Pathum Thani - Wat Pai Lom

Wat Pai Lom, a temple on the bank of the Menam Chao Phyra, provides the most interesting attraction here and is best reached either by rented boat (five minutes) or by river taxi from Bangkok. The wat itself is of no interest, but the temple grounds are home to hundreds of thousands of openbill storks (Anastomus oscitans), whose numbers have increased more than eightfold in the last 30 years as a result of the protection they enjoy here (use of firearms and hunting are forbidden in the grounds of Thailand's temples).

The site of Wat Pai Lom is thought to have been built during the Ayutthaya period, i.e. long before the founding of Bangkok. Its name means "Bamboo Temple" and was chosen either because the first temple buildings were made of bamboo or because of the dense bamboo forest, which once surrounded the temple grounds.