There are a lot of Buddhist temples in Thailand and there are a few unique and interesting ones – the Wat Bang Kung วัดบางกุ้ง is one of them. It is actually a temple built within a huge banyan tree! Wat Bang Kung is located in Amphawa district, Samut Songkhram.

Within the Wat entwined tree, there is a large Buddha statue pasted with gold leaves by devout visitors who will walk around the Buddha It appears that a concrete structure had been built within the tree to house the temple.

Within the grounds from Wat Bang Kung lies the memorial to Bang Kung Camp, once a strategic naval outpost. Back in 1767, after the defeat of old Siam capital of Ayutthaya by Burmese forces, general Taksin took his navy down to this area after Burmese ships blocked the route to the gulf. It was from here that Taksin led his troops to take back Ayutthaya from the Burmese and eventually becoming King of Siam.

Besides statues of soldiers dressed in 18th century military wear, there are dozens of life-size statues of Muay Thai kick-boxers displaying different Muay Thai moves, which were added in the late 20th century.