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Wat Thum Muang Na and another variation of where King Naresuan died
After a few days with quite a bit of rain we had another nice sunny day so time to have a look up North and in particular at Wat Thum Muang Na which is now also known as Wat Phuttha Phrom Panyo. I had heard about this temple but never had taken the time to visit. The temple is located in a cave near Mueang Na and the Thailand/Myanmar border north of Chiang Dao. I had expected a small temple but to be honest, I was not really ready for what I found. Being Asarnha Bucha Day I found hundreds of people at the temple grounds but that was not all as there were also large new buildings which linked directly to the main cave. This probably has to do with that Luangta Ma who is the abbot of the temple decided to give up his solitary life in the cave in order to help others to practise. He began building a temple around the cave in Muang Na. At the same time, he started to teach the Dhamma to people who came to the temple and he instructed them in meditation practice. Luangta Ma was able to attract a considerable following and he is now widely recognised in Northern Thailand.
The entrance to the temple which is located at N19.75389 E98.89785 north of Rd. 1178
But first a bit about the history of the cave: Thum (Tham) Muang Na is located to the east of the main path that was used by Thai and Burmese garrisons during the Ayuddhaya era (presumably this was where now the now closed Kew Pha Wok border crossing is located as the road to the north leads to Monton). It is located in Thailand, approximately 1.5 km from the border with Burma. According to history, this was the main route used by King Naresuan to move his troops to fight against the Angwa army that invaded Gnai and Saen Wi. King Naresuan took his troops to Chiang Mai and from there he took his troops to set up camp in Muang Gnai City (see KTMPhil's report here at http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/thailand-ride-reports/5904-weekend-looking-new-stuff-around-chiang-dao.html#post45145 and for the link to one theory on the death of King Naresuan here http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/thailand-ride-reports/5904-weekend-looking-new-stuff-around-chiang-dao.html#post45150. From Muang Gnai, he took his troops past Muang Na, and arrived in Thung Kaew, which is a district of Muang Han City. (Now the city is located in Burma, called Muang Tuan City or Monton). In Muang Han, King Naresuan's troops fought against the Angwa army. It was in Thung Kaew that the king is thought to have contracted small pox.
Now follows a bit of theory or maybe wishful thinking as there are quite a few theories about what happened and where King Naresuan died: When King Naresuan fell ill, his condition grew steadily worse. His general may have moved the troops back through the same route, past Muang Na but on the way, his condition became much worse. The general halted the journey to find emergency care for the ailing king. At that time, the best place for this purpose was a cave, as they had no time to set up a temporary camp for his troops, who returned to Muang Gnai. It is thus that King Naresuan may have died in one of these caves where he is believed to have taken rest. Is it possible that King Naresuan, who was stricken with small pox, died in this area, and in this cave rather than in the Burmese district of Thung Kaew (Mongton), as some of the historical records state.
Some pictures from the temple website of the cave which is located some 8 meter up into the rock face
and this is how it looked like about a year ago when they started construction of a new temple. The white building on the left-center of the picture has been built against the rockface and connects at the 4th floor with the main cave which contains the original temple area. On the right-center are concrete walkways which are running along and up against the rock face and contain buddha statues and higher up lead to some meditation kuti's
The 4th floor which connect with the cave - lots of tents had been set up on the 2nd and 3rd and some on the 4th floor to accomodate devotees who came for the Asarnha Bucha cermony and to meditate
In the background the cave with Buddha and other statues
Luangpu Du Phromapanyo who was the main mentor of Luangta Ma
View from the concrete walkway of the new temple building
Statues of monks and Buddhas on the walkway with a statue of Luangpu Du Phromapanyo on the left
After the visit to the Cave/Temple I headed back in the direction of Chiang Dao but I made a few side trips trying to find the Tung Kaew Waterfall and a quick trip up to Wat Doi Mon Ching to see if their "Golden Rock" had materialized (see http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...th-temples-border-crossings-other-things.html and http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...ts/3787-up-north-another-one-day-loop.htmlfor my previous visits to this wat)
I had seen this picture of the Tung Kaew waterfall which looked quite impressive even-though the area where the falls are located looked quite flat so just a bit south of the junction of Rd 1178 and Rd. 1340 to Arunotai I took Rd. 3038 as the waterfall should be somewhere along that road.
It took quite a bit of riding back and fro before I had found the right turnoff but in the end I did manage to find it but I found the falls rather disappointing
Wat Doi Mon Ching
Views from Wat Doi Mon Ching
And yes, the "Golden Mount" is taking shape but at the moment it is more like a "concrete shell mount"
and it will take quite a bit of work and effort to make it look like what the sign board on the main road shows
By the way, in case anyone is interested in more info on Wat Thum Muang Na you will be able to find it on their website: Wat Thum Muang Na
After a few days with quite a bit of rain we had another nice sunny day so time to have a look up North and in particular at Wat Thum Muang Na which is now also known as Wat Phuttha Phrom Panyo. I had heard about this temple but never had taken the time to visit. The temple is located in a cave near Mueang Na and the Thailand/Myanmar border north of Chiang Dao. I had expected a small temple but to be honest, I was not really ready for what I found. Being Asarnha Bucha Day I found hundreds of people at the temple grounds but that was not all as there were also large new buildings which linked directly to the main cave. This probably has to do with that Luangta Ma who is the abbot of the temple decided to give up his solitary life in the cave in order to help others to practise. He began building a temple around the cave in Muang Na. At the same time, he started to teach the Dhamma to people who came to the temple and he instructed them in meditation practice. Luangta Ma was able to attract a considerable following and he is now widely recognised in Northern Thailand.
The entrance to the temple which is located at N19.75389 E98.89785 north of Rd. 1178
But first a bit about the history of the cave: Thum (Tham) Muang Na is located to the east of the main path that was used by Thai and Burmese garrisons during the Ayuddhaya era (presumably this was where now the now closed Kew Pha Wok border crossing is located as the road to the north leads to Monton). It is located in Thailand, approximately 1.5 km from the border with Burma. According to history, this was the main route used by King Naresuan to move his troops to fight against the Angwa army that invaded Gnai and Saen Wi. King Naresuan took his troops to Chiang Mai and from there he took his troops to set up camp in Muang Gnai City (see KTMPhil's report here at http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/thailand-ride-reports/5904-weekend-looking-new-stuff-around-chiang-dao.html#post45145 and for the link to one theory on the death of King Naresuan here http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-forum/thailand-ride-reports/5904-weekend-looking-new-stuff-around-chiang-dao.html#post45150. From Muang Gnai, he took his troops past Muang Na, and arrived in Thung Kaew, which is a district of Muang Han City. (Now the city is located in Burma, called Muang Tuan City or Monton). In Muang Han, King Naresuan's troops fought against the Angwa army. It was in Thung Kaew that the king is thought to have contracted small pox.
Now follows a bit of theory or maybe wishful thinking as there are quite a few theories about what happened and where King Naresuan died: When King Naresuan fell ill, his condition grew steadily worse. His general may have moved the troops back through the same route, past Muang Na but on the way, his condition became much worse. The general halted the journey to find emergency care for the ailing king. At that time, the best place for this purpose was a cave, as they had no time to set up a temporary camp for his troops, who returned to Muang Gnai. It is thus that King Naresuan may have died in one of these caves where he is believed to have taken rest. Is it possible that King Naresuan, who was stricken with small pox, died in this area, and in this cave rather than in the Burmese district of Thung Kaew (Mongton), as some of the historical records state.
Some pictures from the temple website of the cave which is located some 8 meter up into the rock face
and this is how it looked like about a year ago when they started construction of a new temple. The white building on the left-center of the picture has been built against the rockface and connects at the 4th floor with the main cave which contains the original temple area. On the right-center are concrete walkways which are running along and up against the rock face and contain buddha statues and higher up lead to some meditation kuti's
The 4th floor which connect with the cave - lots of tents had been set up on the 2nd and 3rd and some on the 4th floor to accomodate devotees who came for the Asarnha Bucha cermony and to meditate
In the background the cave with Buddha and other statues
Luangpu Du Phromapanyo who was the main mentor of Luangta Ma
View from the concrete walkway of the new temple building
Statues of monks and Buddhas on the walkway with a statue of Luangpu Du Phromapanyo on the left
After the visit to the Cave/Temple I headed back in the direction of Chiang Dao but I made a few side trips trying to find the Tung Kaew Waterfall and a quick trip up to Wat Doi Mon Ching to see if their "Golden Rock" had materialized (see http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...th-temples-border-crossings-other-things.html and http://www.rideasia.net/motorcycle-...ts/3787-up-north-another-one-day-loop.htmlfor my previous visits to this wat)
I had seen this picture of the Tung Kaew waterfall which looked quite impressive even-though the area where the falls are located looked quite flat so just a bit south of the junction of Rd 1178 and Rd. 1340 to Arunotai I took Rd. 3038 as the waterfall should be somewhere along that road.
It took quite a bit of riding back and fro before I had found the right turnoff but in the end I did manage to find it but I found the falls rather disappointing
Wat Doi Mon Ching
Views from Wat Doi Mon Ching
And yes, the "Golden Mount" is taking shape but at the moment it is more like a "concrete shell mount"
and it will take quite a bit of work and effort to make it look like what the sign board on the main road shows
By the way, in case anyone is interested in more info on Wat Thum Muang Na you will be able to find it on their website: Wat Thum Muang Na
