The Truth about the Sanctuary of Truth in Thailand

The Sanctuary of Truth is an all-wood temple in Pattaya, Thailand.

Translated, Sanctuary of Truth means “sanctuary of truth”. This monument in the eastern part of central Thailand was built in 1981 and is the largest wooden building complex in the country. The temple itself is 105 meters high and also almost 100 meters long. It is located right by the sea and is characterized by the intricate carvings of mythological figures from various religions and cultures. The artworks originate from the architecture of Thai, Khmer, Lao and Chinese cultures, among others, and are meant to serve as a reminder of the age of Rattanakosin.

The truth about the Sanctuary of Truth temple — at least as it currently looks there — is unfortunately very disappointing.

More of a tourist attraction than a spiritual place

When reading about the Sanctuary of Truth, looking at pictures or even reports about this awe-inspiring temple, one gets the feeling that this is a spiritual as well as religious place. Especially since it is also a temple that looks very impressive from afar. In Thailand, there are many temples and each is special and unique in its own way. Usually monks live in the temples and also take care of their homes. With all the temples that I have already visited during my trips to Thailand, there was not a single one that did not also serve as a place of prayer and refuge for believers.

A very famous temple is the Doi Suthep Temple in Chiang Mai. Due to its location on the mountain and the huge gold dome, it is now a popular destination for tourists. There you actually also pay a small fee of 30 baht (about 80 cents) to be allowed to visit the temple. This applies to both locals and tourists. And honestly, the 80 cents are more than worth it. I would even say that the entrance fee is not really worth mentioning. But even here, at Doi Suthep Temple, you meet many locals who come here to pray and the monks who live here make the place very special.

Unfortunately, it is quite different at the Sanctuary of Truth. Yes, it is also a popular destination for tourists, which is absolutely not a bad thing. But the way it is implemented here, in my opinion, destroys the entire atmosphere of what is actually such an impressive building. There is a large, flat area with a parking lot, toilets and some empty small stalls and booths. All in all, the area, which then leads you to the Shrine of Truth, looks very deserted, abandoned and also a bit neglected.

Too high entrance fees and unnecessary entrance times

If one wants to enter the grounds and visit the Sanctuary of Truth, one must first pay admission. The fee is 500 baht per person, which is about 15 euros. For two people you have to pay about 30 Euro to visit the temple. For Thai conditions and especially in view of the fact that it is actually a temple, these fees are already very high. For the famous Doi Suthep temple in Chiang Mai you pay only about 80 cents.

So far, so good. Although we were a little skeptical because of the high entrance fee, we wanted to see the temple and thought, maybe there is something here that justifies these fees. Unfortunately, it was relatively quickly clear that this is no longer the case. I can’t say what it was like before Corona. I suspect there were little stalls, booths, restaurants and stores all over the place back then. At least the abandoned buildings indicate that. Maybe there were shows and other attractions here, too. Who knows.

During our visit there were only a few lonely horses on a grazed meadow, fenced by signs that forbid feeding and touching the animals. Overall, it also looked very desolate and bare. On our way to the temple, we could unfortunately also discover nothing really worth seeing. Admittedly, the view of the Sanctuary of Truth from the viewing platform is already very impressive. But even there the atmosphere was sadly destroyed.

Just as we were about to enjoy the view, we were told by a staff member that we had to go down to the temple immediately. If we did not go there directly now, we would have to wait an hour for the next entrance time. Since we didn’t want to do that, we followed the staff member who led us to a wooden staircase. But there was no one else there. No visitors on the stairs and the rest of the area was rather empty as well. Nevertheless, we then climbed down the stairs to the temple.

Chained elephants — is that really necessary?

At the bottom of the stairs you get a white helmet and are told that you have to wear it all the time. Afterwards I learned that you have to wear the helmets because the Sanctuary of Truth is dilapidated and it could theoretically be that something crumbles from the ceiling. Hence the helmets. Also, appropriate clothing is a requirement. No off-the-shoulder or too-short clothing that does not cover the knees is allowed. If you do arrive in shorts, you will be given a sarong to wear.

The staff will direct you to the right side of the path. There are two elephants. At first sight actually very cool and exciting. Two large, majestic elephants directly at an impressive temple. But on closer inspection, the whole thing gets a very negative aftertaste. The elephants are tied to heavy chains for a very short time and can’t move a meter forward or backward. At least they are under the trees in the shade but I still think that I no state in which you should keep elephants.

There is also a small stand where you can buy a few bananas for 100 baht and probably feed the elephants with them. We didn’t want to try it out. What I also find very alarming is that there was nowhere within reach of the elephants water. We did see a staff member holding a hose with water to the animals and hosing them down a bit, but I highly doubt that was enough. If one considers that a full-grown elephant drinks actually between 120 to 200 liters of water on the day and 200 to 300 kg food to itself takes, for which it needs approx. 16 to 20 hours on the day, that is there absolutely no kind-fair attitude.

The two elephants are there only for tourist purposes. I can understand that they want to attract tourists and that elephants are impressive creatures. But if one wants to earn money with the animals, one should treat these at least well and kind-fairly. After all, you wouldn’t chain a human being to a tree all day, give him a sip of water every now and then and then let him pose with strangers….

The Sanctuary of Truth

Around a corner you finally reach the actual temple. This one is really very impressive. A huge building made of wood with filigree carvings, countless figures and and and. It towers high into the sky and you don’t know what to look at first. There are just too many details and all in all this temple is a real experience. But as before, the atmosphere is destroyed by the numerous guides walking around with microphones, laser pointers and sometimes colorful signs.

You hardly have the chance to look at the temple in peace, because you are already referred to a guide who should lead you through the temple. But we didn’t want a guide at all, we just wanted to see the Sanctuary of Truth. To be able to do that, we had to explain several times to the staff that we don’t need a guide and just want to walk around. Sometimes we were even called back because a new tour was about to start in which we could participate.

Also a bit strange: when we walked towards the temple, the entrance was on the left side. However, we were not allowed to go left along but were directed to the right. We thought nothing of it at first and suspected that there was another entrance there. So we walked once around the temple — which is also really impressive — before we were finally allowed to enter the temple at the entrance on the left side.

The inside of the Sanctuary of Truth is just as impressive and intricate as it is on the outside. There are carved figures everywhere, the ceilings soar high and are all detailed as well. It really is quite an experience and a very special flair. However, a spiritual, religious atmosphere does not really arise, because the voices of the guides sound over the microphones again and again or the sculptures and altars are illuminated by laser pointers. Unfortunately, it is not a place to pray or to concentrate on the culture as well as the religion.

Mini zoo as maxi fail

On the way back from the temple, we passed the chained elephants again, climbed the wooden stairs and went under the cord, which can only be opened at certain times. Possibly this is due to Corona but even that makes little sense as there are few visitors either way. When we arrive back at the top, there is a small family waiting to be admitted to the temple. However, it is also strictly enforced that one may only go downstairs at the hour. Regardless of the fact that there are no other guests. Hmm, okay :-D

At the top there is then the viewing platform, from which you have a really great view of the temple. This time we can even enjoy the view and take a few photos in peace. There is also a restaurant with a view of the Sanctuary of Truth and the sea behind it. But this one is also completely empty and doesn’t really look inviting. I can well imagine that there before Corona the people only so romped to drink a coffee or shake with a view of the temple or to eat a snack.

Another tourist attraction is the mini zoo. Whereby I would not really call this one a zoo. There is a big gate, which lets hope for more. But if you go through it, you simply find yourself in the middle of 3 small enclosures. In the small enclosures there are goats and sheep. But that’s it. Outside again there is another cage with many rabbits. But this one is also rather lovelessly designed. Rather a maxi-fail than a mini-zoo.