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Wat Saphan Hin
(This makes 9 times struck by awe. Well, after taking a bicycle down a highway, terrified of getting side-swiped, and trekking up a 200-foot stone staircase, I’d better be.)

I imagine an old monk more than 700 years ago in the town of Sukhothai. He looks up from his prayers, looking all the way Northwest into the mountains, in the direction of Wat Saphan Hin. And he is assured, despite his worries - the coming warriors, the weakening king, the religious treasures, the women and children - by the image of the giant Buddha, both palms stretched outward, looking out over the kingdom, dispelling all fear.