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Bangkok Travelbug December 11 Tha Chalom – fishermen’s patron saints December 03, 2011 |
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About Tha Chalom Tha Chalom) is the name of the narrow tongue of land formed by a sharp meander in the Tha Chin, the last in a series of twist and turns as the river flows into the Gulf of Thailand. A tributary of the Chao Phraya, the Tha Chin is one of the major rivers draining the Chao Phraya basin. "Tha" means port and "chalom", a sea-going sailboat that looks like a Chinese junk. The official seal of Samut Sakhon depicts such a vessel. A sub-district in the city district of Samut Sakhon, Tha Chalom is home to a huge fishing fleet that is moored on the southern edge of this strip of land. 
Mahachai just across the river is the fish market and Tha Chalom catches the fish. During my visit, many of the fishing boats were already back and the crew busy cleaning and drying the nets. 
As a sea-going community, safety at sea is naturally a primary concern and there are a number of patron saints which the people pray to. Let us visit two of these places of worship in Tha Chalom. Table of contents The Guan Yin Shrine The Guan Yin Shrine is located with Wat Chong Lom (Wat Sutthiwat Wararam) an old temple from the Ayutthaya era about two km from the Tha Chalom pier. The shrine is distinctly Chinese with two huge dragons coiled around the pillars at the entrance. 
Strings of red lanterns hang overhead as one approaches the altar before the 9 m high statue of the Goddess of Mercy. 
Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin or the Goddess of Mercy is one of the most revered deities in Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism practised in Asia. She is renowned for her purity, kindness and compassion. 
Legend has it that she was Miao Shan, the youngest daughter of a king in China in the 7th century. From an early age, she devoted herself to help the poor and those who were suffering. When she spurned her father’s bid to marry her to a man of his choice, he drove her out and subjected her to hard labour. Even his attempt to kill her failed. She was taken to safety by a spirit. When the king was ill and dying, a monk advised him that his only salvation was a potion made from grinding the arms and eyes of someone completely free from hatred. The desperate king sent envoys far and wide to find this person. They found the person and the medicine was made. When the king asked to see his savoir, he was shocked to see that it his daughter Miao Shan whom he had treated so badly. As he prostrated before her in shame, she rose into the clouds. In atonement the king made a shrine to honour her. Through her compassion and kindness, Miao Shan left this cruel world and attained enlightenment. Guan Yin is known to help the sick and destitute, those lost in their journeys or ship-wrecked. For this reason, many coastal communities who depend on the sea for their living worship her. 
"Ask humbly for love and protection, in our time of darkness and need" Guan Yin is sometimes depicted as the thousand-hand Bodhisattva (one who has attained enlightenment through compassion) with an eye on each palm; a thousand eyes to see those who are suffering and a thousand hands to help them. Table of contents St Anna Church About 300 m from the Guan Yin Shrine is another huge statue dedicated to a patron saint, this time Catholic. Anna and Joachim were a rich and pious couple who lived in Nazareth. They were childless. They prayed hard for a child and pledged to dedicate the child to the service of God. Their prayers were answered and the child was called Mary who later conceived a son called Jesus. 
Anna, the maternal grandmother of Jesus, was canonised as St Anna and is worshiped many parts of the Catholic world. Her statue is in the grounds of the St Anna Church, Samut Sakhon. 
St Anna Church, Samut Sakhon 
Inside the church Besides the church, there’s a school of the same name within the grounds and a small chapel by the banks of the Tha Chin dedicated to St Anna. 
St Anna School, Samut Sakhon 
Chapel dedicated to St Anna 
Inside the chapel On top of this chapel is a huge statue of St Anna gazing out to sea, reputable the tallest statue of St Anna in Asia. 
St Anna gazing out to sea A special feature of this statue is that it’s on a rotating base and the statue can be rotated by a winch to face the sea. This was done so that fishermen out at sea can then turn to St Anna to pray for their safety. 
St Anna watching the waters St Anna is the patron saint to several places in the world like Brittany in France and Quebec in Canada. The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church regard Anna as a saint. 
"Compassion for those who invoke you and love for those who suffer" St Anna Church, Samut Sakhon is one of two churches in Thailand dedicated to St Anna, the other is St Anna Church in Nakhon Phanom. 
St Anna Church, Nong Saeng, Nakhon Phanom May Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy and St Anna smile on the flood victims of Thailand, grant them relief from the ravages of Nature and the follies of Man, ease their suffering and restore their lives to normalcy. 
Table of contents Map of Tha Chalom View Tha Chalom, Samut Sakhon in a larger map Getting to Tha Chalom To get to Tha Chalom, you have to travel to Mahachai first. Please see taking the Maeklong Line to Mahachai From Mahachai board a ferry at the pier to cross the Tha Chin River to Tha Chalom. Fare is 3 baht one way. 
Ferry crossing from Mahachai to Tha Chalom Caution Since 11 Nov 2011 until further notice, the State Railway of Thailand has suspended the train service between Wong Wian Yai and Mahachai owing to floods in Bang Khun Thian district of Bangkok. Exploring Tha Chalom Like most provincial towns, the motor cycle taxi service is available. Agree on the price first. You’ll need transport to get to the two places mentioned earlier. When you get back to the pier, try the deep fried fish cakes sold by a street vendor near the entrance. They are delicious and cost just 20 baht. 
This lady was also very helpful in giving directions around town. 
Friendly face of Tha Chalom After that take walk along some of the narrow streets of Tha Chalom by the river. 
The quieter side of Tha Chalom This street goes through a temple and on to the Ban Laem train station. This is the second leg of the Maeklong Line that goes to the Maeklong station in Samut Songkhran. 
Ban Laem train station Table of contents With that, we wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Next month Khon Kaen – the Issarn heritage Book hotels in Bangkok 
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