参观三宝公寺与鬼塔
Visiting the Three Jewels Temple and Ghost Tower
今天是我们到曼谷后的第三天，游览的节目是「凭吊大城 」。 我清晨四时既起，叫醒了所有的同伴。大家准备就绪之后，就从曼谷乘搭德士，沿着柏凤裕廷公路 Phahol Yotin Road 向北疾驰。一路上经过无数的纵横河道，广阔田野，以及成列的市廛。路道坎坷崎岖，车子左右颠簸，灰尘扬刮弥漫；好在德士司机很健谈，倒可以减轻我们在路途上的劳顿之苦！
司机对我们说：「大城在一千五百多年前是一个汪洋大海，后来才变成一个广阔肥沃的平原。」这也许是事实，因为大城地据湄南河，巴塞河，华河的汇合处，从上游挟带的泥沙，急流下注，经过无数年代的冲积，就成为一个肥沃的河谷。难怪大城府能成为泰国最大的产米区域了，原来是有着它优越的地理条件的！
「在湄南河口，有一座佛寺，是三宝公建造的。我先带领你们去看看……」这位司机竟然自告奋勇的作为我们的临时响导员了。他接着又说：「有一天，三宝公与一妖道比赛建寺，看谁的法力高强。第二天一早，三宝公建成了一座巍峨的佛塔，不过，屋瓦还未来得及覆盖上去，妖道已建成了一座塔来邀三宝公去看。 三宝公赶快用头巾缚在自建的塔上以代瓦面。并作法引风吹歪了妖道所建的塔。然后对妖道说 ：“你建的塔是歪的！” 妖道不服气，拆了重建，结果还是歪的。所以直到现在，大家都称这座塔为鬼塔。不论你从那一个方向看去，它都是歪的……哪哪哪！就是那座塔，你们瞧是不是歪的？」大家都不期然而然地循着他所指示的方向看去，果然在不远的地方，高高地耸立着一座歪塔，显然地像要倒下来的样子。
我们首先去参观三宝公寺。今天佮好是机缘巧合，遇到酬神做戏的热闹场面。广场上搭了两个戏台，演员们从施粉，涂脂，画眉，梳头，加冠，更衣…全是在一座简单空敞的台上进行，只是一张破桌，几个衣箱就成了临时的化妆室，光着全身的五龄稚童，居然也会帮妈妈整理衣著呢！音乐师在台旁拼命地敲打着乐器，这边打扮好了，那边就上台去表演，戏台上完全没有布景和道具。他们的舞姿多数是作奉献祭品的姿态。 举凡捉鬼啦，降神啦，全都被搬上舞台去了。我们面对着这千载一时的美丽画面，免不了东奔西跑地活跃了一阵。大家尽量构取角度或摄影传真，深怕时间把这些美妙的镜头给拖走了。素有「紧张大师」之誉的子平，竟将已拍摄过的非林，也倒头装进相机里去了。一向悠闲自若，做事慢吞吞的庆光，今天也变得灵敏起来了。他忽而跳上，忽而跃下，连那看遍了全星医生的老毛病--关節痛--这时似乎已不药而愈了。颜禄兄说：「这样才能澈底地瞭解民间舞蹈的精华。」 他也全神贯注地在研究，全队只有他一人是保持静态的，我们全都忙碌地活跃着……
到了十一时半，这些舞女都鱼贯地步入寺庙中去，我们也紧随着她们走入寺庙去。原来她们还必须在佛前跳舞，表演一番呢！
这座三宝公司的外貌极古朴，红瓦黄边，瑰丽宏伟，有着浓厚的中国风味，是一座中泰艺术混合式的佛殿，供奉着一座泥塑趺坐的金佛，巨大无比，舞女在佛前翩翩起舞，她们的高度，只达到莲花座的一瓣高，据说这就是三宝公的神像了。
在佛殿里，红烛明灼，香烟缭绕，如蚁赴羶似香客，都络绎不绝地趋前礼拜。我们挤在人群中穿来走去，既不能抅取画稿，又热得满头大汗，大家都叫苦不迭地赶快走出了三宝公寺。
接着，司机又把我们载往对岸那座富於神话色彩的鬼塔去浏览了。我们先在四周巡览一匝，这座破旧荒凉的古塔，到处都是断手残臂的破碎佛像。不过在我看来，这满目凄凉的废墟，瀰漫着静穆肃瑟的气氛，真称得上是已断了烟火的神仙境界呢！每一个角度都是那么的奇突，古雅而生动。 我们如果不是因为刚才描画舞蹈的场面，化去了太多的时间，那么，在这鬼塔下，至少就可以完成四幅以上的理想好画呢！为了时迫事冗，不得已只好抅了两幅画稿，便亟亟地前往大城皇朝的王宫废址去憑弔了！
Today is the third day since we arrived in Bangkok, and our program for the day is to visit "The Grand City." I woke up at four in the morning and roused all my companions. Once everyone was ready, we took a taxi from Bangkok and sped north along Phahol Yotin Road. Along the way, we passed numerous rivers, vast fields, and rows of markets. The road was rough and bumpy, causing the car to shake and dust to fill the air. Thankfully, the taxi driver was quite talkative, which helped alleviate the fatigue of our journey.
The driver told us, "Over 1,500 years ago, this area was a vast sea, but it later transformed into a fertile plain." This could be true because The Grand City is situated at the confluence of the Menam River, the Pasak River, and the Lopburi River. The sediment carried downstream over countless years resulted in this fertile valley. It's no wonder that The Grand City is the largest rice-producing region in Thailand, benefiting from its excellent geographical conditions.
"At the mouth of the Menam River, there's a temple built by King Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat. Let me take you there," the driver continued. He seemed to have become our impromptu tour guide. He went on to say, "One day, King Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat and a sorcerer competed to build temples to see whose magical powers were greater. The next morning, the king had completed a majestic stupa, but the roof hadn't been put on yet. Meanwhile, the sorcerer had also built a stupa and invited the king to see it. In a hurry, the king tied his headdress to the top of his own stupa to represent the roof and used magic to blow wind, causing the sorcerer's stupa to lean. Then he told the sorcerer, 'Your stupa is crooked!' The sorcerer, not convinced, demolished it and rebuilt it, but it was still crooked." That's why people still call this stupa the Ghost Tower. No matter from which angle you look at it, it appears to be leaning... look over there! Do you see that tower? It's definitely leaning!"
We first visited the Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat Temple. Today, by chance, we witnessed the vibrant scene of spirit possession performances. Two stages were set up in the square, and the actors were getting ready in the open air, applying makeup, painting their faces, shaping their eyebrows, styling their hair, wearing crowns, and changing clothes—all on a simple, empty stage. Just a few old tables and some trunks served as makeshift dressing rooms. Even young children, completely naked, helped their mothers with their costumes! The musicians vigorously played their instruments next to the stage. After the performers were ready, they took turns going on stage to perform. There were no props or scenery on the stage. Most of their dance moves resembled offerings to the gods, such as exorcisms and summoning spirits. Fierce drumming accompanied the performances. We were faced with this once-in-a-lifetime spectacle and couldn't help but move around actively. We tried to find the best angles for photos and sketches, fearing that time would steal away these wonderful moments.Tze Peng, known as the "Tense Master," even put unprocessed film back into his camera. Keng Kwang, who is usually relaxed and slow, became quite agile today. He jumped up and down, displaying unexpected energy. Even Yanlu, who was suffering from joint pain, appeared to have temporarily recovered. Yanlu said, "This is the best way to truly understand the essence of traditional folk dances." He was also deeply engrossed in studying the performances. Among us, only he remained relatively still, while the rest of us were busily active.
By around 11:30 AM, the dancers had all entered the temple. We followed them inside. It turned out that they had to dance in front of the Buddha as well—it was all part of their performance!
The Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat Temple has an ancient and majestic appearance. With its red tiles and intricate designs, it exudes a rich Chinese flavor, combining Thai and Chinese artistic styles. Inside the temple, there's a massive seated clay Buddha statue, unbelievably huge. The dancers performed in front of the Buddha, and their height only reached the base of the lotus seat, which is said to be the image of King Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat.
In the temple, red candles were lit, and incense smoke filled the air. Devotees flocked to the Buddha, resembling ants drawn to sugar. We squeezed through the crowd, unable to make sketches, and sweating profusely. We quickly left the Phra Nakhon Sri Thammarat Temple.
Next, the driver took us to visit the mythical and desolate Ghost Tower across the river. We first circled the area and observed this dilapidated and eerie ancient tower, with broken and fragmented Buddha statues scattered everywhere. Despite the desolation, the ruins exuded a serene and solemn atmosphere, truly reflecting the realm of immortals who had long forsaken worldly affairs. Every angle was striking, ancient, and vivid. If we hadn't spent so much time sketching the dance scene earlier, we could have easily completed at least four ideal paintings here. Due to time constraints, we only managed to sketch two drawings before hurrying to pay our respects at the royal palace ruins of The Grand City.