The Biggest Buddha (The Great Buddha of Thailand)

Last weekend I did something new. I signed up for an expat meetup group, and registered for a day trip to Ang Thong and Ayutthaya Provinces. We met up early Saturday morning on the Thonburi side of the river (near IconSiam Mall), where our guide, Noi, and a big van was waiting to drive us upcountry.

the prayer hall at Wat Muang, Ang Thong Province

I was the first one there, and grabbed a coffee at the 7-eleven while waiting for the rest of the group to show up. There were about ten of us in total, all expats. Our group came from the USA, England, Australia, and India. Once everyone had arrived and we were all introduced, we set off on the journey two hours north of Bangkok to Ang Thong Province, home of the Great Buddha of Thailand.

silver Buddha at the mirrored prayer hall

We arrived at Wat Muang in Ang Thong Province, just north of the ancient capital of Ayutthaya. "Ang Thong" means "The Golden Basin", and is home to Wat Muang. Wat Muang is a Buddhist temple, one which I think should be a major Thai tourist attraction, but which is surprisingly unknown, despite how impressive it is.

the mirrored ceiling at the prayer hall

The prayer hall at this temple was unlike any I had ever visited before... and I've seen a lot of temples in Thailand! The walls and ceiling were all mirrored, and the room looked huge and glittering.

Buddha statues in silver and gold at the Mirror Temple

The hall was quite crowded with both visitors and worshipers. Ang Thong isn't too far from Bangkok, but it's not the easiest province to get to on your own. We were the only group of foreigners there.

The temple hall was impressive, but that's not the main reason we had come all the way to Wat Muang from Bangkok. Here are a few more pictures of the temple hall.

By far the most impressive thing in Ang Thong Province is the Mahaminh Sakayamunee Visejchaicharn, or the Great Buddha of Thailand.

The Great Buddha of Thailand

I've seen Big Buddhas before, in Pattaya, Phuket, Hong Kong, and Kamakura. I thought this would be like those.

Nope.

This isn't just a Big Buddha, it's the Biggest Buddha. The Great Buddha of Thailand is the tallest statue in all of Thailand, the tallest seated Buddha statue in the WORLD, and the 9th tallest statue in the world.

it's the tallest statue in the country

The full ceremonial name of the statue translates to The Great Guatama Buddha of Wiset Chai Chan, built to commemorate the great King Bhumibol. That's way too much to say, though, so most Thais call it Luangpho Yai (The Great Buddha).

it's hard to take pictures up close without a fish-eye lens!

The statue was constructed using only donated funds, at the orders of the temple's abbot in 1990. Construction took 18 years, and was finally finished in 2018. The abbot, sadly, did not live to see the statue. His body, however, is preserved in a glass coffin inside the temple. It's not as creepy as it sounds. In Buddhist belief, extremely holy and righteous monks will sometimes not decay after death. I'm not sure about all of that, but I can't argue with what I have seen with my own eyes. Their mummified bodies will be displayed, somewhat like a relic. I've seen several of these such Mummy Monks in Thailand.

look at the size of people next to his fingernails!

The Buddha is seated in a posture called Maravijaya, which means Calling the Earth to Witness. Devout Buddhists will touch the fingertips of the statue for prayer and blessing.

the 9th tallest statue in the whole world

Do you see that small blue blur at the bottom of the photograph below? That's me! I don't even come up to the Buddha's toe! This is the only picture I have that actually shows the scale of the statue.

that's me with the statue

The Great Buddha is 92 meters (or 302 feet) tall, making it nearly twice the height of the Statue of Liberty in NYC!

our great tour group!

I don't know why the Great Buddha isn't a bigger attraction. It's one of the tallest statues in the whole world, but when I talked to my Thai friends, none had ever heard of it. I'm surprised that the Ministry of Tourism doesn't promote it more, since it is such an amazing and breathtaking sight.

super impressive!

The Great Buddha, however, was only the first stop on our full-day adventure!