The number of interesting sites to visit in Nakhon Ratchasima are very limited; even so limited that after seeing a huge temple a few times from the bus I decided that I wanted to go there once to check it out further.
The view from the bus.
The view from the bus.
About 40 km before reaching the bus station at Nakhon Ratchasima you will see this temple on your left hand side when going from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima by bus, and on your right hand side when going the other way. Besides that it looks special it is also kind of famous for some reason because my parents-in-law have a few posters hanging in their house and one shows this temple (the other ones show the royal family).
The exact location of Wat Luang Phor Toh is: Latitude, 14° 52' 19.33" N. Longitude, 101° 43' 57.73" E. Or at least very close to that :)
The exact location of Wat Luang Phor Toh is:
Latitude, 14° 52′ 19.33″ N. Longitude, 101° 43′ 57.73″ E.
Or at least very close to that :)
Some time ago we went to the temple by car, on a Buddhist holiday, so it was pretty crowded. Luckily the temple has been set up petty spacious and there was enough parking space. As you see very often the whole temple complex is a combination of things: a garden, a temple, a religious shop, etc. I believe you could even get food there but maybe that was just because it was a buddhist holiday.
Some of the greenery around the temple.
Some of the greenery around the temple.
My favorite type of Thai bonsai trees :)
Cute bonsai-type trees :)
The garden part is nicely made but relatively small, so don’t expect to be able to take a walk and enjoy the nature since it is mostly some green decoration to bridge the space between the parking lot and the temple. Inside the temple there was opportunity enough to buy flowers, booklets, and amulets of which the proceeds are used to support the temple complex which is not completely finished yet.
The big statue inside the nice looking building. The site is still under construction.
The big statue inside the nice looking building. The site is still under construction.
All together the temple was nice to visit once but it never really impressed me; it seemed very luxurious and extraordinary from the outside but it really is like almost every other temple in Thailand. The biggest attraction that day was a guy famous from television who had financed a large part of this temple and many people wanted to take a picture with him. Since I had no idea who he was I skipped this part.
The exterior of the temple is rather special, especially after looking at rice paddies and road stalls for 2 hours when travelling from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima.
The exterior of the temple is rather special, especially after looking at rice paddies and road stalls for 2 hours when travelling from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima.
A place like Wat Ban Rai made a better impression on me but due to the huge difference in size it is not really a fair comparison. So if you go from Bangkok to Nakhon Ratchasima by car and feel like a break this place might be a nice spot to stretch your legs, but I would not really recommend people to arrange transportation to come to this temple when you are staying in Nakhon Ratchasima.