Wat Phet Samut Worawihaan (วัดเพชรสมุทรวรวิหาร)

Thai. ‘Temple of the Jewel of the Ocean’. Name of a royal Buddhist temple located along the Mae Klong River in Samut Songkhram Province, and which was previously known as Wat Ban Laem and in the past as Wat Sri Champa (วัดศรีจำปา). It was built in the reign of King Prasat Thong (ปราสาททอง) of Ayutthaya, who reigned from AD 1629  to 1656. The temple was then named Wat Sri Champa. Legend has it that in AD 1764 villagers from a village near the town of Phetchaburi fled from a Burmese attack and settled down in the district Mae Klong, to the north of the temple and called their new settlement Ban Laem (บ้านแหลม), after the name of their original village. When they later assisted in the restoration of Wat Sri Champa, they renamed the temple Wat Ban Laem. One day, when fishing on the Mae Klong River, the villagers of Ban Laem found two Buddha statues in their nets. One statue was in the pahng um baat posture, i.e. standing upright and holding an alms bowl, the other statue was seated in the meditation pose, known as pahng samahti. The standing Buddha image was named Luang Pho Ban Laem and brought to Wat Ban Laem where it was enshrined; the other, seated Buddha image, was brought back to be enshrined at Wat Khao Takrao (วัดเขาตะเครา) in Phetchaburi Province. Both statues are part of the Legend of the Five Floating Buddha Statues. See also EXPLORER'S MAP and WATCH VIDEO. 回