This wat didn’t look very promising on the approach, uphill past sleeping dogs, but it had a certain appeal, engendered by calm antiquity. On the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Chai Nat Province, the wat is built into a low hillside, above the nearby river whose water is considered to be ‘holy water’ and used for ceremonies. The tall standing gold Buddha with palm outstretched, forbidding family quarrels, is the first thing encountered as you move from one hall to the next. The wat is of Ayutthaya period age, there is even the remains of a chedi believed to date from the Sukhothai period. As I say, ‘calm antiquity’ had a pleasing presence.