This brand-new temple – dating from 2007 – was built on the initiative of a group of wealthy Bangkok residents. Except for the statue of Taksin the Great in the background, all elements are pure white with occasional gold accents. The architectural style is a blend of Khmer and Lanna styles. A colonnade precedes the entrance to the ordination hall, flanked on either side by a doe statue. To the right is a pond, overlooked by a statue. And there, the main attraction of Wat Nong Thakian, the one featured in every tourist brochure, is the park with 28 identical, white, seated Buddha statues.

The temple is difficult to reach by public bus. Bus 523 to Kantharalak does stop at the beginning of the road leading to the temple, but from there it's still a 4-kilometer walk. Sometimes it works out if you hope for the kindness of Thais who will give you a ride on their bicycle or in the back of their pickup truck (that's what happened to us, without us even having to look for a ride or hitchhike), but it doesn't always work! Especially not if you're traveling in a group. In short: it's better to take a taxi or motorbike taxi, or go by bicycle. Because, frankly, even though the park with the white Buddha statues of Wat Nong Takian is worth seeing, the 8-kilometer walk there and back, and waiting for the bus on the main road, isn't worth it.

Wat Nong Takian is a temple, and when visiting a temple in Thailand there are some rules to follow: appropriate clothing (knees and shoulders should be covered), take off your shoes when entering the building, be quiet, do not hug or kiss, do not point your feet at the Buddha statue, do not smoke.

How to get there

How do you get to Wat Nong Takian? The temple is difficult to reach by public bus. Bus 523 to Kantharalak does stop at the beginning of the road leading to the temple, but from there it's still a 4-kilometer walk. Sometimes it works out if you hope for the kindness of Thais who will give you a ride on their bicycle or in the back of their pickup truck (that's what happened to us, without us even having to look for a ride or hitchhike), but that doesn't always work! Especially not if you're traveling in a group. In short: It's better to take a taxi or motorbike taxi, or go by bicycle. Because, frankly, even though the park with the white Buddha statues of Wat Nong Takian is worth seeing, it's not worth the effort to walk 8 kilometers there and back and then wait for the bus on the main road.