A special Thai temple in the sea

How many temples would there be in Thailand? You can find them everywhere; a temple in the city, a temple in the village, a temple on the mountain, a temple in the forest, a temple in a cave and so on. But a temple in the sea, I had never heard of that and it also exists.

East of Bangkok, in tambon Song Khlong in Chachoengsao province, there is a temple built on a pier in the sea called Wat Hong Thong (Golden Swan). On the way to the temple you walk on a pier covered by an awning, on which numerous bells are hung. The awning is there to protect you from the bright sun, but it also offers an opportunity to sit on the pier and enjoy a cool sea breeze. The tinkling of the bells is soothing and therefore a nice place to organize your thoughts.

The bells are hung by the visitors, who write a wish on the bell and by the tinkling of the bell through the wind you have a chance that your wish will be heard and come true. The bells are sold for about 200 baht by the Buddhist variety of nuns (in Thailand women cannot become monks) who manage the temple.

At the end of the pier you will come to the temple, which consists of three floors. On the ground floor a large gong, which produces a sound of a very low pitch, which is hardly audible, but the deep resonant sound you feel all the more to your ears.

On the second level you will find all kinds of large and small emerald Buddhas and there is a kind of balcony from which you have a beautiful view of the sea and the temple complex. On the top floor, the large Buddha is surrounded by colorful paintings depicting the life story of Buddha.

Bells and bells abound at this temple, as even the pagoda on top is reminiscent of a bell, as well as the burial chambers containing the bones of important local people.

There is more to see than just the temple. Outside is a scene built from the classical Thai story of Phra Aphai Mani. When the water recedes with the tide, this scene rises from the sea in all its glory. The story is about a prince who lulls people to sleep with his sounds from a flute.

The sound of the flute also attracts a devil from the sea, who transforms into a beautiful woman to marry the prince. They lived happily ever after you might think, but this is Thailand so another woman comes into play, a mermaid. She seduces the prince and saves him from the clutches of the devil.

A new Chinese burial chamber is also under construction at the temple, in which the bones of deceased relatives can be placed to ensure a good life for their descendants. During construction you can buy a tile for this temple area. You can leave a message on a gold-painted tile, costing only 160 baht, which will go on forever.