The Model of Phra Siam Thevathiraj

The Model of Phra Siam Thewathiraj stands 1.29 metres tall in front of Aranyaprathet Police Station, a large-scale replica of Thailand’s guardian deity — not a monarchy figure, but a golden image commissioned by King Mongkut (Rama IV) around 1859-1860 and kept in the Grand Palace’s Phaisan Thaksin Hall. Free entry, daily 08:00-17:00, roughly 50 km from central Sa Kaeo town.

Phra Uthai Thammathari, abbot of Wat Pa Mafai temple across the provincial border in Prachin Buri, first cast the model in 1975 and formally presented it to the people of Aranyaprathet in 1986. The gift came at a tense moment: internal conflict in Cambodia was sending stray rockets and gunfire across the border into this frontier town, and the statue was offered as a protective blessing for residents living with that risk. Locals have treated it as a guardian ever since, gathering there for Songkran and other merit-making occasions tied to the town’s identity as a border community.

Insider Tip: Combine the visit with the Aranyaprathet Victory Gate a short distance away — both landmarks speak to this district’s history as a frontier town, in a way the provincial capital 50 km away doesn’t.

The shrine grounds are modest — a paved plaza around the statue rather than a temple complex — so most visits run 15-20 minutes unless there’s a merit-making event underway. Cover shoulders and knees out of respect, as this is a devotional site for local families rather than a general monument. Aranyaprathet town itself is worth building a half-day around: it sits a few kilometres from the Poipet border crossing into Cambodia (closed since June 2025 due to the border conflict), alongside Rong Kluea Market and the Aranyaprathet Victory Gate. For the provincial counterpart, the Shrine of City Pillar Sa Kaeo sits back in central Sa Kaeo, part of the same wider Sa Kaeo area.