The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

Khao Yai (literally, "large mountain" in the Thai language) is a region of Thailand about a three hour drive northeast of Bangkok.  It is thought of as an area with a national park, mountains,  and nature, although the mountains are really just tall hills. There is a lot to see in this part of rural Thailand . . . and one very special temple: Wat PA Phrom Prathan (last half of this entry).

While my wife played golf with her golfing gang, I escaped to the small back roads.  There are always Buddhist temples (wats) every 4-5 kilometers along almost every road in Thailand.

I stopped in at many of these roadside wats and walked around and took a few photos.  I have lived in Thailand for a very long time and have been in literally many hundreds of these Thai wats.

Rural Thai wats can be very similar, but there are always surprises and idiosyncrasies.  This wat was in the process of building a new temple building.

Pre cast decor waiting too be added to the exterior of the new wat structure.

This Buddha image was very unusual for Thailand! It seems more Japanese . . .

You have to remember that what is found inside a Buddhist temple was put there by the donors, not necessarily by monks who live there.  This is a grotto dedicated to a Hindu guru.  It is not uncommon to see Hindu gods and iconography in Thai wats.

Having been a sponsor of the construction of a wat myself, I am always excited to see a new wat being built . . . I especially enjoy the interiors . . . . a wonderfully naive Buddha statue awaiting a gold leaf covering, I assume.

The wat did not have a proper temple building.  This is the altar the new building will replace . . . just a covered portico.

This wat had a line of gilded revered monk statues.  Very powerful:  These Guys Made It All The Way And You Can Too!

There are non-Buddhist, but old spiritual practices to be found in Thai Buddhist temples.  These are for use in a numerological system for fortune telling.  Beautifully  weathered.

"Welcome to make merit for your Zodiacal Birthday" . . . . and a little something for the days of the week too!

The hillside wat had a beautiful staircase up to the new wat location.

The same staircase looking down.

The monks live in a variety of accommodation: sometimes they have their own 'hut' or cabin, like this one. Sometimes these can be very nice, and sometimes very austere dormitories.

This monk keeps an interesting and cluttered front yard!

I found this wonderful altar in a sala out in a wooded area of the wat.

There always some amazing things to see on the grounds of Thai Buddhist wats!

At another wat along a country lane . . . a bell and drum tower and very large outdoor Buddha.

Such a serious-looking Buddha . . .

I loved this statue of the Buddha as a wondering monk . . . which he was.

Sometimes my small rural lanes would come to a dead-end . . . as it did here in a farmers field.

Many small work sheds dot the agricultural landscape in this part of Thailand.

It was a beautiful day to be out rambling in the Thai countryside.

I stumbled upon this big greenhouse operation raising roses.  Big agribusiness out in the deep forest.

A bamboo pump house.

More rural agribusiness . . . lettuce.

Being only 3 hours to a city of 13 million people, this kind of big agribusiness was to be expected.

This old teakwood shack was occupied . . . rural splendor?

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WAT PA PHROM PRATHAN

This small sign caught my eye . . . It must be a wat . . .

While driving into the wat grounds I did not notice anything unusual at first.

For such a deeply rural wat in a forested area, the salas and monuments seemed especially wonderful.

Such a wonderful Buddha sala . . .

I found a place to park and as I stepped out of the car this is what I saw!  Remarkable!

There was a powerful spiritual presence in this place.

I sat here for quite awhile . . . and lost myself . . .

After sitting . . . I went for a walk to appreciate the spiritual environment I had fortunately found.

When I spotted this inviting road, I had to find out what was up there . . .

What I found at first were several very sweet monks' houses set in the trees.

A simple, but attractive, monks quarters.

This remarkable Buddha was outside one of the modest monk's quarters.

My long walk up the hill was rewarded with this view of a new wat building nearing completion.  A brand new Thai Buddhist Temple, Wat PA Phrom Prathan.

The new wat sat high on a hill over the valley.  I walked around the site several times marveling at its fresh, pristine beauty.

I noticed that the inner spaces of the wat were not swept or tiled . . . I knew this meant that they had not officially moved in . . . they were still working on it.  The door was ajar, so I peaked in . . . 

And this is what I saw when I opened the door . . . an artist on scaffolding painting an amazing mural on the far wall.  WOW!

The artist at work.

The artist came down off the scaffolding to offer me some water.  I declined as I had my own.  We chatted for a while.  He said he had been working on that wall for three years already and that there were two or three more years left to finish the rest of the interior.

This altar faced the wall he was currently painting.  He said that this wall only took six months to paint.

The artist's work and workmanship were masterful.

The huge mural depicted Buddhist and Thai iconography, as well as scenes from the life of the Buddha Gotama.

After we spoke he climbed back up to his platform and resumed painting. I sat watching him paint for quite awhile.

Standing outside the new wat enjoying the hilltop view out over the agricultural landscape of Khao Yai.

I walked back down the wooded land past the many monks cabins.

On the way back down I stopped at the tail of the many-headed dragon-snake that had welcomed me when I started up the hill.

Back where I started, at the tree sheltered Buddha altar.

Extraordinary 'bodi' trees at this wat.

These trees!!!

I strolled around the rest of the temple grounds and came upon these monks' cells.  I assume this was a wat that took in novice/new monks and trained them here.  Very austere  . . .

Someone had built a very nice sala with statues of three ancient Thai Kings.  Sweet.

What I assumed to be the head Abbot's house getting the finishing touches on a new roof.

The current main hall where the monks daily meet to meditate and chant. The door was open and I went in.  I had been looking for the donation box and I found it here.  I left a substantial donation toward the construction and maintenance of this wonderful place.

I left this wat after many hours exploring its beauty and spirituality.