Wat Pho Chai

Luang Pho Phra Sai is a seated Buddha of the Lan Xang period with a solid gold face, a silver body and a bronze base, and its history explains why Nong Khai treats it as it does. The image was one of three said to have been made by daughters of a Lao king and kept at Vientiane; during the Siamese campaign against Vientiane in 1827 the three were being taken across the Mekong on rafts when a storm sank one, and Phra Sai was recovered and brought to this temple, while a sister image went on to Bangkok. Attempts to move Phra Sai onward reportedly failed and it stayed. The murals in the hall depict that crossing and the loss. The temple is the centre of Nong Khai's Songkran, when the image is paraded, and it faces the Mekong with Laos on the far bank. It is free and takes an hour.

What you actually see

• Luang Pho Phra Sai - gold face, silver body, from the Lan Xang period.
• The crossing murals - the 1827 river journey and the raft that sank.
• The Mekong setting - Nong Khai on the river with Laos opposite.
• The Songkran procession - the image paraded through the town in April.

When to go

November to February. Songkran in April brings the procession and large crowds. An hour covers it; Nong Khai is small and walkable.

Honest expectations

The hall is dim and the image is behind a rail. Free with donation boxes. Little English interpretation. Temple dress code applies.

Nearby

Sala Kaew Ku sculpture park is east; the Friendship Bridge to Laos is close.