Wat Huay Monkol
The Wat Huay Mongkol temple complex located some 15 kilometers west of Hua Hin is famous for its enormous statue of one of Thailand's most famous monks, named Luang Phor Thuad.
Commissioned by the Queen of Thailand, Wat Huay Mongkol houses the largest statue of Luang Phor Thuat in Thailand in a park-like setting. The Giant Luang Phor Thuad statue, which is about 12 meters high and 10 meters wide, is set on a large mound wide a wide stairway leading to it and can be seen from far away reaching higher than the trees. On each side of the giant statue, there is a huge wooden elephant. Local people walk in circles under the belly of the elephants wishing for good luck.
Luang Phor Thuad, whose name is sometimes spelled Luang Phor Thuat, lived some 400 years ago in Southern Thailand. He is now famous all over the country for the miracles that he performed. It was said that Luang Phor Thuad turned salt water into fresh, drinkable water on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately the commercial side of Buddhism is very apparent, with large safes converted into giant money boxes, and various trinkets on sale all over the place. Unless there is something you particularly want, it is best to walk straight past this element of the temple.
Aside from the Buddha angle, there are some fantastic grounds to explore. Unfortunately, the album was created the day after the 8 Nov storm, and the lake was well overflowing, with many of the places you can normally sit to relax under water, and those that weren't were filled with very slippery mud.
It is easy to waste a couple of hours just wandering through the beautifully landscaped parkland - so relaxing. The lake contains a lot of fish, and you can buy packets of food to feed them from the many vantage points.
A nice day out.
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but Thais love it.
