Temple sights in Thailand
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Sanjao Bueng Tao Gong Ma
Sometimes called Sanjao Bueng Kaen Nakhon, this is Khon Kaen's biggest and most beautiful Chinese temple. There's a large Guan-Im (Chinese Goddess of Mercy) statue in the park across the street.
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Wat Ao Noi
From Ao Prachuap, follow the coastal road 8km north as it skirts through the fishing village and flower-filled lanes to reach this beautiful teak temple that straddles two bays (Ao Noi and Ao Khan Kradai). Limestone mountains pose photogenically in the background, while a dramatic nine-headed naga protects the temple's exterior. Inside are unique bas-relief murals depicting the jataka stories (Buddha's previous lives).
The temple grounds are forested with a variety of fruit trees (jackfruit, pomegranate, mango and rose apple) and a lotus pond filled with ravenous fish, eager to be feed by merit-makers. You'll catch an unpleasant odour nearby indicating that the temple is…
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Wat Bahn Tham
The web of hillside caves for which this temple is famous holds many ancient secrets, according to folklore. Getting to the caves involves ascending a flight of steps that passes through a 'dragon's mouth' entrance. Of the five caves near the top, one has a standing Buddha image which is illuminated by a single shaft of sunlight breaking through the top of the hill. A stone in one cave is said to resemble an innocent woman, Bua Khli, who was killed by her husband 400 years ago. The stone is painted and given different dresses throughout the year as her soul was once thought to inhabit there. Another blocked-off passageway leads to a village inhabited by giants, or so…
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Wat Chama Thewi
A more unusual Hariphunchai chedi can be seen at Wat Chama Thewi (popularly called Wat Kukut) and dates to around the 13th century. Known as Chedi Suwan Chang Kot, it has been restored many times since then, so it is now a mixture of several schools of architecture but is widely regarded as one of the most recent examples of Dvaravati architecture. Each side of the chedi has five rows of three Buddha figures, diminishing in size on each higher level. The standing Buddhas, although made recently, are in Dvaravati style.
The temple is about 1.5km from Wat Phra That Hariphunchai; you can take a motorcycle taxi (20B) from in front of the museum.
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Wat Chang Lom
Off Hwy 12 in the east zone, Wat Chang Lom (Elephant Circled Monastery) is about 1km east of the main park entrance. A large bell-shaped chedi is supported by 36 elephants sculpted into its base.
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Wat Chedi Luang
Another venerable stop on the temple trail, Wat Chedi Luang is built around a partially ruined Lanna-style chedi dating from 1441 that was believed to be one of the tallest structures in ancient Chiang Mai. Stories say it was damaged by either a 16th-century earthquake or by the cannon fire of King Taksin in 1775 during the recapture of Chiang Mai from the Burmese. The famed Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha), now held in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew (), sat in the eastern niche here in 1475. Today there is a jade replica sitting in its place, financed by the Thai king and carved in 1995 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the chedi (according to some reckonings), and the 700th…
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Wat Chedi Si Hong
Directly across from Wat Chetupon, the main chedi here has retained much of its original stucco relief work, which shows still vivid depictions of elephants, lions and humans.
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Wat Chetawan, Wat Mahawan & Wat Bupparam
These three wát along Th Tha Phae feature highly ornate wí·hăhn and chedi designed by Shan and Burmese artisans. Financed by Burmese teak merchants who immigrated to Chiang Mai a century or more ago, evidence of Shan/Burmese influence is easily seen in the abundant peacock symbol (a solar symbol common in Burmese and Shan temple architecture) and the Mandalay-style standing Buddhas found in wall niches.
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Wat Chetupon
Located 1.4km south of the city walls, this temple once held a four-sided mon·dòp featuring the four classic poses of the Buddha (sitting, reclining, standing and walking). The graceful lines of the walking Buddha can still be made out today.
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Wat Khu Yang
This Buddhist temple contains a handsome wooden hŏr đrai dating back to the 19th century.
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Wat Mahathat
Completed in the 13th century, the largest wát in Sukhothai is surrounded by brick walls (206m long and 200m wide) and a moat that is believed to represent the outer wall of the universe and the cosmic ocean. The chedi spires feature the famous lotus-bud motif, and some of the original stately Buddha figures still sit among the ruined columns of the old wí·hăhn. There are 198 chedi within the monastery walls – a lot to explore in what many consider was once the spiritual and administrative centre of the old capital.
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Wat Mahathat Worawihan
Centrally located, gleaming white Wat Mahathat is a lovely example of an everyday temple with as much hustle and bustle as the busy commercial district around it. The showpiece is a five-tiered Khmer-style prang (Khmer-style stupa) decorated in stucco relief, a speciality of Phetchaburi's local artisans. Inside the main wí·hăhn (shrine hall or sanctuary) are contemporary murals, another example of the province's thriving temple craftsmanship. The tempo of the temple is further heightened with the steady beat from traditional musicians and dancers who perform for merit-making services.
After visiting the temple, follow Th Suwanmunee through the old teak house district…
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Wat Nong Wang
Down at the south end of the lake, Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon, the stunning stupa at the heart of this important temple, is Khon Kaen's one must-see. It features enlightening murals depicting Isan culture; various historical displays, including a collection of rare Buddha images on the 4th floor; and a 9th-floor observation deck.
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Wat Pa Lelai
For something completely different, visit this wát 500m north of the burial site, across the little bridge. The awesome childlike murals in the two-story building at the back are both enlightening and entertaining.
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Wat Pa Silawiwet
It's the hundred or so resident monkeys rather than anything religious that makes this forest temple on the edge of town worth a visit.
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Wat Phra Borommathat
Across Mae Nam Ping are the neglected ruins of Wat Phra Borommathat, in an area that was settled long before Kamphaeng Phet's heyday, although visible remains are post-classical Sukhothai. The compound has a few small chedi and one large chedi of the late Sukhothai period which is now crowned with a Burmese-style umbrella added early in the 20th century.
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Wat Phra Phai Luang
Outside the city walls in the northern zone, this somewhat isolated wát features three 12th-century Khmer-style towers, bigger than those at Wat Si Sawai. This may have been the centre of Sukhothai when it was ruled by the Khmers of Angkor prior to the 13th century.
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Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat
The full name of this temple is Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, but the locals call it Wat Phra Si or Wat Yai. The main wí·hăhn appears small from the outside, but houses the Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, one of Thailand's most revered and copied Buddha images. This famous bronze statue is probably second in importance only to the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok's Wat Phra Kaew.
The story goes that construction of this wát was commissioned under the reign of King Li Thai in 1357. When it was completed, King Li Thai wanted it to contain three high-quality bronze images, so he sent for well-known sculptors from Si Satchanalai, Chiang Saen and Hariphunchai (Lamphun), as well as five…
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Wat Phra That Doi Suthep
Like a beacon projecting a calming blanket on the urban plains below, Wat Suthep is seen clearly from Chiang Mai, majestically perched atop Doi Suthep's summit. It is one of the north's most sacred temples, and Thai pilgrims flock here to make merit to the Buddhist relic enshrined in the picturesque golden chedi. Offering sublime city views, when the clouds and smoke-dust haze (March-June) permit, the temple also has an interesting collection of Lanna art and architecture.
The temple was first established in 1383 under King Keu Naone and enjoys a fantastically mystical birth story. A visiting monk from Sukhothai instructed the Lanna king to take the twin of a miraculous…
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Wat Phra That Doi Tung
At the peak, 1800m above sea level, Wat Phra That Doi Tung is built around the twin Lanna-style chedi. The chedi were renovated by Chiang Mai monk Khruba Siwichai, famous for his prodigious building projects, early in the 20th century. Pilgrims bang on the usual row of temple bells to gain merit. Although the wát isn't that impressive, the forested setting will make the trip worthwhile. From the walled edge of the temple you can get an aerial view of the snaky road you've just climbed. A walking path next to the wát leads to a spring and there are other short walking trails in the vicinity.
A bit below the peak is the smaller Wat Noi Doi Tung, where food and beverages…
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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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Wat Ratburana
Across the street from Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, Wat Ratburana draws fewer visitors but in some ways is more interesting than its famous neighbour. In addition to a wí·hăhn with a 700-year-old gold Buddha, an ùbohsòt chapel with beautiful murals thought to date back to the mid-19th century, and two hŏr đrai, the temple is also home to a few quirky attractions that offer a fascinating insight into the practices of Thai Buddhism.
The most obvious of these is a large wooden boat decked with garlands that originally served to transport King Rama V on an official visit to Phitsanulok. Today the boat is thought to grant wishes to those who make an offering and crawl…
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Wat Saphan Hin
Located on the crest of a hill that rises about 200m above the plain, the name of the wát, which means 'stone bridge', is a reference to the slate path and staircase that leads up to the temple, which are still in place. The site is 3km west of the former city wall and gives a good view of the Sukhothai ruins to the southeast and the mountains to the north and south.
All that remains of the original temple are a few chedi and the ruined wí·hăhn, consisting of two rows of laterite columns flanking a 12.5m-high standing Buddha image on a brick terrace.
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Wat Sa Si
Also known as 'Sacred Pond Monastery', Wat Sa Si sits on an island west of the bronze monument of King Ramkhamhaeng (the third Sukhothai king). It's a simple, classic Sukhothai-style wát containing a large Buddha, one chedi and the columns of the ruined wí·hăhn.
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Wat Si Sawai
Just south of Wat Mahathat, this Buddhist shrine (dating from the 12th and 13th centuries) features three Khmer-style towers and a picturesque moat. It was originally built by the Khmers as a Hindu temple.
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