Pho Khun Bang Klang Thao Monument

Pho Khun Bang Klang Thao MonumentPho Khun Bang Klang Thao Monument stands in Wat Klang, a temple in Nakhon Thai Town. It is believed that the area where the temple is located was once a city called Mueang Bang Yang, ruled by Pho Khun Bang Klang Thao, also known as Pho Khun Sri Indraditya or Pho Khun Bang Klang Hao, the first monarch of the Sukhothai Kingdom. Behind the statue is a champak tree. Aged over 700 years, it is a large conserved tree that still produces flowers. In addition, here in Nakhon Thai District there is the Pak Thong Chai Ceremony, in which locals will carry a white flag to the top of Chang Luang Peak and plant it there during the Loy Krathong Festival.Life and times of Pho Khun Bang Klang ThaoPho Khun Bang Klang Thao was a descendant of King Sirijaya Raja of the Chiang Rai Dynasty. He settled and gathered an army in Mueang Bang Yang (nowadays known as Nakhon Thai). Circa 1235 he together with Pho Khun Pha Mueang of Mueang Rat led his troops to Sukhothai, a Khmer frontier town at that time, and invaded the town. He finally conquered the town circa 1257 and crowned himself the first king of the Phra Ruang Dynasty of the Sukhothai Kingdom with “Pho Khun Sri Indraditya” as his official title.