A Trip to Bang Kung Camp Temple in Samut Songkhram
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I like to take my wife and son somewhere interesting on Sundays. Last week we headed down south again (a couple of weeks ago we visited Khao Luang Caves in Phethaburi). In the morning we spent a few hours in Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, but the real purpose of the trip (at least for me anyway) was a visit to the temple in Bang Kung Camp (ค่ายบางกุ้ง).
Bang Kung was once a naval camp and this is how it gets its name; it is now used as a boy scouts camp. Within the grounds is a Phra Ubosot (ordination hall) and it was this that we came to see. This temple is really unusual because it is completely covered in roots, branches, and leaves. The effect is that the temple room appears to be inside a Bodhi tree. I had only seen pictures of this previously so it was great to have the opportunity to visit.
Bang Kung Camp is on the way to Amphawa floating market in Samut Songkhram (road 325). It is a fair distance off the main road, but it is fairly well signposted in Thai and occasionally in English. There were many other interesting temples along this road; in fact I can’t see I’ve seen so many in one place outside a city. We didn’t have time to investigate any of them but maybe some other time.
Bang Kung Camp was busy because it was the King’s birthday and a lot of people were out sightseeing. There is a huge parking area right beside the Phra Ubosot though so there was no need to walk far. The ordination hall is quite small but definitely impressive; it looked like something out of a Buddhist Harry Potter movie. I was eager to get some photographs but the crowds and my poor photography skills meant that it was hard to get a good shot.
There was also a shrine nearby to the Phi-Mai (tree ghost) who many believe protect the Buddha image. I didn’t explore much beyond the ordination hall, but this is a good place to visit if you are in the area.
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Paul a very interesting place that I have visited. Glad you enjoyed it. We did the trip by boat from Amphawa and walked through the riverside part of the temple to view the Bot enclosed in the roots.
I have blogged about the temple and if your readers want to see a few more photos they can do so here http://www.watthaitemple.com/2010/05/wat-bang-kung-samut-songkhram.html
There is a link in that post to Unseen Thailand(Andys Blog), which has some more historical background in it.
It was also very busy when I visited, which was not on a special day, I think it is very popular with Thais visiting Amphawa Floating market.
Incidentally, I too have never seen so many temples in one area, most of which are on the banks of the Mae-Klong River or its tributaries and canals.
Some great photos on that link Mike. I would like to do the boat trip there at some stage but after spending most of the morning in a boat at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market we didn’t fancy going on the water again.