Wat Thai Watthanaram (วัดไทยวัฒนาราม)

Thai. Name of a Thai-Burmese Buddhist temple in Mae Sot, in Tak province. It features many structures, objects and edifices normally associated with temples and architecture in Myanmar. This includes the copious use of gold-coloured tinplate on buildings (fig.) and in statues , and in statues on buildings (fig.). The outer walls of the main prayer hall feature tinplate bas-relief depicting scenes from the life of the Buddha. Furthermore, there are tinplate statues of Manuthiha (fig.), a mythological sphinx-like creature half-man and half-lion, and of chintha that typically guard temple entrances in pairs (fig.). In the backyard is an open-sided hangar with a large reclining Buddha and there are gilded hintha pillars (fig.), as well as a statue with two of those mythical birds, i.e. a female on a male and topped with a small parasol called hti, the symbol of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom. There is a small hall with a statue of Bo Bo Gyi (fig.) and two elongated pavilions that are open on one side, this one with a row of Buddha images in the bhumisparsa pose, the other with gilded tinplate shrines with golden statues of various deities and saints. See also TRAVEL PICTURE (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5), PANORAMA PICTURE, and WATCH VIDEO. 回