bangkok temple Wat Sothon

Bangkok Wat Sothon Temple

Thailand bangkok wat sothon temple
Wat Sothon, Chachoengsao
River bank in Amphoe Muang | approx. 2 km S of Sala Mang, Chachoengsao, Thailand

        
               holy water in rubber tube for easy take away

       at new temple

This monastery houses Phra Phutthasothon or “Luang Pho Sothon”. It is situated on the river bank in Amphoe Muang approximately 2 Kms, south of Sala Klang (the City Hall).

Wat Sothon, has a very sacred Buddha image and is regarded as one of the most revered Buddha images by the people in Thailand. The image, in the attitude of meditation has a lap width of 1.65 meters and height of 1.98 meters, is always seen entirely pasted with gold leaves by worshipers.

Legend says that there were three bronze Buddha images floating down from Prachin Buri. They appeared at Sampathuan County of Chachoengsao, dates back since the Ayutthaya Period during the reign of King Phra Borom Tri Lokkanat.

Most of the villagers live along the banks of Bang Pakong River and canals. The people seeing the situation, quickly tied the three images with ropes and tried to pull them out of the water but failed. The three images continued floating downstream.

The big one later floated and appeared at Ban Laem of Samut Songkhram where the people enshrined him at Wat Ban Laem. The small one was enshrined at Wat Bang Phli of Samut Prakan. The medium sized one, Luang Pho Sothon, floated down the Bang Pakong River to the site now as Wat Sothon.

Effects to retrieve by the people were unsuccessful the first time, until a wise man built a small shrine. A ceremony performed to welcome the image, Phra Phuttha Sothon. They prayed and invited him to be enshrined at Wat Sothon as can be currently seen.

There are two annual fairs celebrating Luang Phor Sothon, in the middle of the 5th and 12th lunar months ( around April and November).

The new tall ubosoth of Sothorn Wararam Waravihan Temple is always flooded with attention of visitors. Religious followers come to the temple to seek favours in the form of financial wealth and health from the Lanna-style Buddha image.

Worshippers all over the country pay high respect to this temple due to the miraculous events attributed to the statue, example, recovery from terminal illness using petals collected from the ground in front of the temple statue and made into herbal medicine. In return, a small donation is given to hired Thai dancers, attired in elaborate classical costumes and perform for the resident spirits.

The temple is particularly well known to childless couples that have a firm belief that praying to Luang Phor Sothorn will help result in pregnancy.

By Train-old traditional train at railway station (note:  not mrt or bts)  please check train schedule

The trains from Hua Lamphong Railway Station (take MRT to Hua Lamphong Station and seek help to nearby Railway Station) to Chachoengsao leave every day, 9 trains/day, both regular and air-conditioned during 06:00 17:25 hrs. The fare is 40 Baht for air-conditioned and 13 Baht for regular one. For more details, contact?? 0 2223 7010, 0 2223 7020.

or By Taxi
we hired a taxi for the whole day to bring us to Wat Sothon and Wat Ayudhaya (old city) and cost us 2800 baht or Sin$120 for 4 persons.   it will cost per person 1300 baht per person to follow group tour.

By Car
From Bangkok, there are 3 routes to Chachoengsao:

1) Use highway No.304, via Min Buri, with the distance of 82 kilometers.

2) Use Bang Na Trat highway, turn left before reaching the bridge over Bang Pakong River to highway No.314. The total distance is 100 kilometers.

3) Use highway No.3, via Samut Prakarn and Bang Pakong, then turn left to highway No.314. The total distance is 106 kilometers   By Bus

There are buses leaving from 2 bus terminals: From Mor Chit 2 Bus Terminal (Tel: 0 2936 2852 66) First and second-class air-conditioned buses leave every 40 minutes during 06:00 17:00 hrs. The fare is 40 and 36 Baht, respectively.

Regular buses leave every 30 minutes during 05:40 19:00 hrs. The fare is 26 Baht. From Eastern Bus Terminal (at Ekkamai) (Tel: 0 2392 2391) First class air-conditioned buses leave every 40 minutes during 06:30 17:00 hrs. The fare is 59 Baht. Regular buses leave every 30 minutes during 05:40 19:00 hrs. The fare is 33 Baht.

Klong Suan 100-year-old Market (15 mins from Luang Pho Sothon temple)

Getting there:

By car – from Bangkok, take Motorway Expressway, and follow the signs for ‘100 Year Old Khlong Suan Market’, or take On Nut – Chachoengsao Road, drive past Latkrabang Institute of Technology, continue straight, and Khlong Suan Market will be on the left.

For further information, contact Tambon Thepparat Municipality, Amphoe Ban Pho, Chachoensao, tel. 0 3859 5633, 0 3859 5716, or Tambon Khlong Suan Municipality, Amphoe Bang Bo, Samut Prahan, tel. 0 2739 3253, 0 2739 3329, 0 2704 1273.

You'll find Klong Suan 100 year old market outside Bangkok, about 20 kilometers past Suvarnabhumi airport. It's actually more than 150 years old and is a wonderful slice of traditional Thai life. Because of its remote location, Klong Suan has only recently been discovered by international tourists who mostly flock here on the weekends when boatman also arrive on the local waterway to sell their wares. While the floating market is restricted to Saturdays and Sundays, the main market is open every day and is much less crowded. If you take the time to explore you can discover some true treasures. If you love collectable tin toys, then Klong Suan delivers. Some of the vendors here have become famous within Thailand. This bakery is not busy on a weekday, but when the weekends roll in the queue for cakes is non-stop all day. Klong Suan is several hundred meters long and packed with an endless line of tiny old-fashioned wooden shops, where many of the owners still live upstairs. Some have been here since they were born and many of the businesses have been maintained for 3 or more generations. 70 year old Dumrong has been a barber here for all of his working life. His father started the barber shop before he was born. Somchai and Siriporn run one of Klong Suan's most famous candy stores along with their granddaughter Porntip and if you head here with your children this is usually one place in the market that's hard to avoid. 53 year old Penpat runs the coffee shop started by her 80 year old father, Mr Lee, who is one of the most famous vendors at Klong Suan. She is the 7th of his 9 children and oversees the business when Mr Lee takes a rare day off. You can sip on Arabica coffee from Thailand's north and gaze at the array of family photos that decorate the walls.


There is a small museum at Klong Suan that displays all kinds of products sold in the past. Vintage shampoos, washing powder, and old tea and cookie boxes share dusty shelves with antique medicine bottles. It's housed in what was once the residence of one of the market's founders. Klong Suan market is clean and beautifully maintained, so as you explore the wooden walkways, stop for some traditional local food and enjoy the atmosphere of a bygone era, when time definitely moved at a slower and friendlier pace.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXIXd6fkkPw