Sights in Sakon Nakhon
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Wat Phra That Choeng Chum
The most visible highlight at Wat Phra That Choeng Chum is the 24m-high Lao-style chedi, which was erected in the 17th century over a smaller 11th-century Khmer prang and is now topped by a solid-gold umbrella. The name means 'Stupa of the Gathering of the Footprints Temple' because it was built above four Buddha footprints, which many Thais believe were left by the four incarnations of the Lord Buddha. Lôok ní·mít (spherical ordination-precinct markers that look like cannonballs and are buried under the regular boundary markers that surround most bòht) are lined up in the back.
Also on the grounds are a Lan Xang-era bòht, an enormous wooden bell and an octagonal hŏr…
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Wat Pa Sutthawat
The grounds of Wat Pa Sutthawat, on the southwestern outskirts of town, are essentially a shrine to two of Thailand's best-known monks. Most famous of all is Luang Pu (Ajahn) Man Bhuridatto, who helped found the temple but didn't live here until just before his death in 1949. The final resting place of Ajahn Man's personal effects, the Ajahn Man Museum, looks a bit like a modern Christian church, with arches and etched-glass windows. A bronze image of Ajahn Man sits on a pedestal at the back and relics that remained after his cremation are in a glass box in front.
Luang Pu (Ajahn) Lui Chanthasaro, who died in 1989, was one of Ajahn Man's most famous students, and King Rama…
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City Monument
The city monument at the northwestern corner of town loosely resembles Vientiane’s Patuxai. The archlike structure consists of four thick cement pillars standing over a bowl filled with naga.
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Sapan Kom
Across the park from the city monument, the replica Sapan Kom lies along part of a Khmer road leading to Wat Phra That Narai Cheng Weng.
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Aquarium
The freshwater aquarium at the Sakon Nakhon Fishery Station displays fish from Nong Han, as well as the Mekong and Songkhram rivers.
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Wat Phra That Narai Cheng Weng
About 5km west of town at Ban That is a 10th- to 11th-century Khmer prang (named Phra That Nawaeng, a contraction of the words Narai Cheng Weng) in the early Bapuan style. Originally part of a Khmer-Hindu complex, the five-level sandstone prang is missing much of its top, but still features several lintels including a reclining Vishnu over its northern portico and a dancing Shiva over its eastern one. It's not very impressive or evocative, but it's the most complete Khmer ruin in the province.
To get here by public transport take sŏrng·tăa·ou 3 (10B) from near the market or catch it heading north on Th Ratpattana. Get off at Ban That Market and walk 500m south.
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Nong Han
Rimming the eastern and northern edges of town is 123-sq-km Nong Han, Isan's largest natural lake, which is well known among Thais due to the legend surrounding it. Fishermen, who tie up their boats just east of Srinakarin Park, will take you out sightseeing, including a stop to visit the abandoned temple on Ko Don Sawan (Paradise Island), the lake's largest island. The going rate is around 800B. Don't copy the fishermen and swim in the lake: it's infested with liver flukes, which can cause a nasty infection known as opisthorchiasis.
The nearby Fishery Station has an aquarium with fish from the lake as well as the Mekong River and Mae Nam Songkhram.
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