Phitsanulok ~ A Glimpse of Chinnaraj and the City

Moving on sa adventures ni Teh sa Thailand... From Ayutthaya, samahan si Teh on my journey to the not-so-north province of Phitsanulok ~ one of Sukhothai Kingdom's outpost and the birthplace of King Naresuan.

The road less traveled ~ Phitsanulok.

At this point in time of our journey, I had noticed na walang toll fee ang pagdaan sa mga expressways nila. Well, the reason is actually logical. Thais pay their taxes, and the good thing is that, their taxes are working for them. :)

~ Buranathai Buddha Foundry ~

Thai: โรงหล่อพระบูรณะไทย

After a 2-hour journey from Ayutthaya, narating namin ang isa sa pinakasikat na bronze Buddha factory in Thailand, ang Buranathai Buddha Foundry. Tunay na bronze ang composition ng mga statues na ginagawa nila rito kaya kahit malaglag, hindi mababasag. Akala ko kasi, sa resin or ceramic gawa ang lahat ng statues, at akala ko, hindi abot-kamay ang magkaroon ng bronze statue. Hehehe...

Field trip time here in the Buddha Factory! :D

Majority ng mga nire-reproduce nila rito ay ang Phra Buddha Chinnaraj statue, na siyang kino-consider ng mga Thai na pinakamagandang portrait ni Buddha. Isa ito sa mga artistic remnants ng Sukhothai period.

Dito, na-discover ni Teh kung paano ginagawa ang mga bronze Buddha statues. Sa naintindihan ko, ito ang process ng paggawa ng Bronze Buddha:

1. Pour hot wax sa mold.

2. Lagyan ng pako ang nahulmang wax

3. Plaster-an ang nahulmang wax

4. Palibutan ng wire

5. Plaster Part II

6. Pour hot bronze sa prototype

7. Linisin at kiskisin ng sandpaper ang prototype

8. Apply lacquer paint (usually red color ang gamit nila)

9. Sanding Part II

10. Apply black lacquer paint

11. Press gold leaves against the statue

12. Tapos na, thank you! Bilhin mo na 'yung gawa ko, teh! :)

Hay napaka-tedious. All for the love of Buddha. Very dedicated, just like our local Pinoy Holy Images sculptors... ^_^

Pero sabi ni Robbie, karamihan ng nasa factory ay mga adults na usually 35 years old pataas ang edad. Dahil sa kasalukuyang generation, wala gaanong interesado sa paggawa ng Buddha kung kaya't nangangamba ang mga Thai na mamatay ang industy at art na ito. 'Wag naman sana, kasi talagang maganda ang gawa nila. Mapamaliit na size man o pang-temple size na Buddha, laging perfection ang aim! :D

Photo of King Naresuan and other sights beside the temple.

~Wat Phra Sri Rattana Mahathat~

Thai: วัดพระศรีรัตนมหาธาตุ

Top photos: Inside Mahathat, monks preparing for the 6PM worship.
Bottom photos: Outdoor Buddha images.

Pagpasok namin sa temple exterior, nakita nina Teh ang mga nagdadasal at nagsisindi ng insenso sa mga outdoor Buddha images. Then moving further to the left, may nadaanan kaming statues ng mga manok pansabong na mukhang maglalaban. This is to honor King Naresuan's favorite sport - cockfighting. :) Pero sino nga ba itong si King Naresuan? Ito ang kuwento ni Robbie. One day, nang sinugod at sinunog ng mga Burmese ang Ayutthaya, dinakip nila ang isang batang Thai prince, who was actually Naresuan. Dinala siya ng mga Burmese back to Burma and doon na siya lumaki. Sabi niya sa sarili niya, one day, he will save his kingdom. And so, he learned the Burmese language, and there, dahil madalas siyang nakakapanood ng sabong, nagustuhan niya ito. So time came that he became a full-grown warrior that sometimes he participates sa mga pagsugod ng Burmese. Then the fateful day came. Naresuan challenged the Burmese King, who happened to be his good friend as well during his stay in Burma, in a single combat[1]. Naresuan won and was able to kill the Burmese king. (Oh well, blood will always be thicker than water.) And upon liberating Ayutthaya, siya na ang naging hari ng Thai kingdom.

Also, at this point, Robbie mentioned about the roof design of the Thai Buddhist temple. Kung mapapansin ninyo, ang mga patulis na gold ay parang mukha ng ibon. Hango ang design nito sa Garuda[2]. At 'yun namang mukhang alon na gold ay idea naman mula sa mythical creature na Naga[3].

Clockwise from Top Left: Huge Buddha standing image;
Holy Mother of Pearl; Beautiful Chinnaraj Signboard;
Rear temple Buddha image

Sa temple na nasa likod ng Mahathat, nakita namin ang isang golden Buddha (not the Chinnaraj image yet) at ang Holy Mother of Pearl na nasa pintuan. Then on the other side of the exterior, nakita nina Teh ang higanteng standing Buddha. Habang kami ay nakatitig sa malaking image na ito, in-explain ni Robbie ang different parts of Buddha's face. 'Yung patulis na portion ng Kanyang headdress symbolizes wisdom. 'Yung mga bilug-bilog sa headdress Niya depicts problems. The philosophy of Buddha says that men themselves create their own problems, which are, kung pag-iisipan nga naman, eh totoo. But then it's part of life. So kung ita-translate ang headdress ni Buddha, one gains wisdom when he or she triumphs against each problem he or she encounters or rather, creates. Ang direksyon ng mga mata ni Buddha, kung titignan, eh parang nakatingin sa ibaba. Buddhists believe kasi that Buddha watches over us from Everest or Heaven, tulad ni Lord sa langit nating mga Kristyano. Medyo parallel talaga ang Buddhism with Christianism. :)

Counterclockwise from Bottom: Singer/artist stage;
Vicinity Map of Phitsanulok center; The colorful Wat Rat Burana

Then we returned to the front of the Mahathat temple. Bago kami pumasok, napansin naming may stage na naka-setup sa gilid. May artista raw mamaya na magpe-perform after ng 6pm prayer or chant ng mga monks. 

The most beautiful Phra Buddha Chinnaraj... ^_^

Mga 5:30 PM na nang makapasok sina Teh sa loob ng Mahathat. Walang nasabi si Teh sa Chinnaraj Buddha kundi wow... as in ang ganda ng image na ito! To pay our respects, nagdasal na rin kami rito bago lumabas. Sa paglabas nina Teh, napansin naming nagpe-prepare na ang mga monks para sa pagsamba nila ng 6 PM. By the way, speaking of samba, Buddhists have no definite day of the week for worshipping, unlike sa Christians na every Sunday. Depende raw 'yon sa Buddhist calendar. Sometimes it falls on a Monday, on a Tuesday, and so on. Medyo complicated pala. Hehehe...

The Wat Mahathat of Phitsanulok

Before we left the whole temple, nasulyapan din ni Teh ang isa pang temple sa malapit - the colorful Wat Rat Burana. :) 

After that, we headed to our hotel in Phitsanulok, which is the Amarin Nakorn Hotel. Noong una, akala nina Teh sira ang ilaw. 'Yun pala eh nabobo lang si Teh. Kasi naman, indirect 'yung switches ng ibang ilaw. Dalawang switches ang kailangang i-on para mapailaw ang ibang ilaw. Naloka lang si Teh nang konti. :)))

Clockwise: Cambodian goddess at the hotel lobby; View from Teh's room;
Blowfish? Rainbowfish? Basta fish! :D

The bedroom

The bathroom

The hotel and its surroundings... :)

Anyway, so after naming mailapag ang mga gamit sa room, it's almost time for dinner. So, lumabas kami at naglakad papuntang night market. Parang Banchetto[4] lang. Napakaraming street food! Pad thai, mixed fruits, maki, exotic... basta ang daming choices! :D We were also able to taste the fish ball of Thailand... the fish triangle! Triangle kasi instead na bilugan ang shape nito, ito ay hugis-triangle. :D

The lively Phitsanulok night market! :)

Let's eat! :D

Ang ga-boteng rubbing alcohol ni beki. Bow!

And then, it so happened na naubusan sina Teh ng rubbing alcohol kung kaya't naghanap kami ng pharmacy or beauty store sa malapit. Then sa isang beauty store, naka-meet kami ng isang Thai beki na winner mag-English. Habang kinukuha ng kasama niya ang bote ng rubbing alcohol, in-entertain niya kami. Tinanong niya kami, "you're from the Philippine[s]?" So Teh said yes. Tapos bumanat si beki, sabi niya, "oh, you look like Vietnamese, and I look like a Korean!" In an impulse, sumagot si Teh ng "Perfect!" Mukha pala akong Vietnamese, hehehe... :D At sa paghahanap nitong alcohol natapos ang aming colorful Phitsanulok experience... ^_^

Let's proceed farther up north to the first seat of Thai kingdom - Teh's much-anticipated Sukhothai! Susunod sa The Adventures of Teh! Tanks for reading my travel diary... ^_^

Special thanks to the following people who made the Adventures of Teh in Thailand successful:

• Tour Coordinators Matt and Supattra of Travel Hub Thailand
• Tour Guide Robbie and Tour Driver Sakol of Travel Hub Thailand

~ Vocabulary ni Teh ~

[1] Single combat - ang labanan during early times kung saan ang dalawang warrior ay nakasakay sa elepante tapos paunahan silang mapatay ang isa. Ang mananatiling alive ang siyang winner. (Malamang!)
[2] Garuda - mythical bird.
[3] Naga - mythical sea serpent.
[4] Banchetto - Food night market sa Ortigas at sa Libis.