Wat Boworn

Wat Bowonniwet Vihara (Thai: วัดบวรนิเวศวิหาร) is one of the most important royal temple, a major Buddhist temple (wat) in Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok, Thailand. The temple
is a center of the Thammayut Nikaya school of Thai Theravada Buddhism and has been a major temple of patronage for the Chakri dynasty. It is the shrine-hall of Phra Phutthachinasri (พระพุทธชินสีห์) which was moulded in about 1357. The temple is also the residence of the current Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand named “Somdej Phra Yanasungworn”. Wat Bowonniwet Vihara is a Royal Buddhist monastery of the Dhammayut tradition. The monastery’s name comes from the Pali language,(Pavara)' and (Niwesa), and translates as Temple of the Excellent Abode.

Royal patronage
Prince Bhikkhu Mongkut arrived at the temple in 1836 (ordination name: Vajirañāṇo) and became the first abbot. He later acceeded to the throne of Siam as King Rama IV. His great grandson, King Bhumibol Adulyadej ordained at the Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew) and resided here for a short period after he became King. Bhumibol's mentor,
Somdet Phra Yanasangworn, eventually became abbot of the temple, and later, the Supreme Patriarch of Thai Buddhism. Exiled dictator Thanom Kittikachorn returned to Thailand as a novice monk to join Wat Bowonniwet leading to large public demonstrations and a bloody crackdown in October 1976. King Bhumibol Adulyadej's son, Prince Vajiralongkorn was ordained and spent a short period at this temple, as well as several of the Prince's own sons.

Phra Phrom Katha

Om kara bindu natam uppannam brohmasaha patinama atikappe su a kate panca patunam tisva namo buddhaya vandanam. Siddhi kiccam siddhi kammam siddhi kariya tadakato siddhi teco jayo niccam siddhi labho nirantaram sabbakammam
prasiddhime sabbasiddhi bhavantu. （3x）

Hat Yai

Hat Yai (Thai: หาดใหญ่; also Haad Yai / Had Yai) is a city in southern Thailand near the boundary to Malaysia. Geographical location 7°1′N 100°28′E / 7.017°N 100.467°E / 7.017; 100.467. With a population of 157,359 (2008) in the core city and about 800,000 in the Greater Hat Yai. Hat Yai is the biggest city of Songkhla Province and the largest metropolitan area in Southern Thailand, and is thus often mistaken as being the capital of the province. However Songkhla is the capital and the center of administration and culture while Hat Yai is the business center. The two cities are considered as twin cities due to the close connection, accordingly, Hat Yai and Songkhla form the Greater Hatyai-Songkhla Metropolitan Area.

The name "Hat Yai" is a short version of "Ma Hat Yai", meaning big Ma Hat (Thai: มะหาด) tree, a relative of jackfruits in genus Artocarpus.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya (Thai: อาณาจักรอยุธยา, RTGS: Anachak Ayutthaya) was a Siamese kingdom that existed from 1351 to 1767 until it was invaded by the Burmese. Ayutthaya was friendly towards foreign traders, including the Chinese, Vietnamese (Annam), Indians, Japanese and Persians, and later the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and French, permitting them to set up villages outside the city walls. In the sixteenth century, it was described by foreign traders as one of the biggest and wealthiest cities in the East. The court of King Narai (1656-1688) had strong links with that of King Louis XIV of France, whose ambassadors compared the city in size and wealth to Paris. Before Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese invasion in 1767, its vassals included the Northern Shan states of present-day Myanmar, Lanna (Chiang Mai, Thailand), Yunnan & Shan Sri (China), Lan Xang (Laos), Champa (Vietnam), and some city-states in the Malay Peninsula.

According to foreign accounts, Ayutthaya Kingdom was officially known as Siam but many sources also said Ayutthaya people called themselves as Tai of Krung Tai, or the Kingdom of the Tais.

Phra Phrom

Phra Phrom (from Sanskrit: Para Brahma) is the Thai representation of the Hindu god Brahma. A celebrated example of this representation is the statue of Brahma at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. The golden dome of the Government House of Thailand also contains a statue of Phra Phrom.

The Erawan Shrine was built in 1956 as part of the government-owned Erawan Hotel to eliminate the bad karma believed caused by laying the foundations on the wrong date.

The hotel's construction was delayed by a series of mishaps, including cost overruns, injuries to laborers, and the loss of a shipload of Italian marble intended for the building. Furthermore, the Ratchaprasong Intersection had once been to put criminals on public display.

An astrologer practices one or more forms of astrology. Typically an astrologer draws a horoscope for the time of an event, such as a person's birth, and interprets celestial points and their placements at the time of the event to better understand someone, determine the auspiciousness of an undertaking's beginning, etc....
advised building the shrine to counter the negative influences. The Brahma statue was designed and built by the Department of Fine Arts and enshrined on 9 November 1956. The hotel's construction thereafter proceeded without further incident. In 1987, the hotel was demolished and the site used for the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.

The shrine is located by the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, at the Ratchaprasong intersection of Ratchadamri Road in Pathum Wan district, Bangkok, Thailand. It is near the Bangkok Skytrain's Chitlom Station, which has an elevated walkway overlooking the shrine. The area has many shopping malls nearby, including Gaysorn, CentralWorld and Amarin Plaza.










Erawan Shrine (San Phra Phrom) in front of Grand Hyatt Erawan.

The significance of the four faces of the Brahma was to offer help to the people who come to him from all directions.

It is also believed that there are special significance to the religions items held by the hand and its posture. The significance of the items interpreted is believed to be as follows:
• Sutra: Represents knowledge
• Beads: Controlling karma
• Spear: Will power
• Flower vase: Wish fulfillment
• Conch shell: Wealth and propserity
• Mystic position of hand placed on the chest: compassion
• Flying wheel: To avert disaster and calamities, suppresses evil.
• Cintamani: (a kind of fan used by monks for blessings): Power of blessings.

Worshippers of Phra Phom usually offer jasmine flowers or jasmine garlands and young coconut milk (with water in them) in their worship. Another common way of worship is to place wooden elephant statues on the altar to honor him. Phra Phrom is also known to admire Thai classical music, which is played near the altar, accompanied by
dancers. Worshippers of Phra Phrom are also usually advised to abstain from consuming meat.

Shrine vandalised
In the early hours of 21 March 2006, the shrine was vandalised by a Thai man believed to be mentally ill. After smashing the statue with a hammer, 27-year-old Thanakorn Pakdeepol was himself beaten to death by angry bystanders. Two street sweepers who worked for the Pathum Wan district office were arrested and charged with the fatal beating.

Witnesses said Thanakorn stood on the base of the statue with a large hammer in his hands, and smashed the hollow statue to pieces. The deity's four-faced head, torso, six arms and weapons were fragmented. Only the part of lap and base of the statue were left intact. The incident occurred at about 1 am. A white cloth was put up to conceal the absence of a statue. The shrine was closed to the public for time, but officials later reopened the site, displaying photographs of the statue so that worshippers could continue to pay their respects.

The new Brahma statue was completed and placed in the shrine on 21 May 2006 at 11:39 a.m., the time the sun was shining directly above the shrine. According to officials with the Religious Affairs Department and the Maha Brahma Foundation, it was made of plaster, mixed with a mixture of gold, bronze and other precious metals, along with pieces of the old statue. Another statue, made wholly of metal, was cast from the same mold, and will be kept in the National Museum.

LP Thuad Katha

Namo Tassa Pakawa Toh, Araha Toh, Samma Sam Phua Dha Sa (x3)
Namo Boddhi Sattho, Akantimaya, Iti Bhagava, Nacaliti (x3)
LP Thuad (x3)

Wat Chang Hai

This monastery is at Ban Pa Rai, Tambon Tung Pala, close to the railway (Hat Yai - Sungai Kolok route) between Na Pradu and Pa Rai Stations. It is located about 31 kilometres from Pattani town. By car, visitors can use highway no.42 (Pattani - Khok Pho), pass Na Ket Junction, then use highway no.409 (Pattani-Yala), pass Na Pradu Municipality and Wat Chang Hai Training Centre and turn to Wat Chang Hai for another 700 metres.

This old monastery was built for more than 300 years, with the sculpture of Luang Pu Tuad, once an abbot of the temple. Also, the architecture of stupa, chedi, temple, and bell tower are magnificently beautiful. Luang Pu Thuat, Wat Chang Hai, being respected by people all over the country, Luang Pu Thuat was an educational monk It was told that he was able to turn sea water into fresh water. Died in Malaysia, his body was brought back to Wat Chang Hai. The annual festival to pay respect to his bone and ashes is in April. At Wat Chang Hai, visitors can pay respect during 8 a.m.-5 p.m. daily.

You can go there by flight, train, bus, or van. My friend recommended me go to HatYai, then take the van to Wat Chang Hai, you can pay a visit to Wat Sai Kao en route.


note: You can take train to go there also.



note: Driving directions from Alor Star to Wat Chang Hai Rat Buranaram, Khuan Nori, Khok Pho, Pattani 94180, Thailand with distance of 172 km, take about 2 hours 33 mins.




note: Driving directions from HatYai to Wat Chang Hai Rat Buranaram, Khuan Nori, Khok Pho, Pattani 94180, Thailand with distance of 111 km, take about 1 hour 42 mins.