| SOMDET PHRA SRI NAKHARIN PARK |
| Text & photographs by Tricky Vandenberg - September 2010 |
| Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park is located on the city island in the Historical Park at Pratu Chai sub-district. It can easily be accessed via U-Thong road. Somdet Sri Nakharin Park is "a park within a park", as it is part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park area and covers a vast stretch of land on which numerous restored ancient monasteries can be visited in a lush park environment. Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park was set up in honor of the late H.R.H Princess Sri Nagarindra Borommaracha Chonani, the mother of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadey (Rama IX). She was a very beloved woman all over Thailand. The Moken sea nomads in the southern Thai islands still refer to her fondly as Somdet Ya, roughly Royal Grandmother, while Northern hill tribe people called her Mae Fa Luang (Royal Mother of the Sky). She has also been fondly remembered as Princess Mother. She died on 18 July 1995 at the age of 95, and her funeral took place on 10 March 1996. A commemoration monument is set up in the middle of this park. The garden has been opened by the late HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana on 19 July 1985 on the occasion of the 80th birthday of the Princess Mother the same year. The monument of the late Princess Mother has been inaugurated on the first of December 2000 by HRH Princess Chulabhorn Walailak. The area was home to a large number of temples in the Ayutthayan era. Phraya Boran Rachathanin catalogued a number of tempel remains in the early 20th century in this zone, such as Wat Singsai, Wat Nok, Wat Saiya, Wat Khok Madan Yai, Wat Kaeo and Wat Hoi Khong. Some of these ruins were already mentioned earlier on 19th century maps. Today, nothing is left of the latter, at least at ground level. Most of these brick remains were probably leveled when landscaping the park in the 1980's, leaving only a plain grass field where once stood a monastery. Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park though, still houses the following interesting temple ruins: Wat Chao Phram Wat Ubosot Wat Chao Phrap Wat Sangkha Thae Wat Sangkha Tha Wat Chedi Yai Wat Wang Chai Wat Luang Chi Krut |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| (Wat Chao Phrap) |
| (Wat Chao Phram) |
| (Wat Chedi Yai) |
