparently particularly impressive and renowned.
Don Wai Floating Market (Location) – A so-called floating market because it is located next to a canal, but it remains a very local market, located within the very grounds of a temple (and yes, we can't escape it), the Wat Don Wai.
Thai Film Museum (Location) – Located within the grounds of Mahidol University, which was our starting point today, this museum displays a collection of artifacts and studios from the Thai film industry spanning several decades.
Putthamonthon (Location) – Located opposite the university, on the other side of the national road, it is the largest public park in the area. It is managed and houses the offices of the National Office of Buddhism, as recalled in particular by the statue of Buddha standing enthroned in the middle of the central roundabout. In addition to the buildings used by the clergy, the park includes flower gardens and suitable areas for relaxing and picnicking with the family.
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