Around here, you don’t have to go far to find something completely magical.
Within just ten kilometers of our home, there are countless places like this—temples, historical sites, landmarks, lakes, forests, caves. The list never really ends. My wife is an explorer, and she’s spent her entire life here. And still, there are places practically in our own neighborhood she never even knew existed.
This video is about one of them.
We stumbled across it by accident, on our way to another temple just eight kilometers from the farm.
Off the beaten trail—and then a little further still—deep into the forest, on a plateau hundreds of feet above the Ota Lat Reservoir, perched against a rock cliff, sits Samnaksong Tham Kaew.
It’s one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.
Not a temple in the officially recognized sense—hence the absence of the word Wat—this is more of a monastery. A monument, really. Built in honor of a renowned and important hermit who inhabited this land until his death.
Inside the modest sanctuary is a small shrine, and an encased glass tomb holding his incorruptible body. They call him Pu Kaew—Grandpa Kaew.
After a short grounding meditation at a shrine beside the skeletal framework of what will one day become a new temple building, we wandered the grounds alone, completely unencumbered.
High above the earth below, across a small arched bridge, sits what is essentially the top of a rock—used daily as a meditation space. After lingering there for some time, breathing in the quiet, mineral-rich air, we continued on past a handful of cliffside bungalows where monks live—briefly passing just inches from one’s porch—and down a narrow, unmaintained trail hugging the cliff.
Along the way, several other meditation points overlooked the reservoir below. Signs of recent use were everywhere.
Eventually, we made our way back toward the main sanctuary. A monk approached—no doubt alerted by the howling temple dogs—greeted us warmly, offered us coffee, and shared a short conversation with my wife.
It was an extraordinary place to stumble upon.
We both felt the effects of being there as we left, continuing on to the temple we had originally set out to visit.
That story comes next.