Thursday 19 April 2018

Leftovers........Waking later than I intended, likely due to yesterday’s increased activity, I immediately set work on my blog which requires about 4 hours work. With only half complete I wonder whether I can complete it before departure but by 9am it’s up to draft form as we head down for breakfast. Expecting the same as yesterday, I'm surprised to find they’ve converted to a buffet. While I can indulge myself once more, the food itself doesn’t go down as well, looking like it’s been lying around for some time. Back at the room I manage to squeeze a bit more time into editing and coding my blog prior to our departure.
Left over from yesterday there are three locations I need to visit before I’m satisfied that I’ve done a reasonable job in Phitsanulok province on this occasion. One can never cover it all and the locations to suffer are mostly the national parks and splendid waterfalls and viewpoints, the former probably not looking their best now in the dry season. The first two locations are still in the city itself.
Sgt. Maj. Thawee Folk Museum........Aware that Thai culture is part of the fabric of this website yet poorly represented, this is a good opportunity to help restore the balance. The museum located in Wisut Kasat Road was started from Sergeant Major Dr. Thawee’s Booranakhate’s true calling. Also known as Lung Jha he collected and purchased thousands of old items from people around his town with his hard-earned money and slowly started to build his museum. At the time his wife and family didn’t quite understand what he was doing and thought he must be crazy or have some sort of disorder but Lung Jha spent time in his garage repairing and renovating the pieces that he acquired. He also classified his collection and created a database. At this point entirely on his own he was able to exhibit his collection in the hope that in the future people would appreciate what he had achieved. Now after 35 years his dream has come true and his collection installed in the museum he created has become known to people far and wide.
I must admit on reading about him I was still somewhat sceptical. It is not uncommon for folk to donate their old but still functional items at their local temple, national museums only interested in pieces of significant historical value. Here at Lung Jha’s museum there is an incredible collection of everyday items that were used in the community some for generations. It is a magnificent insight into the traditional way of life of people in this area. That fact that he has put so much effort in collecting items from Phitsanulok and nearby provinces, realising that without this effort these objects would be lost, shows incredible foresight in a changing world where such items are easily discarded.

Garden Bird Park........ The Garden Bird Park is opposite Sgt. Maj, Thawee’s museum next to the Buddha casting factory. Describing this as a garden bird park is a bit misleading as this is a collection of native bird species including some quite rare exhibits. It is a bird conservation centre that displays some rare and endangered species such as the jambu fruit-dove, helmeted hornbill, and birds mentioned in Thai literature such as the oriole, barbet, common koel, green magpie, blue magpie, etc. There are also some popular birds that can imitate a human’s voice such as the parrot and singing birds like black-throated laughing thrush, white-crested laughing thrush, and white rumped shama.
Despite its limitations it at least gives visitors the chance to see close up the wonderful variety of tropical species that would otherwise go unnoticed. There will, of course, be critics of the practice of keeping caged birds in this way but on the other hand with loss of habitat, there is the danger that some will become extinct. Curiously within the compound they keep fighting cocks and a ring for the practice of this sport. Cock fighting has a long tradition in Thailand including being the sport of kings. I make no comment, I’m merely here to observe.

Buranathai Buddha Casting Foundry........Right at the back of the bird park is the Buranathai Buddha Casting Foundry, not on my list but I soon discover it should be. It was founded by Sgt. Maj. Thawee. This caused me to go back and read what I recorded about him at the museum. Sgt. Maj. Thawee trained as an artisan in his father’s business but applied for a job as a painter in the 3rd Army Section, 3rd Army Region. After a spell drawing maps he joined the Metal Casting Division of Handcuffs part of the Fine Arts Department. Here he learnt the skills he would later put to use at his Buddha casting foundry. In the meantime he produced some excellent quality religious art including statues of King Naresuan the Great for the barracks in Phitsanulok and for the hospital there. He also set up the stone pillar inscribed with the name of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit among many other works of art.

Sgt. Maj. Thawee was the first to set up a foundry in Phitsanulok. Today as it was then the foundry is very much a cottage industry but the quality of religious art produced is really astonishing. A photograph dated 1977 shows a row of cast Buddha images with a lap size of 39 inches destined for various temples in recognition of the danger they had found themselves in during the communist uprising in the 60’s and early 70’s.
At the foundry today the process of casting and finishing can clearly be seen with examples in various stages of production from the wax filled moulding, through the preparations for firing to the cleaning, lacquering and polishing of the final product. The foundry has gone to some lengths to recall its relatively short history but without a doubt the examples of the final products covered with gold leaf are stunningly beautiful.
Wat Khao Samo Khlaeng........With these three sites consuming a couple of hours, without taking lunch again we move out of the city. I initially set the GPS to locate Wat Khao Samo Khlaeng knowing that there are a number of interesting sites nearby. This takes us some 10 kms out of the city heading east along Highway 12 where Wat Khao Samo Khleang is signposted off to the left. However this temple is not my main reason to come here. Certainly along the road on my right there are modern temple buildings but these prove to be the monks’ residence but to the left at the base of Khao Samo Khlaeng it looks more promising with a long brightly coloured staircase and a shrine while on the mountainside is a large statute of Kuan Im and a pot-bellied Buddha image. It is only later that I realise this is all part of Wat Khao Samo Khlaeng.

Wat Wachira Thammawas........Still searching for an iconic location on my site visit list we stumble upon another temple which has a copy Buddha footprint. Wat Wachira Thammawas lies to the southwest of Khao Samo Khlaeng and has a staircase leading up to a mondrop housing the footprint but this temple is of recent construction but at least we are able to get our bearings from here.

Identification issues ........Throughout this website I take care through additional research and editing to inform rather than mislead although I often have to take things at face value. As I move on to other sites at Khao Samo Khlaeng, I have to get precise translations for these locations either from the location itself or from contributions to Google Map. Unfortunately as I try to improve on what I have already discovered, some major online sources have taken the easy way out and attributed iconic photographs to Wat Khao Samo Khlaeng which they certainly are not. The following location suffers particularly with this.
Wat Ratchakhiri Hiranyaram........The temple, located on Khao Samo Khlaeng it the site of two Buddha footprints, one is a replica, the other on the western face of the cliff. The interior of the temple houses the Phra Pho Thi Sat Kuan Im carved out of white jade from Hangzhou, China. The image is modelled from the image in the Chao Mae Kuan Im temple in Hangzhou and needed special permission from the Chinese Government for it to be built here.
Associated with the temple is a viewpoint known as Doi Suthep 2. It is a beautiful location made aesthetically pleasing with plants and trees set among ornate Chinese decor; a perfect spot to rest from the heat and for most a place to give alms and pray.

Phra Mahachaichedi Srisamorclaeng........Phra Mahachaichedi Srisamorclaeng is a large brick-built, bell-shaped chedi now in ruin. It is located at the very summit of Khao Samo Khlaeng and dates from the 15th century, early Ayutthaya period before the time of King Naresuan. Substantial landscaping and construction of viewing platforms has been provided. This is a most welcome addition to my list today. With other temples occupying this hill this is clearly an important site which has taken time to cover leading to a re-evaluation of today’s target. Thank goodness we haven't booked our accommodation in advance on this occasion.
Wat Phra Mahachaichedi Sri Borvonchinaratana........Wat Phra Mahachaichedi Sri Borvonchinaratana is yet another temple on or near Khao Samo Khlaeng, this one close to the chedi ruin at Wat Phra Mahachaichedi Srisamorclaeng. It is a minor temple with a lotus bud shaped chedi.

Si Satchanalai........By 3pm we’re just about finished in Phitsanulok province. The intension now is to move further west. By 3.30pm we’re in Sukhothai province. With the historic sites in this province covered in detail in December 2016, it is not the intention to stay for any length of time here. It will merely be a stopover with the odd site visit missed on the previous tour. The best we can to today is reach Si Satchanalai. At 5pm we begin our search for accommodation not wishing to be far from the town but for some reason we procrastinate and still end up a couple of kilometres away along Highway 102 heading east.
SC Resort........show. SC Resort lies next to the more up-market Chanalai Resort. Nevertheless the few bungalows at the back of the resort are spacious, ticking all the boxes except its distance from the town. With that in mind without dropping off luggage we head straight back into town for dinner. Selecting a Korean BBQ we’re in the over indulgence phase once more. The all you can eat BBQ you cook yourself with beer leaves me in no mood to write up my blog in the evening. There’s a lot to do but I’m hoping to wake up earlier in the morning to compensate. Next Page.