Phitsanulok Off The Beaten Path

From my last visit to northern part of Thailand, on the way back to Bangkok, I visited the famous temple in Phitsanulok, Wat Phra Si Mahathat where inside the most beautiful Buddha statue in Thailand, Phra Phutthachinarat, situated. Actually, Phitsanulok is in lower part of the north, about 370 km far from Bangkok, situated on the banks of the Nan River. There are many tourist attractions in the province. On my trip through the province, mainly just needed to visit the temple and intended to pay my respect to the Buddha statue.

The temple grounds was where the old Phitsanulok town once stood. This Khmer-style prang, or pagoda, is also the oldest temple in town and where King Boromtrailokanat and some 2,000 of his followers were ordained as a monk in 1416.
We enquired about the tranport to get here from some motorcycle tuk-tuk drivers from Top Plaza, and were quoted 200 baht total. I'm glad to report my negotiation succeeded here, and we paid a total of 150baht instead, for transport as well as about 1.5 hours of their time.
Well, this was definitely another worthwhile trip, for i simply adore these ancient temples with Khmer (Cambodian) influence. And to think that they have been standing there for almost 600 years, and with conservation, will probably stand another 600? Just amazing how these man-made structures can withstand the tests of time whilw some modern day ones will just crumble?
Check out my travelogue for ALL the pictures of this wat and the surrounding structures.

A local tourist police at Wat Rajaburana recommended us here. He didn't tell us quite what to expect so imagine our delight when our hired tuk-tuk driver took us up a winding, steep slope!
We asked around for prices for a to-&-fro trip for this out of town journey at the bus terminal. Unfortunately, there weren't any buses that plies that route. So we 'negotiated' with the tuk-tuk drivers. Not really much of a negotiation there, when we accepted their rate of 300baht.
It was after a short drive out of Phitsanulok, about 20 minutes or so, that we came to the foot of the hill. Up there, the temple wasn't maintained quite well, looking like renovations being abandoned after done halfway and garbage on the path. What was great however, was the fabulous view it afforded. We could see another giant Buddha image and temple down below which looked interesting, but the countryside view was really soothing.
Our enthusiastic tuk-tuk driver then motioned us into his vehicle, and further up the hill to Doi Suthep. This temple, in contrast, was resplendent with Chinese deities and mythological gods, and looked to be well-visited by wealthy patrons. We even had a free vegetarian meal of noodles here, and it was quite delicious! It was well-maintained compared to the earlier wat, but both are definitely worth a visit!

Phitsanuloke is one place where found so many pre-historic evidences,esp. cave art or pre-historic painting and carving. Luckily, I ‘ve a chance to visit some of them and fall in love with this human created. Some pictures depicted a shape of human and animals (in fighting scence and ritual scene,…) , some ‘re just hand stamping (maybe for ritual) and the weird things ‘re carving in geometric shape(still cannot assume the meaning) . If you ‘d like to see them , don’t forget to prepare for hiking and trekking in forest. All pictures always located in a deep forest or high cave in mountain. And the most useful , contact with the forest officer for guide is necessary.