Wat Yai Chaimongkol is a magnificent ancient royal monastery, more than a mere place of worship. It has been the pride of Siamese people since the 13th Century. Its very existence conveys a sense of the power of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, which once expanded in all directions. From Siam to cover part of Burma to the northwest, then stretched to the east to the whole of Laos and Cambodia, and extended southward to the whole of Malaysia and the little island of Singapore. Never during those 417 years did any other nations challenge Siam’s dominion of the whole Golden Peninsula.