Wat Mahathat, Phetchaburi, Thailand

Phetchaburi is a small town 121 kilometers to the southwest of Bangkok that doesn't get nearly as many tourists as it deserves. Having plenty of beautiful caves, a palace built upon a large hill overlooking the town and many lovely temples, it is an ideal place to get away from Bangkok for a weekend. Combine these features with some of the lowest hotel rates to be found in any provincial capital and you'll have the perfect recipe for an enjoyable visit.

But even though there are so many gems to be uncovered and explored in this quiet city it isn't too hard to discover what the most treasured jewel in town is - just take a stroll through the narrow lanes of the borough after dusk and look for the brightest object in the Phetchaburi sky (aside from the moon) and you won't be able to miss it.

Rising 55 meters in to the heavens is the giant white Phra Prang Ha Yod or Five Peak Prang, which is bathed by orange lamps at night and can be seen towering above the city from many kilometers away. Ask any Phetchaburi local and they'll tell you that this mammoth Prang and the temple that enshrines it, Wat Mahathat Worawihan, are truly the "Heart of the City."

The giant white structure is named Five Peak Prang due to its four shorter sections that surround a taller middle structure. This design follows the style favored by the Mahayana Buddhist sect, and on the top of each Prang is a replica of the five Thayani Buddhas.

As the original Prang and temple complex crumbled to the ground long ago, the structure as it stands now is just one in a series of numerous rebuilds of the Prang. Thai art historians say that the current version appears to be more or less based on Khmer and Lopburi models and that it may not look anything at all like the original Prang.

Like so many of the great temples in Thailand, no one is really sure who built the original Prang and temple complex and when. And also like so many of those other temples, this one has a legend that makes up in originality what it lacks in authenticity.

The story has it that many centuries ago, Phetchaburi was on the brink of being invaded by Burmese armies (although some accounts claim it was the Mons). The ruler of Phetchaburi at that time was reputed to have been big on gambling and averted an invasion by challenging the leader of the attacking armies to prove their mettle in a temple-building contest instead of on the battlefield. The terms of the challenge were simple; both armies would try to build a Prang that was bigger than the other. Whichever side was able to see the other's temple first would lose the bet and would have to surrender.

As it turns out, the Burmese lost this wager and retreated. Legend has it that before giving in they had almost completed the Chedi Daengstupa, which is still standing in Tambon Rai Paniad in the Ban Lad District of Phetchaburi Province.

While the truth about the origins of the temple and its 3 massive Prang will never be known, archeologists and historians have worked together to fill in some of the missing pieces from the puzzle. The original sema stones, which are used for marking the boundaries of chapel grounds, were done in a style that was popular during the latter part of the Dvaravati Period (around the eleventh or twelfth centuries). Likewise, various bones and other remnants found in the complex of the temple are believed to be from 800 to 1,000 years old, thus adding support to this theory.

Over the years the Prang as well as the surrounding temple buildings deteriorated, necessitating constant restoration of the structures. The first such recorded reconstruction took place in 1841. Unfortunately, after just 49 years the tallest part in the middle collapsed and another renovation was started in 1863. This last job held up until 1928, when the center part of the Prang collapsed (again). Reconstruction was started immediately after that, but it wasn't finished until some eight years later in 1936.

In may of 1954, HM King Bhumipol Adulyadel came to the temple to donate a sacred Buddha relic, which is now enshrined inside the middle of the Prang. Also recently installed are several dozen Buddha images in the courtyard that surrounds the base of the Prang. They enshrine the remains of the more prominent patrons of the temple.

Although it is the five massive white columns that immediately grab the eye of any visitor, there are many other interesting sections to the temple that should be explored.

In front of the temple is the main wihan, which is believed to have been built sometime around 150. The inner walls of this large hall are decorated with over a hundred beautiful murals, which have been painted by several of Phetchaburi's own craftsmen over the last two hundred years or so. Reflecting the times that they were painted in, the murals feature scenes of Thai men and women dressed in Victorian era clothes strolling the town streets while angels look down upon them from the heavens. These murals surround three large Buddha images enshrined in the center of the hall, which were cast during the Ayutthaya period. Smaller images of worshipers as well as venerated monks are enshrined on the sides and in front of the larger trio.

To the left of the wihan is a small open building that enshrines an unusual image. Luang Po U-Thong is a large Buddha image that, as one may guess from its name, is cast in the style of the U-Thong period. The image sits upon a large green base, and taking a close look a the back of this base leads to an unusual discovery: there are three stucco images of former prime minister and noted author MR Kukrit Pramoj, hunched over and helping to support the weight of the image on his back, engraved on the base.

"I really don't know why MR Kukrit is holding up the image," one senior monk at the temple confessed with a slight laugh when queried by Today about the engravings. "Many of the images you see here have been donated to the temple by those wishing to make merit," the monk explained, "and we just provide the location for them to be enshrined. Where they get the images made or how they tell the craftsmen to make them is entirely their business."

The monk mentioned that this image was one of many donated by a wealthy Phetchaburi woman who declined to explain the reason for the former prime ministers appearance.

Another reason to pay Wat Mahahthat Worawihan a visit while in the area is to see the two-story museum located on the premises that houses many items used in Buddhist religious ceremonies as well as hundreds of ceramics and other works of art. Alternatively, on Sunday mornings there are traditional Thai classical dance lessons in front of the wihan, which make great viewing. They are always happy to have spectators come and enjoy their practice sessions.