Thailand 2023, part 21 (Khon Kaen)
The beginning of my stay in Khon Kaen, located in the middle of north-eastern Thailand, was marked by my exceptional efficiency. I immediately bought a ticket to Sukhothai for two days later, precisely at the departure time that suited me best. Then I quickly transferred to the hotel, arranged the transportation for the next day, when I planned to go on a trip, and now all that was left for me to do was to find a place to eat.
However, even though Thailand is known as a country where delicious food is available at every corner, it’s not always the case everywhere. I could see on the internet map that there were several restaurants around my hotel, but I started looking for them during some afternoon break time. And I was quite hungry. There was no other option but to wander around the streets near the hotel, hoping to find something. And it happened.
It was a regular local restaurant, no customers inside and I asked the owners, who also lived there, if they had any food. They kindly accommodated me and I got a lovely soup with all sorts of ingredients. I have no idea what I ate, but it was very satisfying. I was no longer hungry.
Pleasantly refreshed by the delicious food in my stomach, I continued to walk because about 3 km from my hotel is one of the important places in the city, Kaen Nakhon Lake, which I planned to visit. On the way there, I walked along some of the larger streets in the city and there were some interesting sights suitable for the commercial part of a city.
I found the power lines with electrical cables particularly interesting. In the cities in my country, they are mostly distributed to end-users underground, so this seemed completely fascinating to me. I wondered how their electric distribution workers navigate through these tangled cables.
Right next to the lake there is a very beautiful temple, Wat That.
The temple was founded in 1789, at the same time as the city. Today, the temple complex includes several buildings and they all seemed impressive to me, especially bathed in the late afternoon sun.
In addition to the exceptionally beautiful ubosot seen in the previous picture, one of the characteristic elements is the 45-meter-high chedi. Its height symbolises the number of years that as an enlightened being Buddha spent in this plane of existence.
It is interesting that, unlike most temples, here it is allowed to enter its interior. I must admit that I found this information afterwards and I didn’t plan a more detailed tour of the temple. I simply enjoyed walking to the lake I wanted to see and the temple was on my way, which certainly didn’t stop me from enjoying the beautiful scenes here.
On the facade, I noticed several great or white-vented mynas (Acridotheres grandis) and I even took a photo of one of them.
Soon I arrived at the lake called Kaen Nakhon. This is a natural lake in the middle of the city.
This is a very popular place among the city residents and there is a nice path around the lake for walking and jogging. There are also playgrounds for children and areas with exercise equipment for adults. From what I saw, this is all widely used and there are organised recreational activities for adults as well.
Additionally, there are trees growing all around the lake, making the stay by the lake and a potential walk around it very pleasant, especially in the evening. Khon Kaen is known as the commercial centre of this part of Thailand and it is home to a large university. Thus, the city exudes the spirit of energetic and young people.
I didn’t complete a full circle around the lake; instead, I took a short stroll and then returned to the large parking area between Wat That Temple and the lake. In the evening, a food market is set up there and it is definitely worth a visit.
But first, I encountered a woman singing and entertaining people in the area between the park and the parking lot. She seemed like a refined and measured lady, so I lingered a bit to listen and record her performance. Of course, I also contributed some money to the container intended for that purpose.
Nearby, I also saw a container with lotus flower bouquets for sale, intended for buyers to take them to a temple. I was glad I remembered to capture these versions of lotus, as the petals are intricately folded, almost like an art form in Thailand, showcasing the skill of folding petals to create various elegant shapes. This folding technique is considered a way to enhance the beauty of the flowers before they are offered in the temple as a sign of respect to Buddha.
At the market, I first paid attention to the fruits and ended up buying some to take back to the hotel.
By this point of my journey, I was fully getting the hang of it – since there were no food purchasing options in the hotel, it meant I needed to buy some before returning to my room. The selection was fascinating:
I was particularly impressed by the offer of soups and broth-based dishes expertly packed in “to-go” bags. I didn’t try any, but I’m sure it works well.
And various other complete meals were conveniently packaged, as well as beautifully arranged.
While observing various food stalls, I concluded that sushi is quite popular here and is crafted with a lot of creativity.
And there were also various insects. I guess because of the protein. However, I must admit that I am conservative when it comes to the proteins I consume, so it never occurred to me to try these insects. By the way, later I saw prepared insects in other places in Thailand as well. So, it’s not just a specialty of Khon Kaen.
Speaking of proteins, let me mention a stall where various versions of boiled eggs were offered. I’m sure they were all good and edible, but I have to admit they didn’t particularly appeal to me, so I just skipped them. I’m ready to experiment a bit with food on every trip, but only to a certain extent.
There were also seafood options in various versions.
Of course, there were also sweets and this is undoubtedly a very popular place, so many people not only came here to look at the food, but they also bought it. Completely justified. Everything I bought here and later ate in my hotel room was absolutely fantastic!
After a great night’s sleep, in line with the impression about the efficiency of the staff at the Khon Kaen hotel where I stayed, they called me from the reception in the morning to inform me that the driver had arrived. It was about 10 minutes before the scheduled time and it was interesting that the vehicle was, in fact, a classic taxi driven by a woman.
The previous day, I had mentioned my particular interest in a specific site, Ban Chiang, which is about 150 km away from Khon Kaen, roughly a 2-hour drive. However, the arrangement was for the driver to take me to a few more interesting places.
So, first, I went to visit the temple in the city itself, which is considered an absolute must-see. This was the Wat Nong Wang temple, located very close to the southwest shore of Kaen Nakhon Lake and I had been quite near it the previous evening.
It is the largest and the most important temple in the city, founded in 1789, the same year as the city itself, although no old buildings have been preserved to this day. The structures within the temple complex are mostly conventional, but the main temple structure, referred to as a “chedi” or stupa, which is the term most commonly used for this temple, is something special. It’s a nine-story stupa, unique in Thailand.
The stupa, named Phra Mahathat Kaen Nakhon, was built between 1990 and 1996. Its sides at the base are each 50 meters long and it stands at a height of 80 meters. It has nine levels, constructed during the reign of King Rama IX in order to celebrate his golden jubilee (50 years on the throne).
On the top of the stupa, there is an impressive “chat,” which is the Thai word for “chatra,” and both more or less mean “umbrella.” It refers, of course, to a divine umbrella (or parasol), considered a lucky symbol in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. Here in Thailand, the Royal Nine-Tiered Umbrella is considered the most sacred and oldest part of the royal regalia. Such “umbrellas” can have a different number of tiers, but the nine-tiered one is used exclusively for Thai kings. This kind of “umbrella” is, for instance, placed above the throne of an enthroned king, while in the case of the stupa in Khon Kaen, it clearly indicates that this is a royal temple.
By the way, it is possible for the visitor here to climb all the way up to the 9th floor, but that was not part of my plans. I contented myself with taking a short walk around the ground floor.
All over Thailand, including here in the city of Khon Kaen and its surroundings, there is an incredible multitude of Buddhist temples. I certainly made an effort to visit as many as possible, mostly diligently reading my guidebooks in advance in order to know which temples to pay special attention to, since it is simply impossible for a traveller to visit even just those considered the most important. However, before embarking on this excursion, the wonderful people at the hotel reception mentioned a temple which they said I absolutely had to visit, so I just asked them to arrange that with the driver. Soon I found myself at the Wat Thung Setthi Temple without knowing anything about it. At that time, I didn’t know its name or exact location, but I noted the location on my phone and later I looked it all up.
So, this is the Wat Thung Setthi Temple, located in the southeast of the city of Khon Kaen, approximately a 15-minute drive from the centre.
The temple is relatively unusual for Thai temples and it was built quite recently – its construction began in 1999 and was completed in 2012. Its name would roughly translate to “Temple of the Millionaire’s Field,” suggesting that those who make merits here already is or will become a millionaire. Since I am not a Buddhist, I don’t know if this would potentially apply to me, but on the other hand, the temple truly looks very beautiful, especially the way it is surrounded by the ponds in which it reflects.
Moreover, the temple is situated in the midst of a rural area, surrounded by fields, mostly rice paddies.
But all of that pales in comparison to the fairytale-like temple itself that I approached via a causeway between two small ponds and that approach truly thrilled me. Although the structure can easily evoke the image of a Baroque pavilion in Central Europe, the visitor should not forget that this is a Buddhist chedi in Thailand, called the Maha Chedi and the visit should be filled with appropriate respect.
The temple was erected by a monk on the land he owned and it is believed that in this sacred place, three worlds converge – the heaven, the world of humans or earth and the underworld or hell. In accordance with this, the believers who come here simultaneously show respect to the three worlds.
The monk who conceived this temple, i.e., the chedi, wanted the structure to reflect various international styles, so that Thai elements and symbols can be seen here, as well as the Tibetan, Arabic, Chinese and European influences. The idea was that visitors from all parts of the world could easily understand the art of the Maha Chedi.
It still reminds me of a European Baroque pavilion.
When I arrived at the actual temple, the plan of which is in the shape of a square, I first circled around the central sanctuary, capturing various details. Of course, the symbolism of many of them is completely unfamiliar to me, but that didn’t make them any less interesting.
And then I was surprised when I realised that I could even recognised some symbols. They were zodiac signs depicted on the terrace floor that leads around the central sanctuary and they were divided into four groups, by elements. Each group was placed at one of the corners of the temple’s base, adorned by four pagodas.
Next, I entered the central sanctuary of the chedi, which has an octagonal plan and is covered by a dome on the top of which there are various Buddhist symbols, as can be seen in one of the previous photos.
There is a brass statue of Buddha inside, painted in black, while the details are covered with gold leaf and adorned with coloured stones.
The windows of the sanctuary are adorned with glass panels that are richly etched.
Later, I read that this temple is absolutely unique in the sense that the themes depicted within these engravings are extremely modern. Not only can you see Hindu deities such as Shiva and Indra, but also characters from contemporary pop culture, including Darth Vader and Mickey Mouse. I suppose this was also in line with the monk’s desire and now those zodiac symbols made a bit more sense to me.
During my visit to this temple, I wasn’t aware that I should be looking for Mickey Mouse and Darth Vader on these glass panels and I would have loved to find them. However, I accidentally captured one panel where it was clear to me what it depicted. It portrayed a scene from the first half of the 19th century when a severe cholera epidemic struck Bangkok and the dead couldn’t be cremated quickly enough, so vultures came and cleared the corpses. I have mentioned this in: https://www.svudapodji.com/en/thailand-2/.
What I did see here and found interesting is that many Buddhist moral messages are inscribed on the panels, not only in Thai, but also in English. I enjoyed reading them.
Among other things, I learned that Dana (giving and generosity) is the remedy for Lobha (greed), Metta (loving kindness) is the antidote for Dosa (anger), while Panya (wisdom) is the antidote for Moha (ignorance).
It is also mentioned that one who leaves life in one of the bad states will be reborn as an animal, demon or hungry ghost in the next life. So, you can imagine the kind of life one should lead!
Afterwards, I descended into the chedi’s crypt.
This happened entirely accidentally, because, as I’ve mentioned earlier, I had no knowledge of this temple and I came here only because the girls at the reception arranged it with the woman who drove me that day. Thanks to all of them!
In the crypt, you can see images on the walls related to the living Lord Buddha, while in the centre, there is a symbolic foundation stone surrounded by three dragons.
The dragons serve as guardians of the altar and the underworld, and each of them is unique, with its own name and characteristics linked to the three vices I have mentioned earlier. However, they are also immortal and their motto states: "If the world exists, we exist."
However, something exceptionally interesting happened. I wouldn’t have paid much attention to the brass inlay in front of the foundation stone and dragons, if it weren’t for two women who had obviously come here to pray and who were much more familiar with local customs than I was. I saw them sitting beside this spot, praying and I found it very intriguing. Then they offered to take a picture of me there. I was thrilled.
I think my excitement is much better captured in the following video, which was also taken by one of those women.
In the end, all that remained for me was to hope that this sacred place is indeed the centre of the three worlds, as claimed by the monk-founder of the temple.
Almost levitating on a cloud of excitement from the experience, I left the crypt, walked for a while and took photos of the chedi and its surroundings.
By the way, within the temple’s grounds, there is a place where hell and its torments are depicted using various vivid figures, but I only found out about it later. I’m not even sure that I would have wanted to spoil my wonderful impressions of this very interesting and beautiful temple. On this earth and in this life, there is also a lot of beauty and goodness, and that is what should be enjoyed to the fullest.
As for my excursion of this day, now I returned to the car and continued further to the far northeast of Thailand.