Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon Bangkok Big Golden Buddha

Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon Bangkok Big Golden Buddha

This is one of the interesting places I planned to visit in Bangkok this year. This is Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon and it is the home of the Bangkok new Big Golden Buddha.

You probably seen the viral photos of Bangkok new Big Golden Buddha on social media channels like Instagram and Facebook. The large golden Buddha starts the construction on 2017 and it is completed in 2021.

This is some information I managed to get so you have better idea of Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon. Wat Paknam is a royal temple located at Phasi Chareon district of Bangkok beside the Chao Phraya river.

Wat Paknam was established in 1610, during the Ayutthaya period, and received support from Thai kings until the late nineteenth century. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the temple had become nearly abandoned and had fallen into disrepair. The temple underwent a major revival and became widely known under the leadership of the meditation master Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro, who was abbot there in the first half of the twentieth century.

In 1916, senior monk Somdet Puean assigned Luang Pu Sodh Candasaro (1884–1959) as abbot. Luang Pu Sodh was known for his charisma and outspokenness. The temple became well known through Luang Pu Sodh’s meditation method. Apart from teaching meditation, Luang Pu Sodh also built a school for Pali studies in 1950, which became a leading institute of the country.

Wat Paknam began building the golden Buddha in honour of Luang Pu Sodh and the Thai Royal family on March 2017. The golden Buddha is also known as Phra Buddha Dhammakāya Thepmongkhon.

The big golden Buddha is 69 metres (226 feet) in height and 40 metres ( 130 feet) wide and it is located in front of the huge white stupa.

It is made of bronze and completed in 2021. The big golden Buddha is on the sitting position (meditation position) mirroring the meditation pose by Luang Pu Sodh.

The construction of golden Buddha is cooperation between Thai and Chinese construction technicians and there will be a relic and gold in the lotus bud on the head of the Buddha and structure of gold as “heart” on the left side of the chest.

Basically, that is the short story of Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon and the Big Golden Buddha. To visit Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon, it is best to take taxi or Grab.

It is 15 minutes away from Chinatown as I stayed at Grand China Hotel in Chinatown. The opening hours of Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon is from 8 am to 6 pm. I went to the temple late and hence I didn’t explore the other places around the Golden Buddha.

You can spot the Golden Buddha from far from certain roads or from the river. Once you are at Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon, you need to walk for a few minutes before you can spot the 69 metres golden Buddha.

I reached there after 5 pm and there were some tourists busy taking photos of the big Buddha. The big Buddha is beautiful, majestic and I feel calm there.

I sat at one of the benches and spent some time admiring the details and work of the big golden Buddha. Just before they closed, I saw many young monks at the temple.

I didn’t have time to venture to the other buildings as they were closing. However, my dream to visit Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon comes true. Just a bit of planning and some time from my work in Bangkok, I finally visited this new Golden Big Buddha.

If you plan to take nice photos of the Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon Golden Buddha, you need to check out the exact roads nearby or taking the boat. The boat photo is taken by my friend Tony of https://johorkaki.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading everyone, take care and be safe always. You can read all my stories about Thailand at: https://www.placesandfoods.com/category/thailand

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Paknam_Bhasicharoen

Wat Paknam Phasi Chareon

Opening Hours: 8 am to 6 pm

Address: 300 Ratchamongkhon Prasat Alley, Pak Khlong Phasi Charoen, Phasi Charoen, Bangkok 10160, Thailand