By the Chao Phraya River, on the west bank lies Wat Chaiwatthanaram, a royal temple where kings once performed religious ceremonies. Built by Prasat Thong in 1630, the Khmer-style temple was looted and destroyed by the Burmese armies in 1767. Thailand's Fine Arts Department did some restoration work in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s and today the ruins stand majestically, drawing tourists from near and far. Visitors have to pay a fee to enter understandably. Our tuk tuk took us there right after we visited Wat Lokayasutta and from outside, we had a good view of the temple. We decided not to enter and that was certainly a mistake. There was actually more than what met the eyes. Fragments of paintings and reliefs depicting life of Buddha as well as statues of the enlightened one adorn the interior. Never mind if some of the Buddha statues are headless, having lost the heads to looters. When one remember that the temple was built in the 16th century, one would be awed.
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