Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nakhon Pathom
POP 120,000
Nakhon Pathom is a typical central Thai city, with the Phra Pathom Chedi as a visible link
to its claim as the country's oldest settlement. The town's name, which derives from the
Pali 'Nagara Pathama' meaning 'First City', appears to lend some legitimacy to this boast.
The modern town is quite sleepy, but it is an easy destination to see everyday Thai ways
and practise your newly acquired language skills on a community genuinely appreciative
of such efforts.
Sights
Phra Pathom Chedi
F
In the centre of town, rising to 127m, is one of the tallest Buddhist monuments in the
world. The original stupa was erected in the early 6th century by the Theravada Buddhists
of Dvaravati. But, in the early 11th century the Khmer king, Suriyavarman I of Angkor,
conquered the city and built a Brahman
prang
(Hindi/Khmer-style stupa) over the sanctu-
ary. The Burmese of Bagan, under King Anawrahta, sacked the city in 1057 and the
prang
lay in ruins until Rama IV (King Mongkut) had it restored in 1860.
On the eastern side of the monument, in the
bòht,
is a
Dvaravati-style Buddha
seated in a
European pose similar to the one in Wat Phra Meru in Ayuthaya. It may, in fact, have
come from there.
Also of interest are the many examples of Chinese sculpture carved from a greenish
stone that came to Thailand as ballast in the bottom of 19th-century Chinese junks. Op-
posite the
bòht
is a
museum
(admission by donation; 9am-4pm Wed-Sun)
, with some interesting
Dvaravati sculpture and lots of old junk. Within the
chedi
complex is
Lablae Cave
, an artifi-
cial tunnel containing the shrine of several Buddha figures.
The
wát
surrounding the stupa enjoys the kingdom's highest temple rank, Rachavorama-
havihan; it's one of only six temples so honoured in Thailand. King Rama VI's ashes are
interred in the base of the Sukhothai-era Phra Ruang Rochanarit, a large standing Buddha
image in the wát's northern
wí·hăhn
.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Phutthamonthon
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
