Near the banks of the Mekong river in the village of That Phanom in Nakhon Phanom province lies one of the most highly revered temples of North East Thailand. The temple named Wat Phra That Phanom, with its beautiful chedi being the most recognizable landmark of the area, that is not much visited by foreign tourists.
The structure of the temple complex that immediately catches the eye is the 57 meters high Laotian style chedi, that can be seen from far away approaching the temple.
The chedi named That Phanom with its very elegant shape is painted in white and decorated with gold ornaments. The top of the chedi contains 110 kilos of gold. The base of the chedi is decorated with reliefs showing scenes from Brahman mythology.
The temple is of high importance to Buddhists because the chedi enshrines a highly revered relic, namely a breast bone of the Buddha. It is said that the temple was built on the spot where the breast bone was found.
Every year a festival is held on the temple grounds lasting a week when thousands of Thai and Lao Buddhists come to the temple to pay their respect to the temple and the relics of the Buddha.