"Ruin of Wat Chang Rop, Kamphaeng Phet"
Kamphaeng Phet National Museum This museum contains the usual collection of artifacts, Buddha, terra cotta and odds and ends, many of which were unearthed in the immediate surrounds. It is open from Wednesday to Sunday from 9.00 am to 4.00 p.m.
Wat Phra Kaeo is a large royal temple in town center nears a site believed to have been a palace. The temple itself was used on important city events and had no monks in residence. Major features include the principal pagoda with lion-adorned base and a round pagoda with elephant-adorned base. There are also other pagoda of different bases and remains of several chapels. Its boundary is marked off by laterite walls.
Wat Phra That is the second in size to Wat Phra Kaeo. Here the principal Pagoda is built of mixture of laterite and bricks with a 15-metre wide square base. The style is of Kamphaeng Phet architecture.
Wat Phra Non is fenced in by laterite walls on four sides. At the front of the temple are a square-shaped pond, bathrooms and an ancient floating pavilion which is supported by a large laterite column. The entire column was cut out in one single piece from its source and measures 1.1 meters on each side and 6.4 meters in height, the largest such stone in the country. A lion sculpture and boundary marker stones (boundary stones) can still be discerned. The large Chapel which once housed the Reclining Buddha has crumbled entirely.
Wat Phra Si Lriyabot is located to the north of Wat Phra Non and have similar pond and bathroom facilities as its neighbor. Walls on the four sides are of laterite materials with an entrance also made of laterite. A Mondop structure houses Buddha statues in four postures-walking, sitting, standing and reclining in the Sukhothai artistic style. Today only the statue in the standing posture remains.
Wat Phra Sing is believed to have been constructed during both the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods. With laterite walls, it has a square-shaped principal Pagoda with arches on four sides. In front of the main chapel are ornamental lion and Naga Figurines.
Wat Chang Rop is a large temple situated on a high hill. Its main pagoda of Ceylonese style is in the middle of the yard but its top part is broken down. The base is adorned with 68 half-elephants between which are Bhoti shaped designs. There are also traces of demon and female dancer figures remaining.
Apart from these temples, there are also several ancient sites on the east bank of the Ping River, including Wat Arwat Yai, Wat Kalothai and Phra Ruang Road.
Muang Nakhon Chum is an ancient town on the west bank of the Ping River. Its 2-3 metro-high earthen walls run along the waterway. It is in this area that the famous religious tablets of Kamphaeng Phet have been discovered. Within the city walls are a couple of ancient sites such as the Kamphaeng Pom Thung Sethi located on Phahonyothin Road just before entering the town. It is part of the laterite fortifications 83 metros long and six metros tall.
Wat Phra Borom That is a temple situated in the center of Muang Nakhon Chum featuring a Burmese-style Pagoda. To the south is a main chapel housing several Sukhothai and Ayutthaya-style bronze Buddha statues. The pagoda itself is believed to originally have been a Sukhothai-type structure, its style having been altered during a restoration work financed by a wealthy Burmese about a century ago.
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