Wat Phumin

Wat Phumin was built in 1596 and rebuilt in the 1860s, and its plan is unusual: a cruciform hall with four entrances, each guarded by nagas whose bodies run through the building, and four Buddha images seated back to back at the centre facing the four doors. What draws people is the mural work from the 1860s rebuild, attributed to a Tai Lue painter, covering the walls with scenes from the Khattana Kumara Jataka and, alongside them, everyday life in nineteenth-century Nan - markets, tattooed men, French colonial figures, courtship, drinking, and a great deal that formal religious painting normally leaves out. One detail, a man leaning to whisper to a woman, known as Pu Man Ya Man, has become the symbol of Nan province and appears on everything sold there. The murals are faded and lit dimly for conservation. The temple is free and takes an hour.

What you actually see

• The whispering couple - the mural detail that became Nan's emblem.
• The daily life scenes - nineteenth-century Nan painted alongside the Jataka.
• The cruciform plan - four doors, four nagas, four Buddhas back to back.
• The Tai Lue style - the painting tradition the murals come from.

When to go

November to February. Mornings are quietest. An hour covers it, and the national museum opposite holds the Nan black elephant tusk.

Honest expectations

The murals are faded and deliberately dimly lit - photography without flash is difficult and flash is prohibited. Small and busy with Thai visitors photographing the whispering couple. Temple dress code applies.

Nearby

The Nan National Museum is opposite; Wat Phra That Chae Haeng is across the river.