Tham Phu Wa, a mouth-watering cave temple

If you have seen everything around the Second World War in Kanchanaburi, then the Tham Phu Wa temple is a resting point to lick your fingers. Admittedly, this remarkable structure is located more than 20 kilometers from Kanchanaburi, but the visit is well worth the effort.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find much about this gem in Nong Ya on the internet, except that the rose-red stone was brought from Korat and must have cost something like 30 million Baht. The Buddhist monks in Thailand seem to have the exclusive right to caves, but that aside. It must have started here as a place for meditation and of course miracles happen there, with the logical consequence that a temple arises.

The actual cave is hidden from view by a large entrance, decorated with thousands of Buddha statues. It is a mixture of Khmer and Lopburi style. The shoes unfortunately have to stay outside. Unfortunately, because the journey in the cave is not easy barefoot.

Inside, the cave is spread over two floors, with the necessary stalactites and stalagmites. And of course a lot of Buddha statues and holy monks in all shapes and sizes. And even a nun with a long beard, a miracle in itself. The story behind it remains shrouded in darkness.

I have the impression that some things have been planed and sawn on the cave to make it more easily accessible to visitors, but the history remains uncertain. So it seems logical that people stayed here in prehistoric times, but that was of course pre-Buddha.

Nevertheless, it is and remains a fascinating trip after all the sadness that a visit to war-related Kanchanaburi entails.