Thailand being a predominantly Buddhist country has more than 40,000 buddhist temples throughout her soil. Many are just similar buildings while few has become famous tourist destinations with their unique architectures and beautiful enivornments.
One such temple is Wat Ban Rai, built by one of Thailand most revered monk Luang Por Koon at a cost of about 100 million THB. Located in Dan Khun Tod district in the north eastern Thailand province of Nakhon Ratchasima, this temple has now become a favorite and must-visit tourist attraction for anyone visiting Nakhon Ratchasima. Opened about the year 2011, the shrine is Asia's largest ceramic mosaic shrine with more than 20 million pieces of mosaic adorning its walls.
The key interest points of the temple are:
- The main attraction of Hor Thep Wittayakom which is the elephant-liked shrine built in the center of a lake with its outer walls decorated with Buddhism teachings,
- The beautifully decorated enameled tiled chapel,
- The museum of Luang Por Koom which exhibits his biography,
- The statues of the 7-headed Nagas (Serpent) situated in the center of the lake wich is decorated with around 900,000 pieces of mosaic.
The main attraction of the 4 storey 42 metres high Hor Thep Wittayakorn shrine is built in the center of a lake and has a diameter of about 65 meters.
The entrance of the bridge leading to the shrine is guarded by 2 beautifully coloured Nagas.
With its 520-ton ceramic elephant head on the body of a turtle, the shrine boost a unique architecture unlike many conventional Thai temples.
The entrance to the main shrine, its roof and all around the shrine is adorned with colourful statues with the main hall locating a statue of the revered Luang Por Koon who had passed on just afew years ago, for visitors to pay their respect.
The walkway leading up to the 2nd storey where an exhibition explaining the different mainstrem orthodox Buddhism practices is held, is lined with many Buddhist artworks.
The 4th storey is an open air patio where one can take a rest while admiring the extraordinary views of the surrounding of Wat Ban Rai and the countryside within which it is located. There is also a pair of beautiful golden statue of the Buddha and Lor Por Koon "walking together on the same path".
The experinece of visting Wat Ban Rai was indeed both a memorable and mesmerizing one and thus I recommend anyone who is within the region to not miss this awesome attraction.
