Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Garden is Nong Khai’s main attraction for most visitors to the city. The sculpture garden is around 5-6 kms from the city center and features fantastic and weird concrete sculptures, some of which are up to 25 meters tall. The sculptures are inspired by Buddhism and Hinduism and are a reflection of the personal vision of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat. Construction started in 1978. Sulilat also created the Buddha Park on the Laos side of the Mekong River.
My favorite sculptures were the ones of the dogs near the entrance. Dogs in cars, dogs on motorbikes, dogs with guns, happy dogs, angry dogs, horny dogs. Very amusing!
Videos Of Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Garden
Embalmed Body Of Sala Kaew Ku Creator
You can see the embalmed body of Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, the sculpture park’s creator on the 3rd floor of the above building. When we visited it was in a locked room at the back, but you could just about see it through the glass door. It used to be on open display, but I’m not sure if it still is.
How To Get To Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Garden
Getting to Sala Kaew Ku Sculpture Garden is very easy. We went by tuk tuk and it cost us 300 baht ($10) to get there and back again, including a stop at a temple on the way home. I think you could get a cheaper rate than this if you haggled a little, but the drivers are fairly poor, so we didn’t mind paying the 300 baht that the driver asked for.
Another option is to hire a bicycle and cycle there. It’s only around 5-6 kms from the city center and quite an easy route. It should only take you around 30 minutes. You can hire a bicycle for around 50 baht a day, so this this would be a cheaper option.
Hotels In Nong Khai
While In Nong Khai we stayed at The Rim Riverside Hotel, This is a great hotel with rooms overlooking the Mekong River. It also gets great reviews on Agoda.
For other hotels is Nong Khai, check out Agoda Nong Khai.
