Wat Sala Loi

Wat Sala Loi’s ordination hall is built in the shape of a Chinese junk riding a wave — one of the more unusual pieces of religious architecture in Thailand, and the reason most visitors come. The temple was founded in 1827 by Thao Suranari and her husband, then deputy governor of Nakhon Ratchasima, on the road that circles the old city moat. Entry is free, daily 08:00-18:00.

The founding story explains the site: after Thao Suranari’s forces defeated an invading Lao army in 1826, she reportedly had soldiers build a raft shaped like a pavilion and float it down the Mun River, intending to build a temple wherever it came to rest. It drifted to the site of an abandoned temple, and Wat Sala Loi was established there. When she died, her ashes were kept in a stupa beside the temple; when the building later fell into disrepair, they were moved to Wat Phra Narai Maharat nearby. After restoration, part of her ashes were returned to the small stupa that still stands next to the modern ubosot.

The current boat-shaped ordination hall dates from the 20th century and won recognition from the Association of Siamese Architects and the Sathirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation in 1973. Its façade is covered in Dan Kwian clay tiles depicting the Buddha’s victory over Mara, the rear wall shows his descent from Tavatimsa heaven, and the doors carry embossed metalwork telling the Vessantara Jataka across thirteen panels. Inside stands a white plaster standing Buddha, “Phra Phuttha Prapattana Sunthon Thammapisal,” in the Pacifying the Ocean posture. A plaster statue of Thao Suranari, hands folded in prayer, stands in a small pond at the ubosot’s entrance, and a sema-shaped glass wall around the building references Mueang Sema, an ancient Dvaravati-era town near Sung Noen tied to the region’s early history.

Insider Tip: The boat form reads most clearly from the moat-road side, where the “bow” faces the water — photos taken from directly in front tend to miss the shape entirely.

Watch out: As an active temple with a standing Buddha inside the ubosot, modest dress is expected, and the hall may close briefly during merit-making ceremonies.

The temple sits on the road encircling Korat’s old city moat, an easy stop combined with the Thao Suranari Monument and Wat Phra Narai Maharat — all three cover different pieces of the same 1826 story within a short walk or drive of each other.