Phraya Phakdi Chumphon (Lae) Monument

A bronze statue of Phraya Phakdi Chumphon — Chaiyaphum’s founder, known locally as Phraya Lae — stands at the roundabout entrance to the provincial government complex in central Chaiyaphum. Built in 1975 with money raised by public donation, it’s free to view any time, with the surrounding plaza generally worth visiting in daylight hours, roughly 08:30-16:30.

The man it commemorates led a group of settlers out of Lao territory in the early 19th century. Around 1817, a court official named Nai Lae broke from the authority of Chao Anouvong of Vientiane, crossing the Mekong with his followers and eventually settling at Ban Luang, in what’s now Mueang Chaiyaphum district. King Rama III elevated the settlement to Mueang Chaiyaphum and appointed him its first governor, with the title Khun Phakdi Chumphon. When Anouvong launched his 1826 rebellion against Siam, the new governor refused to rejoin his former lord — and was captured and executed for it at Nong Pla Thao pond, a few kilometres from where this statue now stands. Bangkok posthumously honoured his loyalty with the elevated title Phraya Phakdi Chumphon (Lae), and the name has stuck to the city’s civic identity ever since: half of Chaiyaphum’s landmarks referencing “Phraya Lae” or “Chao Pho Phraya Lae” trace back to this same figure.

Watch out: don’t confuse this monument with the Chaopho Phraya Lae Shrine about 3 km away — they honour the same man but aren’t the same site. This bronze statue at the town-centre roundabout is the formal 1975 memorial; the shrine at Nong Pla Thao pond marks the actual execution site and carries a different, more devotional character, with locals leaving offerings there year-round.

The statue itself shows Phraya Lae in traditional administrative dress on a raised pedestal, with bilingual Thai-English plaques giving the biographical outline. It’s a stop that rewards five to ten minutes and the backstory above more than a long visit — there’s no museum, no ticket booth, just a founder’s statue at the civic heart of the province he’s credited with starting.

Insider Tip: the statue and its backstory make more sense paired with the shrine — visit both in one loop through town rather than treating either as a standalone stop.

Chaiyaphum’s biggest annual event, the Monument Worship Fair, runs 12-20 January and centres mainly on the shrine, though the roundabout statue draws its own share of visitors and photographers during the week. Outside festival season, expect a quiet civic landmark: easy to reach on foot or by a short tuk-tuk ride from anywhere in central Chaiyaphum, with roadside parking nearby for those driving.