Wat Saen Thong

Wat Saen Thong Wat Saen Thong is located in Mae Sariang District. Built around 1793, the temple was the first and long-standing temple of the district. Due to contemporary restorations, there are few traces of ancient architecture left to be seen. The important object at Wat Saen Thong is Phra Phet or Phra Sing Nueng. The Phra Buddha Sing is a 12-inch-wide bronze statue which was one of the beautiful and ancient Buddha images of Chiang Saen era. It is believed that the image could bring rain for the good of agricultural production. It was named Phra Phet becaused there used to be three diamonds embedded in the Buddha image, one between the eyebrows and two at each shoulder. The diamonds were lost after the Second World War. Another important image of Buddha is Phra Saen Thong, which is a 24-inch-wide Buddha image in the Subduing Mara mudra. As legend goes, there were initially two sibling images of Phra Saen Thong which were formerly situated in Wat Tung Laeng in Mae Kong Sub District, Mae Sariang District. Later, there was severe flooding that sank the temple into Yuam River along with both Saen Thong Buddha images. Villagers used ropes to pull the images out of the river, but only the younger of the two sibling images was saved. The image was then brought to Wat Kittiwong and Wat Kapuangnai or Wat Sitthi Mongkol; however, people could not pull the image into the temples until they reached Wat Loom, where they finally managed to bring the image into the temple. Later on, the temple’s name was changed from Wat Lum to Wat Saen Thong after Phra Saen Thong Buddha image. Wat Saen Thong was an ancient and respectable temple of the community. Visitors to Mae Sariang should come and pay respect to Phra Phet and Phra Saen Thong. Those interested can contact monks at the temple and ask to see the images. During Songkran Festival, the temple will carry Phra Phet and Phra Saen Thong around the city for people to sprinkle water and pay respect to the images.