Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Walking east of the Old City

Wat San Pa Khoi

Walking along Charoen Muang Road towards the railway station, I passed through the neighborhood known as San Pa Khoi in the Wat Ket district of Chiang Mai. There is a neighborhood temple here, so I went to have a look. This temple is clearly not as clean, polished, and restored as some of the busier temples, but a nice local temple. And there are signs of recent and ongoing renovation. The entrance is fairly plain, and being well away from tourist areas, the signs here have no English translation.

Inside the courtyard, the viharn is fairly typical of northern Thai temples. The doorway and inside are very nicely decorated. I particularly like the colorful star-like designs around the entrance. The large Buddha statue stands out brightly against the blue tile background.

To the right of the viharn entrance were these statues. I could find no description in Thai or online. They have some characteristics of yaksha, but look more human-like. I’m very puzzled.

South of the viharn was a ubosot under renovation. The thewada here are blue, something I have never seen, and the railing supports also blue. A blue-themed ubosot.

The chedi is very modern-looking and appears to have been recently renovated. It is guarded by a long line of all-white thewada.

On my way out of Wat San Pa Khoi I noticed the gate had a blue thewada in the design, and also blue letters. The lettering translates to “Mr. Lek Mrs. Thongphan Kongkaew Rao,” likely a tribute to those who donated funds for the gate or made a significant donation to the temple. Very interesting and creative.

Next: Railway Station Walk – 3 – the Railway Station