Wat Wang Wiwekaram & Chedi

Wat Wang Wiwekaram is known locally as Wat Mon, as the monks are mainly Mon. It was built in the 1980s to replace the temple in the submerged town. This temple embodies the character of a much-revered former Mon chief Abbot, Luang Phaw Uttama who died in 1983, and whose remains still lay in a shrine in the main hall. You will find Mon clay pots with ladles on the footpath around the temple and the building itself is very large with high ceilings. Visitors, who come to make merit - including western tourists - are blessed and sprinkled with holy water everyday by a senior monk, and many are given necklaces of wooden prayer beads. There is a large Buddha Image in a separate building worth a look. Just 1km walk away is the Buddhakaya Chedi, built in 1982 as a replica of Mahabodhi stupa in Bodhgaya India, where the Buddha found enlightenment. It is not quite as inspiring from close up, as most of the chedi is made of concrete and its famous golden hue is created by the application of gold paint. Around the chedi is a high concrete walkway, and hundreds of metal Buddha images are set in oval parapets throughout the exterior. The Chedi and Temple are located 2km from the Mon bank of the river and the easiest way to get there is to walk through the Mon village.