‘Temple of a MILLION BOTTLES’
By Prasert Thepsri
THE SUNDAY NATION

 

 

SI SA KET: -- WAT PA MAHA Chedi Kaew in Khun Han district in Si Sa Ket in the Northeast is better known among local residents as the “Temple of a Million Bottles”.

 

In fact, the name understates the reality – as the temple has more than 1.5 million bottles.

 

Those bottles – mainly green and brown of various sizes – have been used to decorate different buildings and structures in the temple, like the arch at its entrance, the main hall, the bell tower, crematorium, parking space, monks’ abodes, and even toilets.

 

The idea of using bottles to decorate the temple came from its founder, Phra Khru Vivek Dharmajahn, who is better known among his followers as “Luang Pu Lot”. The monk once set up his tent during an austerity trip on foot in a burial ground that houses the temple today.

 

At that time, many local residents came to discuss teachings of the Lord Buddha and learn about Dharma with him. So the monk then decided to build a temple on the deserted burial ground.

 

He found that a lot of bottles were dumped near the area so he decided to use them to decorate the first abode he built inside the temple area in 1984. By using bottles, he could save a lot of money that might otherwise be used for paint or tiles.

 

The monk later managed to collect more bottles from nearby villages to |decorate other structures to be built in his temple.

 

People who learned about his idea later often brought empty bottles with them when visiting the temple. With a plentiful supply of bottles, the monk |managed to construct more buildings and structures.

 

Bottles are used as decorations in most of the temple’s buildings and structures that are made with concrete. But some structures are constructed mainly with bottles – such as a pavilion built in water that has been made of almost 100,000 bottles of different colours and sizes.

 

The “Temple of a Million Bottles” has now become an important tourist destination in Si Sa Ket.

 

See more photos: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/photo/view/171

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30319086

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-06-26

 

If they collected all the bottles my father in law consumes in a year, they could add a scale model of Bangkok to their collection!

It's some 60+ kilometres south of Sisaket town and, if you are not having anything else to do in Sisaket, then follow road 24 from Korat to Ubol Ratchathani as the access is much easier. 

GPS: 14.618455, 104.419438 would be the precise location, for those who would like to see this truly unique place of worship 

The locals don't know it by it's English name:it's Wat Lan Quat to them. I wouldn't travel hundreds of miles to see it, but it's well worth a visit if you're somewhere local. Several good restaurants around town too. The one at the Amornthep hotel, up the road from the banks, is particularly good.