Wat Nong Hua Raet (วัด หนอง หัว แรต) is a small Buddhist temple located in Nong Bun Mak, about 50 km from Korat city, the door of Isan, in the northeastern region of Thailand.

This temple is well known among the local residents for its beautiful, and very well kept gardens with trees, awarded by the Government of Thailand. This is a small forest located on the other side of the road, which is an extension of the temple and cannot be visited because only monks are allowed to get into the complex. This simple monastery hosts a number of Buddha images located in front the buildings and around the enclosure. The ashes of the deceased are placed in a columbarium in the wall around the temple and in the gates.

Besides functioning as a place of worship to devotees, Wat Nong Hua Raet, is also a site to make merit and pilgrimage, especially during the Vesak Day celebrations, the Buddha Day. Wat Nong Hua Raet is located near Wat Sap Takhro, another temple in the area.

The temple hosts many ordinations of novice monks ceremonies (see photos below), locals cut some hair from each novice. After that, live Thai music on the temple’s premises performed by a musician playing Thai dance music on the top of a truck with huge loudspeakers, and the enthusiastic ceremony with the assistants dancing to music.

Nongbunmak which mean “town of the very helpful people”, is a small farm town located in the highway 24 in Nakhon Ratchasima province.

Address: Moo 8, Tambon Laem Thong, Amphoe Nong Bun Mak , Nakhon Ratchasima, 30410, Thailand.

Phone: +66 44 448 695

-Thailand News (TN)