Wat Anubanphot

Wat Anubanphot is a working temple on a low hill in Ban Mai Nong Sai subdistrict, on the edge of Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo province — close enough to the Cambodian border that its architecture leans Khmer-Thai rather than the Lao-influenced style seen further north in Isan. Locals also call it Wat Khao Noi or Wat Khao Noi Si Chomphu, after the hill itself. Entry is free and it is open daily, roughly 08:30 to late afternoon.

The temple dates to around 1925, built during the construction of Thailand’s eastern railway line through this stretch of Sa Kaeo under King Rama VI. Its ordination hall is the reason architecture buffs make the stop: instead of the usual elongated rectangular plan, it sits on a nearly square base about 11.5 metres wide, capped with a tiered, pointed Thai-style spire — a proportion you don’t see at most provincial temples. Stone and stucco detailing around the hall shows the Khmer influence common to temples this close to the border, layered under standard Thai religious ornament. As a functioning monastery rather than a museum piece, the grounds carry the low-key business of daily temple life — monks sweeping the courtyard, morning almsgiving, the occasional merit-making ceremony for local families.

Insider Tip: Aranyaprathet’s other close-in stop, the Aranyaprathet Victory Gate, is a five-minute drive away — worth pairing if you’re already in town before or after crossing to Cambodia via the Rong Kluea border checkpoint.

There isn’t much written up in English about Wat Anubanphot beyond its basic facts, and that’s honestly true of most Aranyaprathet temples — this is a working border-town monastery, not a tourism set piece. Go for the unusual ordination-hall proportions and the low-traffic, unhurried atmosphere rather than expecting Ayutthaya-scale grandeur.

Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees — and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall, as at any Thai temple. It’s easiest to reach by car or motorbike taxi from central Aranyaprathet, a few kilometres from the town centre and the Rong Kluea border market.