Wat Phra Thong

Wat Phra Thong at Thalang, away from Highway 402, owes its construction to the following legend: a boy was minding a water buffalo, which he tethered to a piece of metal protruding from the ground using a hemp rope. Suddenly the boy died, but appeared to his father in a dream and told him about the piece of metal. The father began to dig and came upon a statue of Buddha cast in pure gold. The Buddha could not, however, be completely excavated and so a temple was built on the site in 1785. When the Burmese conquered Thalang a second attempt was made to dig up the statue at which point it broke in two. One half disappeared, but the other still stands in the temple, where it can be viewed. The gables and windows of the temple buildings exhibit rich carving.