Ever since the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1767, and the subsequent formation of Bangkok as the capital in 1782, people have moved in droves from the old to the new metropolis.
Wat Daowadungsaram.
Numerous wars over the years brought people of various nationalities as war prisoners or migrants. Among them, were people from Lan Chang (present-day Laos) who migrated to the central region of Siam. What is lesser known is that members of the royal family from Laos also used to live here, in the Bang Yi Khan Palace (also known as Chao Lao Palace) by the Chao Phraya River.
According to the History for Peace Group's recent "Lao Houses, Temples and Palaces by the Chao Phraya River" trip, however, only the ruins of a wall remain near Rama VIII Park, where Bang Yi Khan Palace once stood. The large-sized bricks apparently indicated the importance of the site.
Lao royals, Prince Nanthasen, Prince Inthavong and Prince Anouvong were brought here as hostages and granted land and palaces in the Bang Yi Khan area after Somdet Chao Phraya Maha Kasatsuek, who would become King Rama I, attacked Vientiane in 1778 and brought war prisoners and valuables to Thon Buri during the reign of King Taksin the Great. Prince Anouvong later became a Lao king.
The travelogue, Niras Wang Bang Yi Khan, penned by famous female poet Khun Phum, aka Bussaba Tha-ruajang, referenced the palace in a deteriorating condition, during the reign of King Rama V. The poet followed Chao Chom Marnda Duangkham, who was a consort of King Rama IV and a granddaughter of King Anouvong, and her daughter Princess Nariratana to visit the ailing Lao Prince Chantharathep Suriyavong who lived in Bang Yi Khan Palace.
The Bang Yi Khan area is home to not only Lao people, but also the Siamese who married Lao people and grew durian, mangosteen, longan, lychee and rambutan orchids there and was a source of red lime for chewing betel leaf and areca nut. Bang Yi Khan also housed the first whiskey distillery called Mekhong or Bang Yi Khan Distillery. There is still a remaining sign that reads Ban Poon, meaning the house of red lime. Ban Poon Community has a traditional Thai-style wooden pavilion, named Sala Rong Tham, which acts as a venue for religious ceremonies for locals. Unfortunately, it is in a poor condition due to the lack of a maintenance budget.
Not far from the Bang Yi Khan area are a few temples and works of art inspired by the Lao style. Wat Kharuehabodi, for example, boasts a gold Buddha statue called Phra Saek Kham, which was once an iconic statue of the Lanna Kingdom. Phra Saek Kham, which is similar in design to the Emerald Buddha, is known for fulfilling people's wishes and many offer food and arrange lakhon chatri and molam performances to honour it. King Rama III granted Phra Saek Kham to Wat Kharuehabodi because the temple founder Phraya Ratchamontri Borirak (Phu) assisted him on matters of international trade. Originally, Phra Saek Kham was an iconic statue of Lanna Kingdom.
The Lanna Kingdom's three sacred Buddha statues: the Emerald Buddha, Phra Saek Kham and Phra Bang were taken by King Setthathirath to Lan Chang when the king moved to govern Lan Chang Kingdom in 1548. King Setthathirath was born to a Lao king and a Lanna princess. He succeeded his maternal grandfather as the ruler of Lanna during 1546-1547, before becoming the King of Lan Chang as his father's successor. He relocated the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane in 1557.
In 1826, Chao Phraya Bodindecha (Singh Singhaseni) led the Siamese army to suppress the anti-Siam uprising spearheaded by Lao King Anouvong when Laos was still a vassal state of Siam. He brought Phra Saek Kham to Bangkok.
Wat Daowadungsaram, a royal temple in Bang Yi Khan sub district was built by Chao Chom Waen, a Lao consort of King Rama I. The mural paintings of the Lord Buddha's previous lives as Phra Mahosot and Phra Vessantara, believed to be the work of famous painter Khru Khongpae, in the ubosot are stunning.
In the prayer hall (vihara) of the Temple of Dawn is a bronze Buddha statue in the Lan Chang style called Phra Arun or Phra Chaeng meaning dawn. In 1858, the statue was brought to Bangkok from Vientiane on the order of King Rama IV.
At Wat Hongrattanaram, by the Bangkok Yai or Bang Luang canal, a Lao-style Buddha statue called Phra Saen is enshrined in the ordination hall. It was built by a Lao monk named Phra Khru Phonsamed and brought from Stung Treng in Cambodia to Bangkok on the order of King Rama IV. Stung Treng was initially a part of the Khmer empire, then the Lao Kingdom of Lan Chang and later the Lao Kingdom of Champasak. Worshippers usually offer sticky rice, boiled eggs and fermented fish to Phra Saen after their wishes have come true.
Not far from this temple is Ban Lao, which is part of Bang Sai Kai community, alongside the Bang Sai Kai canal. It has a population of over 1,000 whose ancestors migrated from Laos after 1779 when Vientiane fell to Siam. Ban Lao is famous among classical Thai musicians as the production source of good-quality traditional Thai flutes. Here, at some of the houses, visitors are able to observe the making of flutes from bamboo wood, and other kinds of wood and PVC pipes.
All of these sites relating to Laos are well worth a visit by tourists and history buffs who want to explore some of the the lesser-known, but interesting aspects of Thai-Lao history.
