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is the final resting place of this great king. After Taksin's death, his body was cremated
and his ashes brought here and interred in the stupa on the right, the ashes of his queen
being buried in the stupa on the left. Rama III bestowed the temple's present name, Wat
Intharam, when the temple was enlarged. The statue of the king upon his horse, sabre held
high in his right hand, horse and king alike freckled with gold leaf, is a recent one, and
a far more modest monument than the one at Wong Wian Yai. Sculpted life-size, it was
commissioned soon after the end of World War II ., when several miniature models were
made by prospective sculptors and it was left to the public to decide which they liked best.
Wat Intharam is today a place of pilgrimage for the Thais, especially those of Chinese des-
cent, who in addition to coming here on the anniversary of Taksin's coronation also pay
homage at Chinese New Year. The third of the Bang Yi Rua temples, incidentally, still ex-
ists and is known as Wat Chantharam.
Wat Intharam's compound backs directly onto the canal bank, where a frequent long-
tail boat service whisks visitors along Bangkok Yai and out to the Chao Phraya River. Next
to the pier is a fine old two-storey wooden house whose front entrance uses a traditional
Teochew method for securing the building against intruders. Erected inside the doorway
are three or four wooden pillars. To get in or out, a person inside the house needs to re-
move a pillar. The pillars cannot be lifted from outside. As long as there is someone wait-
ing at home, and as long as you don't severely upset that person, it's a pretty good system,
as there is no key to be lost.
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