Wat Khae (วัดแค)

Thai. Name of an old Buddhist temple in Suphanburi, whose name appears in the story of Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a masterpiece of Siamese literature. As such, the temple's compound has dedicated its garden to this tale, and turned it into a kind of theme park featuring statues of the protagonists and main characters from this romance. The garden is also home to a large 1,000 year old tamarind tree from which it is believed that Khun Phaen, one of the heroes of the story, took the leaves that he magically turned into hornets that attacked his enemy. In addition, there is a traditional wooden Reuan Thai house in the style of central Thailand named Khum Khun Phaen (คุ้มขุนแผน), i.e. ‘Khun Phaen's Cover’. It was built in an effort to reconstruct the mansion of this protagonist and houses a museum dedicated to the story. The garden also has a collection of bronze statues of senior monks that are depicted meditating under gilded koht umbrellas. In the back garden of Wat Khae is a statue of a monk seated in a meditative pose on the back of a giant hornet, known as Phaya Toh (พญาต่อ), i.e. the ‘Hornet King’, located underneath a large hornet's nest that hangs from an adjacent tree. The monk is known as Luang Poo Khong (หลวงปู่คง), and was the teacher of Khun Phaen at Wat Khae during the Ayutthaya period. Besides a more recent ubosot, there is an ancient wihaan built adjacent to a large fig tree with sprawling branches and aerial roots, under which some Buddha images, as well as a statue of the demon Rahu standing on Garuda, are placed. The temple is located along the Tha Chin River, near the moat that demarcates the ancient city of Suphanburi. See also EXPLORER'S MAP, TRAVEL PICTURES (1) and (2), and WATCH VIDEO. 回