Wat Saman Rattanaram
Wat Saman Rattanaram is without a doubt one of the most underrated temples I’ve been to in Thailand in my 3+ years in this incredible country. It has incredibly ornate and impressive temple statues like the giant pink elephant “Ganesh” as well as various other amazing Hindu deities. Now Wat Saman may not be as popular as other places like Wat Pho with its laying down Buddha in Bangkok, but this one will give you an entirely different experience.
This temple totally lived up to my expectations after seeing one of my Thai friends who lives in Samut Prakarn post about it. While some temples are famous for their revered Buddha recreations, Wat Saman hosts several monumental statues, modern and contemporary, essentially representing the most prominent Hindu deities.
At Wat Saman Rattanaram in Chachoengsao, there is a giant Reclining Ganesha which is said to be the biggest in Thailand, if not the whole world. It’s 16-meters high and 22-meters long making for an amazing background for pics with your family and friends. This famous Hindu deity has an elephant head and four arms and if you ever travel to India or Nepal then you can expect to see depicted all over.
The best way to visit this place as a tourist visiting Bangkok would be to work it into a trip south towards Rayong Beach or the Ancient City in Samut Prakarn. Around the temple, there is also a floating market that has plenty of stalls selling a variety of food and drinks. You can also join boat tours if you’d like to see more of Chachoengsao.
The pink elephant is far from being the only giant statue of this temple as you can see the massive Brahma deity representation towering in the distance as you drive into the parking lot. This statue of Brahma may also be the largest in the world and depicts the 4-faced gold-covered God with its foot seated on a pedestal, towering overhead, and looking down on its disciples was actually really cool!
Wat Saman was a wonderful place to visit and it would be even more incredible with kids owing to it’s giant pink Ganesh and various other interesting statues and decorations. This attraction seems almost like a flashy theme park-like temple, more so than it’s similar island temple counterpart known as Wat Plai Laem on Koh Samui.
This temple is a little off the beaten track where the typical tourist may visit Wat Chalong in Phuket, Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, or Wat Arun in Bangkok and think they’ve seen it all. Unfortunately for many visitors, unique places like Wat Saman are still under the radar for the standard Thailand temple tourist itinerary. If you plan on visiting Thailand, try and take some time to see as many temples as possible, as there are at least 10 completely unique temples scattered throughout the country and well worth visiting. There is also a lot of food available in their canteen area with various vendors providing most of the staple Thai meals at reasonable prices.
Wat Saman Rattanaram
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