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Thursday 26 April 2018
Cause for Delay........Considering what else there might be in and around Lamphun, I can’t see there’s more than a couple of hours needed for site visits. As comfortable as we are, I think it’s time to head south in the afternoon. In the grand scheme of things, even the return date to Bangkok is not fixed but in terms of what I imagined might have been possible; we’re running at least three days late already but none of the reasons for that have really been within my control. A combination of underestimating what each province has contributed, the hot weather and Katoon’s spiritual needs will mean some shuffling of the itinerary now that time has become a driving factor. Certainly I would have hoped to be winding down at this stage. Perhaps today there will be signs of that. With as much recording done as I think I can manage, we can depart now before 11am.
Ku Chang Ku Ma........Ku Chang Ku Ma, located within minutes of Phaya Inn is a monument to an elephant and a horse both of which legend has it were no ordinary creatures.
According to oral literature, Ku Chang or elephant stuppa was built to store the tusks of Pu Kam Ngakheao, Queen Chamathewi’s royal elephant believed to be equipped with great powers. In which ever direction it turned its tusks it would cause people to fall down dead. The tusks are said to have been buried in the stupa pointing upwards. Ku Chang chedis are known to exist in other kingdoms of the Hariphunchai period but this is the only one known in Thailand.
Nearby is located another stupa rather smaller. This is Ku Ma. Local legend relates that this is a chedi built to store the remains of Queen Chamathewi’s royal horse although another account states that it was the horse of the Queen’s son. The style of this chedi is thought to be a mixture of Sri Lanka, Pagan and Sukhothai design.
For the record there is other chedi ruin not too far away known as the Ku Kai Ancient Monument. This chedi is supposed to store the remains of a white chicken seen as a mascot of the city. Excavations revealed that it dates from the Lanna period 16th Century.
Cause for Delay........Considering what else there might be in and around Lamphun, I can’t see there’s more than a couple of hours needed for site visits. As comfortable as we are, I think it’s time to head south in the afternoon. In the grand scheme of things, even the return date to Bangkok is not fixed but in terms of what I imagined might have been possible; we’re running at least three days late already but none of the reasons for that have really been within my control. A combination of underestimating what each province has contributed, the hot weather and Katoon’s spiritual needs will mean some shuffling of the itinerary now that time has become a driving factor. Certainly I would have hoped to be winding down at this stage. Perhaps today there will be signs of that. With as much recording done as I think I can manage, we can depart now before 11am.
Ku Chang Ku Ma........Ku Chang Ku Ma, located within minutes of Phaya Inn is a monument to an elephant and a horse both of which legend has it were no ordinary creatures.
According to oral literature, Ku Chang or elephant stuppa was built to store the tusks of Pu Kam Ngakheao, Queen Chamathewi’s royal elephant believed to be equipped with great powers. In which ever direction it turned its tusks it would cause people to fall down dead. The tusks are said to have been buried in the stupa pointing upwards. Ku Chang chedis are known to exist in other kingdoms of the Hariphunchai period but this is the only one known in Thailand.
Nearby is located another stupa rather smaller. This is Ku Ma. Local legend relates that this is a chedi built to store the remains of Queen Chamathewi’s royal horse although another account states that it was the horse of the Queen’s son. The style of this chedi is thought to be a mixture of Sri Lanka, Pagan and Sukhothai design.
For the record there is other chedi ruin not too far away known as the Ku Kai Ancient Monument. This chedi is supposed to store the remains of a white chicken seen as a mascot of the city. Excavations revealed that it dates from the Lanna period 16th Century.
Ku Chang, Ku Ma (top right) and Ku Gai (bottom right), Lamphun
Wat Phra Khong Reusi........Wat Phra Khong Reusi is located north of the old city near the police station. There is no onsite information at the temple but it’s believed to been the site of a temple built during the reign of Queen Chamathewi.
Wat Phra Khong Reusi, Lamphun
Phra Nang Chamathewi Monument........The Phra Nang Chamathewi Monument is located within the old city wall in the southwest corner. The monument is to Queen Chamathewi, first ruler of the Hariphunchai kingdom.
Elusive........As there's still another old temple on my list, I try to locate it via GPS but we're sent down Highway 11 to Wat Don Gaew which although beautiful, is clearly not old. I believe the old temple is in the old city but perhaps believing I've put too much emphasis on the historical, it's time for something different as we leave Lamphun via the southern ring road.
Elusive........As there's still another old temple on my list, I try to locate it via GPS but we're sent down Highway 11 to Wat Don Gaew which although beautiful, is clearly not old. I believe the old temple is in the old city but perhaps believing I've put too much emphasis on the historical, it's time for something different as we leave Lamphun via the southern ring road.
Phra Nang Chamathewi Monument, Lamphun
Wat Don Gaew, near Lamphun
Ban Hom........Locating Highway 106 we head south initially pausing for lunch in Ban Hom, the roadside restaurant producing tasty meals at a ridiculously low price. There are also more temples in Ban Hom District to visit.
Wat Phrachao Ton Luang........Wat Phrachao Ton Luang is located on Highway 1010 about six kilometres from the junction with Highway 106. There is no onsite information for this temple but the original viharn and Buddha image are at least 500 years old built in Lanna style with beautifully carved decoration around the windows and archway for the door. This is another example of a tradition whereby women are not allowed to enter historic halls.
Wat Phrachao Ton Luang........Wat Phrachao Ton Luang is located on Highway 1010 about six kilometres from the junction with Highway 106. There is no onsite information for this temple but the original viharn and Buddha image are at least 500 years old built in Lanna style with beautifully carved decoration around the windows and archway for the door. This is another example of a tradition whereby women are not allowed to enter historic halls.
Wat Phrachao Ton Luang, Ban Hong District, Lamphun Province
The wonders of GPS........There’s no doubt that the introduction of GPS (Global Positioning Satellites) has transformed the way we travel, allowing us to easily locate and be directed to unfamiliar places. However one has to remember that the system in run by computers and what you get out of the system will only be as good as you put i.e. if you put garbage in you will get garbage out. If I type ‘Hereford’ into the system it will faithfully shown me what I need to know. In Thailand there will be no real issues either provided you use Thai script which is not a lot of use for someone like me. However that has not stopped contributors from entering English translations with various degrees of success. It is quite common to see different English spellings of Thai names on signage; there are at least three different spellings of Queen Chamathewi that I know about. The fact is that unless a location is important and shows up easily on Google map then you will often struggle to find it. There are still many instances where Thai only script is used for a site location.
Apart from direct spelling issues there is the additional problem that there are no spaces between words in a Thai sentence. So Phrathat could be written Phra That and if a spelling anomaly was added we could get Pha That. The next temple site is a case in point and the reason why we still have to stop the car and ask local people. I’m looking for Wat Pha Chao Sa Liem Waan.
Wat Phra Chao Saliam Wan........Wat Phra Chao Saliam Wan is located about 2 km west of Ban Hong across the River Li. On reaching it we find the temple is practically deserted. The viharn looks modern but has been renovated retaining many original features. The sad thing however is that due to its location and seclusion it is rarely visited. As its dysfunctional there is nobody here to maintain it, even to remove the bird droppings from the porch but there is one monk in residence here appearing just as neglected as the temple! When we’re shown around the viharn, I’m surprised how old the Buddha image is, at least 500 years and even more surprised to know that there was a temple built here going back to the time of Queen Chamathewi. It's now time to head further south to the next district which is Li with the same name as the river.
Apart from direct spelling issues there is the additional problem that there are no spaces between words in a Thai sentence. So Phrathat could be written Phra That and if a spelling anomaly was added we could get Pha That. The next temple site is a case in point and the reason why we still have to stop the car and ask local people. I’m looking for Wat Pha Chao Sa Liem Waan.
Wat Phra Chao Saliam Wan........Wat Phra Chao Saliam Wan is located about 2 km west of Ban Hong across the River Li. On reaching it we find the temple is practically deserted. The viharn looks modern but has been renovated retaining many original features. The sad thing however is that due to its location and seclusion it is rarely visited. As its dysfunctional there is nobody here to maintain it, even to remove the bird droppings from the porch but there is one monk in residence here appearing just as neglected as the temple! When we’re shown around the viharn, I’m surprised how old the Buddha image is, at least 500 years and even more surprised to know that there was a temple built here going back to the time of Queen Chamathewi. It's now time to head further south to the next district which is Li with the same name as the river.
Wat Phra Chao Saliam Wan, Ban Hong District, Lamphun Province
Accommodation Issues........Within the blog pages of this site there is no shortage of me wining, moaning and complaining about the fact that we often waste a lot of time at the end of the day locating accommodation. One could rightly ask why we don’t plan ahead using a booking site. I have explained that I can recall on far too many occasions in the past that this method has located accommodation far from from being acceptable; we really need to try something to remove this problem. Finally I have persuaded Katoon to do some online searches in her own language. She can read the reviews and advise me accordingly. Having tried this in Lamphun where she located Phaya Inn, here in Li she has located another resort with good reviews and has called ahead to make a booking. Finally I can use the GPS to take us right to the front door.
Ban Pailyn Resort........Just a little after 4pm we arrive at Ban Pailyn Resort just south of the town of Li. The suggested price using Google map is 790 baht at the top of my range. This change of tactic by Katoon is interesting and she recommends we stay for two nights. With the resort asking 750 baht, Katoon negotiates 700 and I can live with that as we soon discover this rises to the top of the pile due to quality and location. It doesn’t take long to settle in here as I fall asleep for an hour. Sometime after 5pm we head out to explore.
Ban Pailyn Resort........Just a little after 4pm we arrive at Ban Pailyn Resort just south of the town of Li. The suggested price using Google map is 790 baht at the top of my range. This change of tactic by Katoon is interesting and she recommends we stay for two nights. With the resort asking 750 baht, Katoon negotiates 700 and I can live with that as we soon discover this rises to the top of the pile due to quality and location. It doesn’t take long to settle in here as I fall asleep for an hour. Sometime after 5pm we head out to explore.
Ban Pailyn Resort, Li District, Lamphun Province
Wat Phra Putthabat Pha Nam........Wat Phra Putthabat Pha Nam is located to the north of the town of Li, a few kilometres back along Highway 106 on the left travelling north. A temple of this name exists at the base of a hill but it’s the chedi and viharn built on top which interests Katoon. I can see that this will be a superb location to enjoy the sunset. As we reach the top of a winding road it’s clearly different from the last temple we visited, perched precariously on the mountain peak. Thankfully while there’s a staircase to the temple it’s not so long and they’ve gone to a lot of trouble to build a zig zag ramp more or less vertically up the rock face. While the views from the top are spectacular enough to attract visitors, there are important religious ceremonies held here but this evening we are the only visitors to the chedi, the viharn and the viewing terraces. With the sun just set behind the western mountains it’s time to head back.
Wat Phra Putthabat Pha Nam, Li District, Lamphun Province
Nothing too exciting is planned for dinner as we stop in the town to collect something to take back to the room. There on the veranda we can sit out in the cooler air and enjoy our dinner but there’s still work to do to record the events of the day. Next Page.