Wat Sothonwararam Worawihan

Luang Pho Sothon, a gilded sandstone Buddha image, sits inside a marble ordination hall at Wat Sothonwararam Worawihan on the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao town. Entry is free and the temple opens daily from around 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It is widely regarded as the province’s most important religious site and draws pilgrims from across the country, particularly on weekends and Buddhist holy days.

Temple history holds that the image is one of three Buddha statues that floated down rivers from the north during a period of unrest, each drifting to a different town. The one that reached Chachoengsao resisted every attempt by local villagers to pull it to shore — only after a monk performed a ceremony with a sacred thread did the current finally bring the image out of the Bang Pakong River. Locals named it Luang Pho Sothon. Carved from sandstone in nine separate pieces and later lacquered and gilded, the seated Buddha has a lap width of about 1.65 metres.

The ordination hall visible today replaces a smaller original structure. The cornerstone was laid in 1988 and the golden spire raised in 1996, with Princess Sirindhorn overseeing the project. The four-gabled, prasat-style hall — finished in pale marble in a modern take on Rattanakosin style — now encases the earlier building and dominates the temple’s riverside grounds.

Wat Sothon is also known locally as the “egg temple.” Women hoping to conceive, or hoping for a son, traditionally leave offerings of boiled eggs at Luang Pho Sothon’s altar, and vendors selling eggs, incense, lotus flowers, and gold leaf line the courtyard approach. Inside the hall, visitors press gold leaf onto smaller Buddha images, light incense, and prostrate before the main image — the everyday rhythm of merit-making rather than a staged photo stop.

Insider Tip: Arrive at opening, 7:00 AM, on a weekday. By mid-morning on weekends and wan phra (Buddhist holy days), the ordination hall fills with tour groups and the queue to approach the Buddha image slows to a crawl.

Dress modestly — covered shoulders and knees — and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall. The temple sits in Mueang Chachoengsao district on the Bang Pakong River, about 1.5 hours from central Bangkok by car. If you’re exploring more of Chachoengsao’s temples, Wat Saman Ratanaram and its giant pink Ganesh statue is a short drive away.