The man behind a 10-million-baht wooden home severely damaged by fire in May donated the remains to Sriworaram Temple to build a new pavilion.
Khunthong Ou-ngern, a former tourist police officer and now operator of the Poipet market in Pattaya, built the Baan Phayamai village as a tourist attraction aimed at Chinese visitors. He presented the teak, pradu and takhian timber to the Takhiantia temple Aug. 15. The wood donated is still in usable condition for a sala, he said.
The temple wanted a wooden sala, as monks believe spirits in the wood will live happily and bring fortune to visitors.
More than 10 fire trucks were called to Ban Phayamai on Soi Mabyailia 2-Nongyai on May 6. Flames swept through the 1.5-rai main building, burning parts of it to the ground.
Khunthong said he has been making merit since the blaze, hoping to chase bad spirits away. He said he has prayed to the spirit of King Taksin the Great to protect him from repeat incidents.
The fire only reached the entrance to the main building and he believes spirits stopped the flames, limiting damage to wood prepared for carving and some other structures.
His wife, Suticha, said the fire easily could have engulfed the entire house, but the entrance to the main building was not damaged. The pillars and posts were made of thakian, which is known as a wood preferred by spirits.
Apart from that, the other rare and expensive wood used as roof tiles were all burnt to ashes. It took 10 years to collect and construct the Phayamai house. However, since the wood is not all gone, the remains from the fire were donated to Sriworaram Temple to create an ancient-style sala or shrine for tourists.
Completion is scheduled for the end of the year.
