The Dragon Tower

This weekend I finally got to visit Wat Samphran, a place that I've been trying to get to for a long time ever since my sister sent me a link to it a while back. This monastery located in Bangkok's neighboring Nakhon Pathom Province is a nunnery and meditation retreat, but is best known for its strange and unique 17-story pink tower around which the long twisting body of a serpent-like Chinese dragon is coiled.

group tour at Wat Samphran

The Dragon Tower was built around 1980, and is one of the better known "off the beaten path" sights just outside of the city. The temple is "Instagram famous", and has gained a lot of popularity from visiting bloggers. I was excited to see the tower, but I had no idea that we would get to go up to the top! I was even more surprised to learn that the way up to the top was to walk up the ramp inside the body of the dragon itself!

the Dragon Tower

Upon entering the base of the tower, we had to enter the dragon's belly by climbing through a gate shaped like Rahu, the Indian god of darkness. Rahu is generally associated with eclipses, and is usually shown eating the sun.

Rahu Gate into the dragon's body

The tunnel wound its way up and up. It was a little odd; because there were no windows we had no way of knowing how high up we were or how close we were getting to the top of the tower! The tunnel seemed to go on forever. Fortunately there were fans set up all along the tunnel, and it wasn't stuffy.

in the belly of the dragon

Eventually we reached the top, and exited from the spiral to see views of the sprawling Nakhon Pathom countryside stretching out into the distance. Although we were only around 40 minutes outside of Bangkok, the scenery couldn't have been more different.

views from the top of the tower

Before we started our ascent, we were instructed to make a wish. At the top, we had to touch the dragon's beard so that our wish would come true. I believe that Wat Samphran must be a popular temple for people to make wishes! Many visitors had written their names on strips of red cloth and tied them to the railing encircling the upper platform.

the dragon's head

There was a small Buddha statue at the very top of the tower.

Buddha image and dragon's beard

Standing atop the giant tower gives a unique vantage of the surrounding area. It is by far the tallest structure in the vicinity! I could see several other structures at the temple complex, many interesting, though none quite as unique or impressive as the Dragon Tower itself.

looking out over the province

We also visited the main prayer hall itself where a giant golden Buddha sat atop a stylized lotus flower. The temple was quiet that morning, though it looked as if it was built to accommodate large numbers of practitioners. Here and there, small brown tents had been set up. When I asked my guide, Noi, about the tents, he said that they are meditation tents that the nuns use to block out distractions.

giant Buddha

The prayer hall itself was quite beautiful. A celestial tower of small golden Buddhas, looking almost like a gilded Christmas tree, stood in place of the traditional Buddha image, and the ceiling of the hall was painted to depict the heavens.

inside the prayer hall

Besides the dragon, there were a number of other large animal structures - including a giant turtle and a giant rabbit - which were built to be hollow so as to contain shrines. One, a turtle, was particularly interesting. Inside, it contained a Buddha footprint.

giant turtle

We spent an hour and a half or so at the temple. Though still early in the day, it was hot. I think the "cool season" is finally over here in Thailand and the hot season is fast approaching!

a group photo at the top of the tower