The Sanctuary of Truth

By Andrew - January 01, 2024

New Year's Day, 2024

Happy New Year! This is the day we felt super grateful to have been rerouted to Pattaya in lieu of Bangkok. We discovered the Sanctuary of Truth.

We had read about this "museum" and thought we might be able to dive by and get a nice photo or two, but upon arrival we found that it was completely hidden from view (unless we happened to pass by on a boat), so we would have to enter the museum/park to be able to see it at all. We're so glad we did. It was nothing less than magnificent.

The Sanctuary of Truth has been under construction since 1981 but may be finished as soon as next year. Possibly the most notable feature of this temple museum is that is made ENTIRELY of wood. Wooden sculptures, wooden nails, pegs, joints, everything. WOOD. It is 2000 square feet inside, and is nearly 100 feet tall (the equivalent of a 7 story building). Because it is still under construction we had to wear hard helmets in order to tour the building.

Safety is always cool

We approached the temple through the workshop where workers were hand carving the giant ornate fixtures that would later be added to the temple.

A scale model of the sanctuary inside the workshop

Our guide demonstrating the various hardware used to hold the building together.

The temple features both Buddhist and Hindu influences along with traditional Thai, Khmer, and Chinese influences throughout the design and architecture.

The Four Faces of Brahma representing Father, Mother, Teacher, and King

This picture shows how massive the temple is. You can see Ender and Jacob posing at the base.

The interior

In the center of the temple were 7 pillars surrounding a depiction of Buddha. On each pillar were two columns depicting contrasting societal values. The half of the pillar closest to the Buddha depicted themes of cooperation, acceptance, hard work, respect, etc. The side facing away from Buddha depicted themes of selfishness, disrespect, idleness, cruelty, etc. The idea was that when we become closer to Buddha, we make choices that demonstrate care for others and the family. Or maybe it is when we make choices that benefit others and society as a whole we become closer to Buddha. Either way, beautiful sentiment. We would like to have photographed every inch of these pillars.

An unfinished pillar, yet to be carved, but already planned.

Compared to a completed pillar.

This was the last Thai King who reigned for 70 years, from age 18 until his death at age 88. He was the 3rd longest reigning monarch in history following only King Louis XIV and Queen Elizabeth II.

Fire, Water, Earth and Air each had their own carving in this section of the sanctuary.

There are no windows in the temple, only openings where the wind and elements can pass through

The color differences are due to different sections of the temple being more weathered than others.

Unfortunately the inhumane practice of elephant rides was a feature available to tourists visiting the museum.

Read more about the Sanctuary of Truth here

We absorbed as much as we could before we left the museum and had lunch.

Not sure what Ender is talking about here, but this picture is the best.

Jacob was happy to feed some goats from a baby bottle, see some chickens and pet some rabbits before the day was done.

After lunch we went back to the hotel to cool off.

Before we could do that, however, we made stop at a huge Walmart-like store to grab some necessities for the ship. We bought an extra suitcase because we could tell we were already filling up on souvenirs, but we also bought toiletries, snacks, and pillows. This will be important later on. WE BOUGHT PILLOWS for the ship because we heard from past voyagers that the provided pillows on the ship weren't great.

After our successful shopping spree, we grabbed dinner at a hotel where Jacob was happy to see had french fries on the menu. Schnitzel and french fries made for a great final dinner in Thailand.