Photo Gallery
Wat Lai Hin (built 1683 onward)
Wat Lai Hin is not to be confused with a similarly named modern monastery just a few kilometers to the southwest. The Wat Lai Hin shown here is known as the "Monastery of the Standing Elephant with the Stone Shoulder". This fairly small wat contains several architectural gems--a traditional Lanna-style viharn and an old ubosot contained within a square enclosure fronted on the east side by a fabulously decorated stucco archway. The archway and the buildings within were constructed in 1683 by a prince and his followers hailing from Keng Tung, now in Burma. Like numerous other Lanna monasteries, such as nearby Wat Pong Yang Khok, the site of the wat was selected by an elephant when it stopped here en route from India with a Buddhist relic--or so goes the legend.
Bibliography:
Image credits: All images copyright 2008 Timothy M Ciccone. Photographed early March, 2008, USA.
Aasen, Clarence. Architecture of Siam: A Cultural History Interpretation
Oxford University Press, 1998. Kuala Lumpur
Amranand, Ping & Warren, William. Art & Design of Northern Thailand: Lanna Style
Sirivatana Inerprint Public Co., 2000. Bangkok
Cummings, Joe. Lonely Planet: Thailand
Lonely Planet Publications, 1990. Singapore
Freeman, Michael. Lanna: Thailand's Northern Kingdom
River Books, 2001. Thailand
Lassus, Pongkwan (Sukwattana). Architectural Heritage in Thailand
Amarin Printing and Publishing, 2004. Bangkok
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White Lotus Co., 1992. Bangkok
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Oxford University Press, 1990. Kuala Lumpur
Sthapitanonda, Nithi & Mertens, Brian. Architecture of Thailand: A Guide to Traditional and Contemporary Forms
Thames and Hudson, 2005. Singapore
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