AT A GLANCE
Why go?
Wat Phra That Rat Bamrung is a quiet village temple on the outskirts of Nong Khai town, set along Mittraphap Road between Udon Thani and Nong Khai. Locals also know it as Wat Luang Pho Dam, after a revered dark Buddha image that anchors the faith of the surrounding community, and its name carries the word 'phra that', marking it as a place built around a relic stupa.↗↗
This is not a grand tourist monument but a working monastery that grew out of a very ordinary need: before it existed, the villagers had no temple of their own and had to travel to a neighbouring hamlet for every merit-making festival. Founded in the early 1930s on land of more than 20 rai, it has since served as the spiritual centre of the neighbourhood. Visitors who come tend to mention its calm, shaded grounds and the sense of peace the temple offers, making it a worthwhile quiet stop for anyone exploring the sacred side of Nong Khai.↗
A temple born from a village's need
The temple was originally named Wat Rat Samakkhi — the 'temple of communal harmony' — and was established on 1 January 1932 (B.E. 2475) on a plot of just over 23 rai in the Ban Non That area of Nong Kom Ko. Its origin story is the familiar one of many Isan village monasteries: in the years before it was built, the residents had no temple of their own, and for each Buddhist holiday or merit-making ceremony they had to make the inconvenient journey to the temple at nearby Ban Kham Khae. The community set out to remedy that, and the monastery that grew from their effort is the one standing today.
