NONGKHAI, THAILAND--AN HOUR AWAY FROM UDON THANI, BORDER OF THAILAND AND LAOS. Sala Kaew Ku is a grandiose and eccentric religion park in northern Thailand, full of huge statues of Buddha, Shiva and Ganesh. it was built by one of Thailand’s most colourful and eccentric men Luang Puu Bunleua Surirat, or Luang Puu, as his followers called him.

Luang Puu arrived in Thailand in 1978 after spending two years in a Laotian jail, after he was accused of being a secret agent for the American CIA. He eventually escaped and, upon his arrival, purchased a 50 rai plot near Nong Khai for a mere five thousand baht, an amazing bargain. He then enlisted the aid of several devotees and proceeded to build a temple and fill the grounds with a collection of concrete statues that boggle the mind.