Wat Pa Mak No is a Buddhist Temple, managed by two monks, located in a tranquil secluded area in Mae Chan. The area was formerly an islet known as Ko Maemai located approximately 200 metres away from the bank and covering an area of about 10 rai. The place has the perfect ambient for learning and practicing meditation. Wat Pa Mak No, known also as Wiang Nong Lom among the locals, is a magical plac
e enriched with history, legends and various believes. Even nowadays when people find old artifacts and relics they take them to the temple for safe keeping. Today Wat Pa Mak No has preserved many old relics, such as the Metal Bowl. The sword-headed serpent is kept in the temple and everyone who visits can admire its beauty. The conservation area around the temple prohibits hunting and is thought to be a sanctuary for all living creatures where human, plants and animals share the land in harmony. The temple is famous for the many miracles and legends among the people in the suburbs. The area has been inhabited by the legendary 4th century Yonok civilization reported in the Sinhanavati Chronicle (Notton, 1926), for which little or no archaeological evidence has been found. The Sinhanavati Chronicle relates a detailed story of a great earthquake in 1003BE, which is around 460AD, in which the ancient city of Wiang Yonok Nakhon sank into a swamp and all the inhabitants, except for one old widow, perished. There is a local legend of the area Ko Mae Mai, where Wat Pa Mak No is and where the surviving old widow called Me Bokhiao, resided. The legend also describes the approximate location of the sunken city in the swamp of Wiang Nong Lom. The story tails talk about a “sky man”, not from this world, who appeared in front of Me Bokhiao, to ask why she is the only one not eating white eel meat. The old lady reply was that since she is old and her husband has passed away she has no one to look after her and catching the eel is difficult for her. In return the “sky person” advised her to not eat white eel if someone offers her and to stay at her house throughout the night, in spite of what noises she might hear. When the night came the old widow heard loud bolts and thunders, so she had the urge to run away, however she recalled the words from the “sky man” and stayed in her house despite of the fear. In the morning when everything was quite and the sun rose above the horizon, Me Bokhiao came out to discover that everything around the island has disappeared, a part of the land on which her property stood. The area was lost for centuries before it was recently found again by a monk during his meditation retreat.
