SANGKHLA BURI
Among the many attractions of Sangkhla Buri, a scenic mountain district in Kanchanaburi bordering Burma, is a Mon temple that for most part of the year remains unseen, submerged under water. This year, however, it has resurfaced rather early and visitors are rushing there in hordes.
A Buddhist monk walks in the old chapel that has become submerged beneath the reservoir every year for decades.
"Normally the water level is not this low until summer, after a long period of drought," my boatman told me. "But rainfall this season was uncharacteristically low, so we were able to see the temple's ubosoth as early as November."
He was speaking of the chapel of Wat Wangwiwekaram, a Buddhist Mon temple, submerged since 1984 following the construction of the Vajiralongkorn Dam.
It is the most famous temple in Sangkhla Buri. Built in 1953 by the late Luang Poh Utama, its first abbot, it sat on a hill the foot of which was meeting point of three rivers: Songalia, Bikhli and Ranti.
As the abbot's name and fame spread, Mons living in poverty across the border in Burma left their homes and found refuge around the temple. No wonder Sangkhla Buri boasts one of the biggest Mon communities in Thailand.
I had hired the boat in downtown Sangkhla Buri. After a 20-minute ride downstream, the chapel emerged into view, perched delicately on a grassy slope. A woman stood in front of the temple, which was almost in a state of ruin, selling flowers, incense and candles to visitors arriving to pay homage to the principal Buddha image enshrined inside the chapel.
Stepping inside gingerly, I found that the chapel had lost its roof cover while the Buddha statue that sat on a plinth was riddled with cracks, the result of remaining under water for long periods. But on this day it was soaked in sunshine. Lending to the scene were girls from a nearby school looking down excitedly, watching my every step.
Pagoda in Bodh Gaya-style at Wat Wangwiwekaram, surrounded by a bamboo frame.
"It is an old chapel. Once its walls were stacked with hundreds of Buddha images," they told me. The chapel is their playground where they're sometimes joined by villagers and monks.
Luang Poh Utama and the villagers built this chapel from bricks they baked with their own hands, which is why the locals have a deep sense of attachment to the temple.
When the dam was under construction many of the residents relocated elsewhere but there were others who stayed and moved to a higher ground, to a nearby hill known today by the name Ban Kao or old village.
If you travel around Sangkhla Buri, you can sense the feeling local people have for religion and temples. At dawn, housewives prepare food for monks and nuns, while men help with temple repairs, restoration and other works, and when it is time they ordain as monks.
Temples basically are an extension of the daily life of the Mon people. Religion is what binds them such that they attend to their own problems together, like fixing the wooden bridge that connects downtown Sangkhla Buri, without having to wait for assistance from the government.
One of the most outstanding expressions of their religious faith is an elegant Bodh Gaya-style pagoda. The day I was visiting it was framed with bamboo structures.
"We are about to repaint the pagoda. The last time we did it was several years ago. New paint will make it look more beautiful," a monk explained.
A wax figure of Luang Poh Utama, spiritual leader of the Mon people in Sangkhla Buri.
I could see monks, novices and lay people climb up the bamboo scaffolding to adorn the pagoda with Buddha statues and ceramic ware etc.
This way they keep themselves busy. It is a kind of relief. It helps them to get over the loss of Luang Poh Utama, who passed away in 2006. If you need to know how much the people loved the abbot, go see his wax figure at Wat Wangwiwekaram. You will also be amazed by the elegant decorative items they have created in his honour.
The wax figure is as good as real, and watching it gave me an idea of how strongly the Mon people feel about religion and their former abbot.
Tourists cruising on the reservoir witness the old chapel that becomes submerged every year.
TRAVELTIPS
Sangkhla Buri is some 330km west of Bangkok. Motorists from Bangkok can take Highway 4 and 323 to get there. Driving time is around five hours.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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