Journeys From A Small Room

Wat Bang Khae Noi “7-piece teak church” Samut Songkhram Wat Bang Khae Noi in Samut Songkhram Thailand.

During my road trip down to the South of Thailand in December 2018, I stopped at Samut Songkhram, not only for the maeklong railway market but to visit some of it’s original Wats. Of which there are many!

Wat Bang Khae Noi is located in Tambon Khwae Om by the Mae Klong River.

This temple was built by Khunying Chui (Noi) Wongsarot in 1868. Initially, the Ubosot (ordination hall) was built on the bamboo raft tied to a Bodhi tree on the river bank. At present, the temple is well restored. The most interesting thing is the ordination hall’s inside walls which are woodcarvings in Teak depicting the Lord Buddha’s history, birth, enlightenment, and nirvana, as well as stories of the Lord Buddha’s Ten Incarnations or Jatakas.

The beautiful and explicit design was made by craftsmen from Phetchaburi province where woodcarving is famous for this style of work.

There are a lot of Buddhist temples in Thailand and there are a few unique and interesting ones – the Wat Bang Kung วัดบางกุ้ง is one of them. It is actually a temple built within a huge banyan tree! Wat Bang Kung is located in Amphawa district, Samut Songkhram.

Within the Wat entwined tree, there is a large Buddha statue pasted with gold leaves by devout visitors who will walk around the Buddha It appears that a concrete structure had been built within the tree to house the temple.

Within the grounds from Wat Bang Kung lies the memorial to Bang Kung Camp, once a strategic naval outpost. Back in 1767, after the defeat of old Siam capital of Ayutthaya by Burmese forces, general Taksin took his navy down to this area after Burmese ships blocked the route to the gulf. It was from here that Taksin led his troops to take back Ayutthaya from the Burmese and eventually becoming King of Siam.

Besides statues of soldiers dressed in 18th century military wear, there are dozens of life-size statues of Muay Thai kick-boxers displaying different Muay Thai moves, which were added in the late 20th century.

Phra Ramrajnivet Palace Petchaburi is a hidden gem, which I visited on my journey to South Thailand.

Phra Ramrajnivet Palace or Ban Puen Palace was built by King Rama V in European style at Ban Puen village by the Phetchaburi river in 1910 to be his retreat in the rainy season.

It was a model of the summer palace of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, built in a mixture of Baroque and Art Nouveau style. Originally called “Wang Ban Pun”, the palace is situated to the south of the town.

The construction began in 1909 at the command of King Rama V to be his rainy season palace. A German architect, Mr. Karl Deurring designed the palace, while Admiral HRH Prince Boriphat of Nakhonsawan and HRH Prince Damrong supervised the construction. The construction was completed in 1916 in the reign of King Rama VI.

The palace was used to welcome and accommodate state visitors during the reign of King Rama VI.

Nowadays, the palace is on the grounds of the local Army Base, and there are restrictions regarding entry because of this.

The trees in front of the palace are remarkable and worth having a wander through, just so you can find where the roots begin and end!