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Saturday, November 30, 2019

Le pilier fondateur de Prachuap Khiri Khan

Prachuap Khiri Khan:
Le sanctuaire du pilier fondateur (City Pillar Shrine)

En Asie du Sud-Est, la fondation d’une ville se marque par un pilier. Selon les convictions locales, cela donne ensuite naissance à un culte basé sur d’anciennes croyances animistes. On construit alors un sanctuaire pour abriter cet acte de procréation, souvent assimilé à un culte phallique.
De tels lieux existent à Bangkok (pour la fondation de Rattanakosin), à Sanam Luang (le parc royal) où se trouve le Grand Palais. Vientiane, au Laos, possède également le sien.
Détail décoratif d'un des quatre sanctuaires latéraux

Le monument du pilier fondateur de Prachuap Khiri Khan est parfois cité comme l’un des plus beaux du pays. Il est vrai que son architecture et le soin apporté aux proportions harmonieuses du square où il a été érigé, illustrent l’esthétique du monument.
Or, si on étudie d’un peu plus près la conception architecturale, en relation aux principes religieux du pays, on s’aperçoit
Chemin d'accès au
prang central
alors de l’ingéniosité du concepteur. Car, derrière l’apparence monumentale, se cachent des fondements symboliques spirituels. Ces derniers se rattachent aux concepts universaux déjà observés.

L’apparence.

Le monument est mis en valeur dans un jardin à la française où les éléments naturels tiennent une place destinée à rehausser l’édifice central. Des jardiniers tondent les pelouses, taillent les arbres, les arbustes et les haies, arrosent les fleurs.
Le sanctuaire a été conçu dans le style architectural de Lopburi, inspiré par les Khmers. Il y a donc un prang central, entouré de quatre plus petits prang. Comme pour le temple d’Angkor-Vat, au Cambodge, le prang est une représentation symbolique du Mont Meru, la montagne sacrée de l’hindouisme et du bouddhisme. Le choix d’un revêtement brun foncé met en valeur la qualité de la construction.
Le pilier fondateur se trouve à l’intérieur du prang central, dont les quatre portes sont ouvertes aux quatre directions.

La réalité symbolique sous-jacente.

Il faut alors s’interroger sur les raisons de bâtir un tel édifice et de le maintenir dans une apparence immaculée, digne d’un lieu de culte.
L’architecture traditionnelle puise ses sources dans des acquits religieux. Ils sont ensuite reproduits dans les proportions géométriques ou arithmétiques, adaptés aux principes techniques de la construction d’un édifice.
Or, une observation plus détaillée de l’ensemble permet d’identifier ces deux données mathématiques. 

1.Les proportions géométriques. L’espace naturel de l’ensemble forme un jardin ayant la forme d’un quadrilatère. Mais cet ensemble architectural est surélevé: on y accède par quelques marches.
Les angles de la section en carrée
-Un premier chemin piétonnier entoure l’ensemble du périmètre, soulignant ainsi la géométrie du carré.
-Le jardin proprement dit se trouve donc à l’intérieur d’un deuxième quadrilatère. Dans le monde occidental, le carré présente quatre pointes en équerre. L’art asiatique renâcle les angles, en leur préférant des formes courbes. Les angles droits du carré central ont donc laissé place à un arrondi en demi-cercle.
-L’image du quadrilatère se répète deux fois encore: pour la plateforme soutenant l’édifice central, puis pour accéder au
2e plateforme du prang
sanctuaire proprement dit.
-Les allées piétonnières centrales forment un cadran en forme de rose des vents: + et x. 
-Le + délimite les quatre points cardinaux habituels: Nord-Sud-Est-Ouest. Notons que l’on accède à l’espace menant au sanctuaire par l’Est (soleil levant). Ainsi, la plateforme du prang central présente quatre séries d’escaliers, menant aux quatre portes ouvertes du sanctuaire. 
-Par contre les allées en x sont délimitées par les quatre petits prang. Chacun d’eux est un sanctuaire spécifique dédié à une divinité.
-La conception circulaire du prang s’oppose donc aux figures en carrés précédentes. Le carré représente symboliquement la Terre, alors que le cercle est l’image de l’univers, du cosmos, du Ciel.
On peut alors concevoir l’espace géométrique de la manière suivante: le jardin entretenu par l’homme est un don de la terre, sur lequel l’homme bâtit son cadre de vie (représenté par la plateforme), et c’est donc au centre de cet espace vital, qu’il élève un monument destiné à remercier la divinité céleste. En fait, il s’agit d’une sorte d’horloge symbolique où le bas retrouve le haut dans une sorte d’œuf primordial reconstitué.
La quadrature du cercle est donc complète.

2.Les proportions arithmétiques. Voyons donc maintenant ce que l’arithmétique révèle d’une autre manière. 
Les chiffres premiers sont divisés en chiffres pairs et en chiffres impairs. Le pair caractérise le monde profane identifié au
Sanctuaire latéral
carré (4), tandis que l’impair appartient au sacré dont le cercle en est l’illustration (pi: π). Les nombres impairs sont donc: 3, 5, 7 et 9. Toutes les conceptions spirituelles universelles font appel à ce principe.  
Dans le cas du monument du pilier fondateur, voici ce que l’on observe.
-On a déjà signalé la présence de 3 carrés, ayant chacun une fonction propre.
-Il y a un prang central, entouré de quatre autres prang plus petits. Cela donne un ensemble de 5 sanctuaires, chiffre sacré pour le bouddhisme Theravada.
Détail du prang central
-Le prang central, aux quatre portes, est une représentation du 1, le Mont Meru, qui symbolise le royaume des dieux. En fait, le pilier fondateur qu’il abrite n’est rien d’autre que la forme matérialisée du Un. L’or qui le recouvre indique la valeur qui est due aux divinités.
-Si l’on se penche encore sur l’architecture du prang central, on peut y ajouter d’autres observations. L’assise cubique appartient bien au monde terrestre. Mais en s’élevant les formes s’arrondissent au fur et à mesure qu’elles atteignent le dôme final faisant alors office de voûte céleste.
-Le prang se décompose en 7 sections, mais si on y ajoute la salle du sanctuaire contenant le pilier et la coupole finale, on obtient alors 9, chiffre particulièrement sacré pour les bouddhistes.

On voit donc que les proportions respectées par l’architecte sont en accord avec la symbolique de ce type de monument religieux. Ce qui est particulièrement intéressant, est le fait qu’il s’agit d’un monument récent, et que donc les perspectives originales aient pu être perpétrées selon des préceptes ancestraux.


Christian Sorand

Vue du jardin
Le pilier de fondation de la ville

Monday, November 25, 2019

Ao Manao Bay (Prachuap Khiri Khan) [อ่าวมะนาว]

On Ao Manao beach
Ao Manao is one of the three bays of the city of Prachuap Khiri KhanLiterally, its name means Lime (Manao) Bay (Ao). It is under the supervision of the Thai Royal Navy base. The Military has made a good job of preserving this area and its ecosystem. In order to get there, one needs to go through the Navy security at both ends.
Ao Manao is a closed bay comprised between two isthmuses and even barred by a few rocky islets between the bay and
the Gulf of Thailand.
The area is made of two sections outside the Navy base.
  • A long, curving sandy beach that attracts lots of people on weekends. A stretch of trees provides natural shade. They are pine-trees or casuarinas with a few coconut trees as well. Since the area is quite popular, mostly with locals, there are many facilities along the coastal road: food courts, shops, coffee shops, and restaurants, as well as toilets and showers. Being Asia, the beach remains empty during the daytime, because the Thais fear the sun rays in order to keep their skins white! Some more, long chairs are provided in the shade for a very reasonable price. So, this is a great place to come and relax away from the usual tourist traps.
  • The other interesting side is what is called the “historical section” of the Navy base isthmus. To get there, you must leave an ID with the military guard in a faction at the booth. He will provide you with a number card to collect your paper on your way back.
    On the historical road
    Standing on the sandy beach


The coastal road leading to the forested hill rock at the tip of the isthmus is absolutely superb and extreme well-tended with a line of coconut-trees and many flowery bushes.
At the end of the road, just below the hill, the densely forested area is home to an unexpected tribe of langurs. These friendly and adorable primates are also known as Dusky Leaf Monkeys (Trachypithecus obscurus). They usually come out in the evenings and they are great fun to watch. 

This bay is a very scenic area, probably one of the most beautiful places on the Eastern coast of the Malay Peninsula.


The langur area
A young langur
An adult dusky leaf monkey
Baby langur on a tree
Fishing boats at sunset.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Prachuap Khiri Khan (Gulf of Thailand) [ประจวบคีรีขันธ์]

The Three-Bay City

The chance is that you may well have never really heard of this place in the Gulf of Thailand, south of Hua Hin.
Yet, this is both a city and a Thai Province located at the top of the Malay Peninsula. It is by no means a tourist destination. This probably accounts for why it has kept its original Thai atmosphere. But it does not mean that there is little to see or to do in a place left out of the beaten track!
Well, this is all wrong! As a matter of fact, it is a real hidden gem.
View from Wat Khao Chong
I thought it was also a place with no particular interest apart from its superb location! I had been there a few times, and yet I had failed to get the feel of what it really was.
A few months ago, I decided to stop there a little longer than usual on my way back from the coast, further down in the peninsula.
Manao Bay is a rather well-known beach. I had been there before. It was lunchtime, and I was sitting at a local Tha
Ao Manao Bay
i restaurant. Then, an elderly French couple came and sat at a table next to mine. I assumed they were tourists and thought I might somehow help them. So I engaged the conversation.
Indeed, they were visitors but of a different kind! Both retired and in good health, they were serious travelers simply spending their retirement time on the roads! Not like backpackers as you would expect. With respect to the country tourist regulations, they settled here and there to enjoy their time to know better places, people and cultures. They had already been in Prachuap Khiri Khan for a few weeks and told me that it was not their first time here. They always enjoyed being back here simply because it was one of their favorite places in southeast Asia! The conversation went on and I offered to drive them back to town as I knew they had no transport. They accepted and in turn offered
Prachuap seafront
me to show me around. 
I live in Thailand. I had been there before. But at the end of the day, they introduced me to Prachuap Khiri Khan! 

At that time, I did not stay as I had made arrangements to go to Pranburi, further north. But I had already made up my mind that I would soon be back and stay in Prachuap Khiri Khan to further discover the city and its vicinity.
So this is what I did with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the area more thoroughly.
I found out that Prachuap Khiri Khan has three main assets: the beauty of its site, the originality of its city-life, and finally a rich environment extending to its outskirts. 

An exceptional natural site.

Perhaps, the main asset is that Prachuap Khiri Khan is blessed with an awesome coastline made of no less than three beautiful bays with a few rocky islands offshore. As the site is facing the East, its
Ao Noi Bay
orientation makes it a perfect place to contemplate the sunrise.
The three bays are:
  • Noi Bay (Northern side),
  • Prachuap Bay ( in the middle: the city bay),
  • Manao Bay (Southern side)
Noi Bay (noi means ‘small’ in the Thai language) is a fishermen’s community. It i
Wat Ao Noi (teakwood)
s dominated by a tall rock mountain that shelters a park (Khao Ta Mong Lai Forest Park). But the main interest is the temple called Wat Ao Noi. This wat has a majestic ordination hall entirely made of teakwood and facing a small pond. And on the hill above Noi Bay (Ao Noi) there is a cave called Khan Kradai Cave housing a sleeping Buddha.
Prachuap Bay is blessed with a great marine boulevard from where you can see a few offshore islets. There are some cafés and restaurants, becoming alive in the evening since the city is well-known for its array of seafood. Another interesting landmark is a long jetty (378.50m long) called the Bridge of Joy (Saran Withi Bridge). This landmark stands near the place, where every Friday & Saturday a walking street is held (from 4.00pm to 10.00pm).
Sunrise on the seaside boulevard
Manao Bay is the home of an important Royal Thai Marine Base. It will be the object of a separate article.
Ao Manao Bay
A rich provincial life.

But the city has still more to offer for the curious visitors besides its magnificent seafront. 
There are three major attractions that will be accounted for.
-The city side is topped with a hill on top of which stands a Buddhist temple. It is called Khao Chong Krajok. The 360º-
Stairs to Khao ChonKrajok
viewpoint is truly worth the effort of climbing 396 steps to the top of the hill! But it also means to dodge your way past a herd of monkeys and bear the heat. Once you reach the top, you are then rewarded with a cooler breeze and an outstanding view.
-Back in the city, the Prachuap Khiri Khan City Shrine has the reputation of being Thailand’s most beautiful shrine. It will also be described separately.
-Sue Suk Street downtown runs parallel to the seafront boulevard. When I was there, it
Animation on Sue Suk Street
had been turned into a walking street at night offering all kinds of Thai cultural events, including songs and dances. Nothing was done for touristic purposes. Everything happened as a pure Thai cultural event. This is a historic street, which has kept some of its wooden facades. There are a few cafés that seem to belong to another era as well as many places to eat. The atmosphere was absolutely wonderful and so authentic!
Oldtimer coffeeshop
A great base to explore the immediate surroundings.

There are many fine beaches near Prachuap Khiri Khan, as well as two great National Parks: Kui Buri, at the North, and Nam Tok Huai Yang, in the south.
Wako Beach
Yet, at about 10km south of the city, there is a Waghor beach lined with pine trees. This is a historic place because King Mongkut (Rama IV) came here to watch a total solar eclipse. It is now a science center park, particularly dedicated to astronomy. But there is a great aquarium definitively worth a visit as it is dedicated to the preservation of the Gulf of Thailand marine life.
This part of the country is also the narrowest part of the isthmus in the Malay peninsula. 
Singhorn Pass is where the Thailand-Myanmar border is. In past times, it used
Thai-Burmese border
to be a trading shortcut between the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Thailand. Right at the border, there is an interesting daily market for Thai and Burmese products.

Prachuap Bay from the jetty
All in all, Prachuap Khiri Khan is a fantastic place to stay for a holiday. On that particular occasion, I fully understood why the retiree couple I met kept coming back to Three-Bay City.

Christian Sorand

Wako Aquarium
Sea turtle


Grouper

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Koh Ngai (Trang Province)

At Koh Ngai main beach
From Koh Bulon to Koh NGAI, it took 1h45 with the speedboat. They were advertising 1h30, but I guess it all depends where they drop off or pick up passengers on the way. Actually, the speedboat arrived a bit earlier from Koh Lipe, so we left 5 minutes before the scheduled time of 10:00AM.
This time the boat went straight to Koh Kradan first, and then made a second stop at Koh Muk.

At Koh NGAI, they dropped me off on the main beach, where all the resorts are. So I had to find my way to Paradise Beach Resort. It
On the dinghy to Paradise Beach
is on another side of the island, on the southern coast.
I finally made it on a dinghy instead of a longboat!
Paradise Beach is a secluded bay, where there is only one resort. The resort is great having a swimming-pool and superb, modern bungalows with A/C and electricity all the time. The only WiFi connection is at the lounge near the reception and also at the bar.
This place is absolutely quiet and a perfect hideaway with good comfort!
The island is deeply forested and has a few streams that end up into the Andaman. 
After checking in, I went for a hike, first on the beach, when it was still low tide. I came across a gray heron that did not seem to be the least afraid by my presence! I love this! 
At the other end of the beach, I climbed into the edge of the tropical forest as far as a viewpoint.
View of Paradise Beach
The rest of the afternoon was quiet and totally relaxing. I had a swim in the pool to cool off from the heat and then ended up on an elevated terrace at the bar with a Leo beer. It was sunset time then. 
But before I came to sit at the bar with a view, I had heard some noisy sounds coming from the forest. I found out there was a group of hornbills. I clearly saw them. So I grabbed my camera zoom and was able to capture a shot of two.
Although the resort position is not totally convenient to watch the sunset, there was still a brilliant set of colors in the sky and on the water at the time.
Here, the low tide prevents you from swimming into the sea-water. This is why the pool is a nice addition to cool off during the day. You can go kayaking in the bay at high tide. At this time of year (November) it is safe to swim because there are no poisonous jelly-fishes.  
There are a few nice coconut groves nearby, and there is a path going across the hill forest to the other side of the island, where all the other resorts are. It tales about 30 mn. But allows you to walk into the rainforest. Despite the mosquitoes (better use a repellent), you can hear some wonderful bird sounds and see myriads of colorful butterflies.
Back at the resort, they have also added a few hammocks in the shade: a great way to relax in front of the Andaman with a book!
Well, you got it; this is another perfect location to escape today’s madness!

Christian Sorand

At Paradise Beach Resort
The main resort facility
Coconut trees
Rainforest stream
Farniente on the beach
Path in the tropical forest
Lush forest vegetation
Hill rainforest
Evening light
Beach sunset colors
Sunrise on the beach
Map of Koh Ngai
Sunrise at Paradise Beach