Thailand Guide
The north
Wat Chedi Luang
Address: Thanon Phra Pokklao
At Wat Chedi Luang an enormous stupa, toppled from 90m to its present 60m by an earthquake in 1545, is the temple's most striking feature. You'll need a titanic leap of the imagination, however, to picture the beautifully faded pink-brick stupa, in all its crumbling grandeur, as it was in the fifteenth century, when it was covered in bronze plates and gold leaf, and housed the Emerald Buddha for eighty years. Recent attempts to rebuild the entire stupa to its former glory, now abandoned, have nevertheless led to modern replacements of the elephants at the base, the serpents that line the lengthy staircases, and the Buddha images in its four niches, including an oversized replica of the Emerald Buddha in its old spot on the eastern side.
On the north side of the stupa, Monk Chat is advertised (daily 1–6.30pm), giving you a chance to meet and talk to the monks in English.