Prasat Nakhon Luang

A Royal Residence and Sanctuary

By Grant Cameron

May 17^th, 2019

An Ayutthaya Treasure

Sunrise, along with sunset, are the best times of the day for a natural light photographer, "golden hour", blue hour", provide great and soft light and can generally lead to stunning photographs.

Not only that, many people tend not to notice such light in their daily lives, but rather they sense it, and it is only when they see such light in a photograph, especially in familiar surroundings, that it just strikes an empathic note of what they've sometimes missed as they get about the hustle and bustle of ordinary life.

Having visited Ayutthaya numerous times over many years, I was stunned, not so long ago, to come across an almost 400 year old temple I knew nothing about, so I went for a sunrise, and stayed several hours in exploration.

A Royal Palace . .

On arrival in the early morning dark, this really did not look any ordinary temple, but there were monks' quarters nearby, and it seemed to be part of the adjacent temple complex on the river. What made it different were the fortified walls and ramparts which, generally, ordinary Buddhist temples do not have.

So why was this different? Well, as far as I can gather from the various internet sources and one of the temple abbots, a Royal Fort and Palace was ordered to be built in the 1600's, as this site was more or less half way between Ayutthaya and Saraburi, where there was a Buddha’s Footprint.

. . And Sanctuary

It is not quite a maze, but there is a lot of clay brickwork on the perimeter of the palace / fort / temple that one must walk round either to explore or to just take your time and admire the history.

There are few, if any tourists who visit, certainly no organised tours, so you are likely to have the place to yourself.

Frome above, then below

The History of Ayutthaya website notes: "The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya mention that King Prasat Thong (r. 1629-1656) sent a Siamese delegation to Angkor in Cambodia in 1631 AD with the task to bring back plans of the City of Angkor and its palaces. He then ordered a royal palace built, based on these plans, as a resting place north of Wat Theppha Jan, more or less half way between Ayutthaya and Tha Ruea. Tha Ruea was the final debarkation point for the royal barges, as from here travel continued on land towards the Buddha’s Footprint in Saraburi."

It is clear from the outer structure that this was a castle residence, built of brick, clay and cement of the time. On the outer walls several prangs (pagodas) were built which housed statues of the Buddha. Some have eroded away, others remain.

Here's a view of one of the prangs, simultaneously looking down from above, and above from below!

Below is another prang, this time with roof intact, and a Buddha statue in good condition.

This is possibly the most spectacular prang, for it is open to the elements. The photograph belies the actual size of this part of the Prasat, for, to obtain the Buddha with the open roof clearly seen I had to resort to a fisheye lens (de-fished in post).

The upper palace

As one climbs atop the fortifications, for that is what they can be described, you begin to see the main structure of the palace, now temple. The buildings are of similar construction to the outer wall, and prangs being brick, clay and cement, and covered in plaster.

It is said that Prasat Nakhon Luang was erected by King Prasat Thong, copying a design from the royal Khmer palace at Angkor Thom to celebrate the event of the renewal of Cambodia's allegiance to Siam. The relations with the vassal-state of Cambodia were troubled after the death of King Srisuphanma of Cambodia in 1618, although no record can be found in the royal chronicles of an invasion of Cambodia in the reign of King Prasat Thong.

It is not difficult to get around this complex, though there are a number of stairways, some a bit steep and slightly difficult and a bit painful for my old knees. None are vey long, though, and to give an idea of them, here is my fellow photographer buddy, Nic, easily getting up the first set of stairs. Nic has his own way of telling these and other stories, so why not also pay his blog a visit.

The palace / temple

At the top, we enter into the main structure, formerly the palace residence, now a temple housing various Buddha images, artifacts and a Buddha's footprint. I'll let the images tell this part of the story.

A Large scrolling image

As I mentioned at the outset, sunrise is one the best times of the day for photography. And especially for this monument.

I'm afraid for this photograph you have to slowly scroll down to get the full benefit of the morning light, sunrise behind rice paddy, changing into green field and trees, and then the full aerial layout of the Sanctuary itself. For full-effect, best seen on a laptop or pc - look again later if you are only on mobile.

Some aerial shots

These several images should help convey the magnificence of this structure (despite nearby industrial buildings).

Taking our leave . .

. . yes, I just cannot resist another sunrise shot!

Getting There

Prasat Nakhon Luang is 10 kms further north from the city of Ayutthaya, and perhaps that explains why it is rarely visited: the tour operators take their clients to the city itself and wealth of monuments and ruins.

But to get there, just continue north on Highway 32 by-passing Ayutthaya, and you will soon come to a sign pointing to the correct exit to take. The GPS coordinates are of the temple itself, in case you have missed the turning, you will always be re-directed.