Asahna Bucha Day saw me revisit one of my favourite Thai temples, Wat Pa Pradu. The original Wat was built during the Ayutthaya period, though the original buildings have all been replaced or rebuilt. One of the smaller buildings (bosth – which has a similar meaning to church) is actually an original building dating back to the late 1700s and some of the original stones are housed underneath. You can crouch and crawl underneath to view them (though most locals will do this multiple times for luck and prosperity), but there isn’t a lot of room, so banged heads and back ache tend to result.
Wat Pa Pradu is known for it’s left leaning Buddha, which is covered in small squares of gold leaf placed by worshippers (See my previous post to see the Buddha). There is an art to this, as I learned the hard way on my first visit. (The heat makes the gold leaf stick to your fingers, so it’s very easy to end up covering yourself in gold instead of the Buddha). Apparently this Buddha statue is also from the Ayutthaya period, so when you place the gold on the statue, you really are touching a piece of history.
One of the older Thai Wats still operating, it largly gets forgotten in favour of the newer, grander and larger Wats around Thailand, but Wat Pa Pradu really is an amazing place to visit.
You can view the photos from my previous visit here.
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