Wat Intharawihan, sometimes spelled Wat Indravihan is located on Wisut Kasat Road on the northern edge of Banglamphu. This temple is known for a huge standing Buddha image called Luang Pho To. The image is 32 meters tall and 10 meters wide and was constructed in the reign of King Rama IV. Showing the Buddha holding his alms bowl, wearing a yellow saffron robe. There are staircases on both sides of the image.

A small temple hall on the left of the Buddha houses a cement figure of the famous Lord Abbot, for the people to pay their respects. The top knot of the image contains relics of the Buddha brought from Sri Lanka.

Relatively few tourists venture out here, which is a plus. We were brought here on purpose by our tuk-tuk driver.

In the grounds of the temple you'll see the usual caged birds for sale. You can make a plus point by buying the bird's freedom. Just a note, the birds fly back to the owner and they do the same thing all over again.

While we were roaming around, a local male stranger smartly dressed approached us. He speaks well in English and claims to be a university student. He asked us if we needed help. We chatted for a while and mind you, he has an excellent knowledge about Philippines. To make the story short, eventually the conversation gets round to jewelry and gems, confirming the special deal on at the moment. (Oh no, another scammer!!!). He was telling us that, "Today is a special export day, it's an opportunity previously open to Thai students only to finance their studies abroad but now tourists can do it as well..." blah... blah... blah and so on.

We knew that this was all an elaborate set of lies and were simply being set up to spend a small fortune on the 'bargain' gems. The man even marked the location of the gem shop on our map so we can tell the tuk-tuk driver where to go.

It was a disappointingly frustrating experience. I really hate this type of people and shame on them for such a callous manner!

Just a little note to say: Don't listen to anyone on the street. It might be all part of a sophisticated gem scam. If you hear them say like "There's a special tax break today", "It's part of a tourism promotion", "It's a wholesale factory price", "backed by the government", "You get a certificate of authenticity"... etc. BEWARE!!!

Wat Intharawihan is located at Bang Khun Phrom Sub-District, Phra Nakorn District near Rama VIII bridge and Bank of Thailand.