158-162 The Old Row House on Charoen Muang Road

Location: 158-162 Charoen Muang Road, Tumbol Wat Ked, Amphur Muang, Chiang Mai

Occupant: Mister Narong Noenbhunsk

This is the ancient wooden row house situated in Chiang Mai province, one of the few that still remains today. Its most outstanding feature is its balcony and the gorgeous wooden carved stair rails. The property has passed through a few hands to its current owner, Mister Norong Noenbhunsuk, who has been living there for sixty years. In the past the house was a sell and repair bicycle shop under the name “Lioew Shun Lee”.

Ubosot and Scripture Hall Wat Na Phra That

Location: Moo 1, Tumbon Taku, Amphur Pak Thong Chai, Nakorn Ratchasima

Occupant: Wat Na Phra That

Year established: 1787

Wat Na Phra That or Wat Taku is an ancient temple in the Pak Thong Chai district. It was built in 1787, in the era of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I). According to legend, people migrated from Wiang Chan in the reign of King Taksin. While villagers had cleaned up the land for agricultural purposes, they found the Buddha relic in the forest. So they wrote a letter to the monks demanding for a temple to be built in the community. The temple later wwas named “Na Phra That”. People set their houses closer to the temple. In the past, this location was full of the Taku trees, so the trees name was used to call the sub-district, Tumbon Taku.

The original ubosot is situated beside the new ubosot. The building has a curved base characteristic. The roof has an elongated carved apex of the gable (chofa), a bai raka (to represent the scales or spines of nagas) and a hang hongse (Swan’s tail). This architecture is similar to the popular royal architecture in the reign of King Rama III. The interior decorations of the ubosot depict the complete history of Buddha with various images, such as the chadok, Phra Bod, the Buddha footprint worship, funeral and Phra Malai. In the past, the exterior of the ubosot had mural paintings. Today, they can be seen only above the front entrance.

The Scripture or Dharma Hall is located in the front of the ubosot, surrounded by the pool. It is a high raised building with the architecture of a traditional Thai house with a gable roof. It has a carved wooden partition wall. The entrance door is decorated with gliding paintings about Buddha’s history, Thep Chumnum, Pum Kao Bin Kan Yang and Phra Mae Torance, they images of Thep Chumnum and Dok Mai Ruang. Today this scripture hall is no longer used for its intended purpose.