Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To complete a trio of threes, three members of the royal family built Wat Tri Thot-
sathep, on the other side of Samsen Road. Prince Supradit, a son of Rama
IV
, intended to
build this temple, which was to be located near his palace. He passed away in 1862 be-
fore the work could begin, and so Prince Nopphawong, another of the king's sons, took it
up. He passed away in 1867, before the building was complete, so Rama
IV
himself com-
pleted the work. The temple name translates as “Temple Built by Three Deities”. There are
three Buddha images in the
ubosot
, the two standing figures having been supplied by the
king; the clothes they are wearing belonged to the two princes. The temple is royal third
grade, and it has splendour in the marble and granite used in the construction, the soaring
golden
chedi
, and ornate golden detailing to the roof and the window frames. The murals
have recently been painted by national artist Chakrabhand Posayakrit.
Follow Samsen Road northwards and under the elevated express-way is a temple that
because of the highway structure and the surrounding buildings is almost obscured. Only
by entering the slip road on the right does Wat Intharawihan become visible, which is
odd, really, as the temple's main attraction is an immense Buddha figure in the compound,
standing 32 metres (105 ft) high, and under other circumstances it would be dominating
the landscape. Popularly known as Wat In, the temple dates back to the late Ayutthaya
period, when it was known as Wat Bang Khunphrom Nok, after the name of the locality
in which it stands. Rama
I
provided land in this area for the settlement of Lao prisoners of
war, and the temple was renovated by a nobleman named Chao Inthawong, who also ar-
ranged for a priest from Vientiane to be installed as abbot. The temple took its new name
from Chao Inthawong. Building of the Buddha figure began in 1867 but the work was
not completed for another sixty years, in 1927. The idea of building the enormous struc-
ture, which is made of brick and stucco, was that of the temple's abbot, Ajarn Toh. He was
already elderly when the work began, and died at the foot of the image when he had gone
to inspect it one night in 1871. A bust of the abbot, now encrusted with gold leaf, is placed
near the entrance to the temple. The Buddha is a standing figure, holding an alms bowl,
and there is a structure at the back by which devotees can climb and add pieces of gold
leaf to the body. The image is named Luang Phor To. The flame-like topknot contains rel-
ics of the Buddha, which were donated by the government of Sri Lanka and placed there
in 1978.
In 1982, when the city of Bangkok celebrated its 200
th
anniversary, restoration works
were carried out and the image was decorated with Italian golden mosaic tiles. Every day
worshippers visit the temple complex to make offerings, traditionally bringing gifts of
mackerel, a boiled egg and a garland of flowers to place at the enormous toes of the statue.
