When I visited Pattaya I was willing to visit the Sanctuary of Truth, but the price prevented me from doing it. However unexpectedly I ended up finding a Bangkok temple on the outskirts of the city that ended up being a sneak peek of what the Sanctuary of Truth might be and I confess that after visiting this one I regret not paying for the Sanctuary of Truth. Why? If this one was overwhelming, the one in Pattaya would have blown my mind.
Wat Sangkhathan- how to get there
As I stayed a long time in Bangkok, I was struggling to find somewhere new to visit, even if not in the city itself, but nearby. That’s when I came across Wat Sangkhathan in Nonthaburi, a city right next to Bangkok and this Bangkok temple wasn’t that far. I’m glad I decided to visit it. I tried to find the cheapest way to get there, or even if there was a way and I came up with a solution: bus. There are public buses connecting Bangkok to Nonthaburi and after a lot of research, I found a way to get kinda close to Wat Sangkhathan. I ended up realizing that this was neither the cheapest, best, or fastest way to get to this temple but whatever, there isn’t much on the web about it as not many foreigners venture this far from Bangkok’s central areas. The proof is the number of foreigners I saw at the location and their companions: Thai women.
To find a bus route to get to Wat Sangkhathan you can download the app Via Bus which shows the buses and where they are in real time as well as waiting times. I took a long route to get to Wat Sangkhathan and it took hours to get there. For this reason, I recommend the boat to reach this Bangkok temple. There is a boat service in Bangkok, but I thought the boats weren’t venturing outside the city so I didn’t consider it, but you can hop on a boat to Wat Kien or Rama V Bridge, they are both not far from the temple.
I didn’t know about this boat option so I went to Victoria’s Monument to hop on bus number 97 and left it when it was near Rama V Bridge. The bus must not have a lot of foreign customers as the driver wouldn’t stop saying farang (Thai for foreigner) and laughing.. whatever.
Wat Sangkhathan- a wooden marvel
From there it was quite a walk to the temple itself, around 30 minutes, but it was a nice walk. I had to cross the bridge that had some nice views and then cross some very narrow paths, very quiet and relaxing. At last the temple. WOW, what a stunner.
This is a meditation hub for sure as there were many apprentices wearing meditation clothes within the complex. There is more than just one temple to see. There is the major empowered one, but there are some others by it that also look dope. I confess I took too long to visit this spot. My jaw dropped to the floor with so many intricate details and I made sure not to miss one of the thousands of drawings carved on those logs, so many drawings that to see them all carefully would take hours of appreciation good lord. Amazing, no words to describe. I have never been in a temple like that even though I have seen so many already, this was definitely different.
It is simply astonishing to imagine the work behind what lies in front of my eyes, the hours spent carving the wood. Precious. I stared and stared and couldn’t avoid taking hundreds of pictures haha. There was an area with a column dedicated to a different country. One dedicated to Russia, another to France, Egypt, Vietnam, and so many countries!!! I spent way too long in this area haha. Ended up seeing a monitor lizard in the temple, apparently that’s its home as its poo was found sometimes. There are some lakes around and I guess the lizards spend their time between temples and lakes.
There is a big area surrounded by trees, and what seem to be little houses for the ones that are there meditating.
Within the complex is also another temple, very different from others. It has the shape of a lotus flower and is very architecturally modern. Must be quite new as inside I found a drawing related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The temple is made of glass and there are paintings on the glass which with the right light look quite marvelous. It was nice to see it ☺
From Wat Sangkhathan to Bangkok
To go from this Bangkok temple back to the city, first I went to Wat Kiet which stands by the river and has a pier right in front. I sat there waiting for a boat but none of them stopped there ☹ I thought this pier wasn’t being used anymore cause the boats were passing but none stopped. After waiting for 30 minutes I decided to cross the bridge again to the other side as I saw a pier on that side. Guess what, when I was crossing the bridge I finally saw a boat stopping at Wat Kiet haha. What a shame, and then when I got to Pibul2 pier, I found out that I should be on the other side of the bridge to hop on a boat back to Bangkok haha. So annoying!! I was already so tired of walking and pissed with this boat situation that I decided to take the bus back instead because the bus stop was closer to me than crossing the bridge to the other side again and waiting for a boat I had no idea when would show up.
I went back to Bangkok by bus number 97 and this time left at Bang Sue station to get the metro back to my hotel. I was irritated by the fact that I could have enjoyed some relaxing boat time during this day and I didn’t because of a lack of information. If you decide to visit Wat Sangkhathan, this post will be useful. For me, this Bangkok temple was way worth the long journey to get there! Beautiful!
You can check out more Bangkok temples HERE!
