January 14, 2016

Wat Buppharam and Street Pizza (or the reverse order)

After yoga, catching up on some work, and a brief walk about part of the old city, I headed down Tha Phae Road away from the old walled city, down towards the Mae Ping River for an early dinner at Street Pizza, yes, again.

The food at Street Pizza is good, and it is a perfectly sized meal after a day of yoga, work, and walking. The restaurant is upstairs right on Tha Phae Road, a very busy street (getting across the street can be a challenge as there are only a couple of crosswalks with traffic lights, and Tha Phae Road is very busy).

A salad, with nice dark green lettuces, cucumbers, tomatoes, some carrot and onion with a balsamic dressing. Very nice.

A pepperoni pizza, just the right size for me when I am very hungry (10-inch).

A watermelon smoothie. The watermelon is in season here, and is very, very good. Very similar to watermelon from home, the fruit are a little smaller, and the taste is nearly identical.

You might be or likely are thinking, “you’re in Thailand, why aren’t you eating Thai food?” and I compltely get that. I eat a LOT of Thai food, and it is very good. Many, if not most chefs here pride themselves in their Pad Thai. And they are all a little different, and all are very good. I have no favorite, I have enjoyed Pad Thai at several restaurants. And, I do not take pictures of ALL my meals, only those when I have my camera with me (I’m using a camera, not a phone). Furthermore, Street Pizza is exceptional, similar to Ole’ across the street. Both make everything they serve on the premises, and pride themselves in using organic and/or locally-sources ingredients. The result is really, really good food.

Wat Buppharam

On the walk back up Tha Phae Road, I stopped in at an interesting local temple,  Wat Buppharam, also known as Wat Plai Klong. This is an older temple, outside the walled city, but on the main road from Tha Phae Gate to the Mae Ping River. Wat Buppharam was originally built in the late 1400s, and today houses the largest teak Buddha in Thailand. Much of what can be seen now at Wat Buppharam was rebuilt in the late 1800s with more reconstruction/restorations taking place into the 1990s.

The oldest structure on the temple grounds, a smaller ordination hall, the entrance of which is guarded by two mom creatures (pronounced “moam“). Moms are mythological four-legged aquatic guardian beasts.

The entrance of this and the main viharn (worship hall) both open to the north, unlike almost all viharn that open to the east to great the rising sun. There is a reason fr this, but I have not yet learned it.

A closer view of the moms – while they look old, they were built and placed here in 1989, only 27 years ago. (I am glad they are mythological – I would not want to encounter one, especially a hungry one, while walking in the forest or jungle.)

The inside of the smaller ordination hall. Very nice in its simplicity, more appealing to me than the more grandiosely-adorned interiors.

At the large viharn (worship hall), a standing Buddha with the outreaching hand. This is the Buddha position indicating “stop fighting.”

This viharn is two-stories. The lower floor has always been closed when I have visited, so I have never seen inside the lower floor. The main worship or congregation area is the second floor.

And in the main worship hall at Wat Buppharam is the teak Buddha, the largest Buddha statue made of teak in all of Thailand. The white image is solid teak and was carved after a vision by King Naresuan in the late 16th century, when he defeated the Burmese forces near Muang Ngai. This vision is depicted in the carved wood panels on the east wall.

The oldest structure on the temple grounds is this chedi, dating back to the original construction of the temple here in the late 1400s.  It does show its age, with the lower part being quite dirty. A restoration might be in order.

These thewada guard the entrance to the sacred well. The sacred water from this well was used to ordain royalty at some time in history.

Next: Wat Jed Yod and Wat U-Mong