Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Wat Phra That Choeng
Chum
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
(Th Ruangsawat; dawn-dusk)
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 smal-
ler 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 four incarnations of the Buddha.
Also on the grounds are a gorgeous modern Lan Xang-style
bòht,
a simple century-old
Isan-style
bòht
, and an octagonal
hŏr đrai
that now houses a little
museum
: If you want to
look inside, ask a monk to get the key. The top of the western gate resembles the wax
castles carved for Ork Phansaa.
Wat Saphan Kham
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
(Th Charoen Muang; dawn-dusk)
Beautiful in its simplicity, the small, recently restored
bòht
here is estimated to be about a century old and is fronted by two unintentionally ador-
able
naga
.
Wat Pa Sutthawat
( 5am-9pm)
The grounds of Wat Pa Sutthawat, on the southwestern outskirts of
town, is essentially a shrine to one of Thailand's best-known monks, Ajahn Man Bhuridat-
to, who helped found the temple but didn't live here until just before his death in 1949. The
final resting place of his personal effects, the
Ajahn Man Museum
(6am to 7pm), 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. Signs are in English.
Ajahn Lui Chanthasaro, who died in 1989, was one of Ajahn Man's most famous stu-
dents, and King Rama IX designed the
chedi
that holds the
Ajahn Lui Museum
. Ajahn Lui is
represented in wax.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE
Wat Phra That Narai Cheng
