Chachengsao (ฉะเชิงเทรา)

Name of a province as well as the capital city of this province (map) in East Thailand, 82 kms to the East of Bangkok, situated on the banks of the Bang Pakong River, which divides the city in two. The name of the city which developed around the river and its many canals is said to be a Khmer word meaning ‘deep canal’. The city has an old history, dating back to the reign of King Somdet Phra Borom Trailohkanat (1448-1488 AD) in the Ayutthaya Period. Most of the people have settled by the Bang Pakong River which is used extensively for farming rice. The main attraction is the Sothon Wararam Worawihaan temple (fig.) with the Sothon Buddha image, one of the most sacred images in the country and associated with the notorious Luang Po Sothon, a Phra saksit. This monk predicted the exact time of his own death, to which thousands of spectators flocked to the temple to watch him die, seated in the dhyani meditation pose. The city (fig.) is also called Paet Riw, a name that comes from a story which relates that the city's river (fig.) once teemed with giant snake-head fish that needed up to eight cuts (paet riw - fig.) on each side, to make it into sun-dried fish. The region is known for a particular kind of mango, the mamuang raed. The province has ten amphur and one king amphur, that are divided into 93 tambon and 859 mu ban. Also transcribed Chachoengsao. See also Chachengsao data file and MAP. 回