Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
been no navy. The fighting forces were regarded as soldiers, whether they went by land
or water. Now, under Rama V , the Royal Navy was formed. (Language clings stubbornly
to the old ways: the Thai word for soldier is taharn , and for sailor is taharnrua , or “boat
soldier”. (A member of the Royal Thai Air Force is a taharnagaht , or “air soldier”.) Early
in 1890, Rama V officially designated the land directly to the south of Wat Rakhang as the
Thonburi Naval Dockyard, and a decade later Taksin's palace was brought into the Navy
complex, being designated in 1906 as the Royal Thai Navy Academy. After World War II it
became apparent that Thonburi was no longer large enough to build and maintain mod-
ern fighting ships, and other Navy bases were opened at Samut Prakharn and Sattahip,
near to Pattaya. This part of Thonburi, however, remains dotted with Navy buildings, in-
cluding the Department of Naval Engineering, the Bangkok Naval Hospital, and the Royal
Thai Navy Crematorium, which is attached to Wat Khrua Wan, a temple noted for having
the most complete and best preserved set of Jataka paintings in Thailand.
When Rama I moved the capital across the river and Wang Derm ceased to be a royal
palace, the two temples that had previously been encompassed in the compound by King
Taksin were released to become public temples once more.
Wat Molilokkayaram stands at the mouth of Taksin's moat, tucked in beside Wi-
chaiprasit Fort, but to casual visitors it is almost invisible and indeed takes some effort to
actually find. Approaching by road over the bridge across Klong Bangkok Yai, the temple
is visible fleetingly as a huddle of red roofs, and a U-turn is required to enter the tiny lane
that takes its name from the temple and which will lead the visitor over the moat and into
the compound, which is surprisingly large, covering five acres of land. When Taksin estab-
lished his court, this temple was already here. It was known as Wat Tai Talat, which means
“the temple behind the market”, so there must have been a market here right against the
walls of the fort. Taksin incorporated the temple into his palace boundary. Under Sia-
mese tradition no monks are allowed to reside in a temple in a royal compound between
dusk and dawn, the religious activities being reserved for the monarchy, but when Rama
I moved the capital across the river he allowed monks to take up residence. he oldest
building in the compound is the wiharn , which, oddly, Taksin used for storing salt, and
the building is still known as Phra Wiharn Chag Klua. The wiharn is a mix of Thai and
Chinese styles, with ceramic roof tiles, and gable spires and ridges decorated with stucco.
Rama I built the ubosot , which has very fine Siamese painting on the interior walls and
the ceiling, and beautifully carved and lacquered door and window frames. A library was
later added, an unusual construction with masonry on the first level, a wooden structure
at the second, and a chedi at each end. There are deep alcoves around the base housing
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