Thailand -

rom this distance, it's enough to make a grown man quake. A strange, shadowed hulk soaring above village rooftops – eyes protruding, nostrils flared and fangs jutting from a grimacing mouth. From her neck hangs a garland of jasmine buds and a sparkling pendant. Clenching a crystalline ball and tassel firmly in her teeth, this beast might look intimidating but, don't worry – the ferocity is all front.

Drawing close, what emerges is not a monster but – bizarrely – a boat, fronted by a huge Chinese prow of dragon features. The massive barge is in fact a replica of the King of Thailand's royal river vessel, Subannahongsa. And far from being a demon's lair, the space within is holy. This is Wat Chalaw, a magnificent – and utterly unique – new Buddhist complex on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Wat Chalaw is only a 30-minute taxi ride from the popular Sukhumvit hotel district. A negotiated USD 5 dollar taxi fare may seem reasonable but don't pass up the chance to travel as locals do. Catch an express boat headed north from the Oriental Pier up the Chao Phraya River. Disembark an hour later at Nonthonburi. Look for the big clock as a landmark. Hop a shuttle ferry to cross the river to Thonburi. From here take a local bus or motorbike to Bang Kruay village. The road passes durian, mangosteen, and mango orchards, where the hustle and bustle of Bangkok fades into the quiet countryside.

Travelling by boat feels like the only suitable mode of transport, given the dominance of maritime themes at the temple. Not only does the wat itself take boat-form. Two Anantanagaraj barges, each brandishing mythical seven-headed serpent figureheads, flank the new complex and, when completed, the building will be completely surrounded by a moat.

There's a precedent for all of this. Though construction on the new wat began in 1984, the temple site's history dates back 500 years to the Ayutthaya period (1350 to 1767), Ayutthaya, the former Siamese capital nestled at the confluence of three rivers, formed a natural setting for elaborate waterborne ceremonial processions of the day. King Boromakot, the reigning ruler of Ayutthaya, travelled to Bang Kruay by canal in 1578. Finding no temple in the area, he decided to build a wat, despite the misgivings of villagers who believed the recent capsizing of a Chinese junk was an ill omen. Proving their point, the first wat was destroyed by lightning. But the king – humbled, but not to be denied – had the temple rebuilt in the form of a Chinese junk in an effort to mollify the spirits.

It worked up to a point. In 1966, Abbot Pra Kru Nonthaphaphanyawimol, the current leader of Wat Chalaw's 47 resident monks, arrived to find a temple badly in need of repair. Not wholly satisfied with superficial restoration, he turned his mind to how best recapture the temple's former royal and naval glory. His conclusion was a brand new temple and, after more than 20 years of construction, his vision is very nearly complete.

I have made this boat trip to this ancient place on numerous occasions, each time unpicking more of the buildings' fascinating history. I've followed the construction of the new temple and relished the laid-back ambience of the old wat complex. I've also been lucky enough to come to know Wat Chalaw's chief designer.

Abbott Pra Kru became a priest when he was just 15 years old. After years of study throughout southern Thailand, he came to the village of Bang Kruay and got to work. Now, after more than 20 years of effort – and with funding assistance from the government and generous locals – he has proved himself as practical as he is spiritual.

Despite being 70 years of age, Abbot Pra Kru retains his enthusiasm and friendliness, invariably meeting new visitors in the ancient chapel of the old, junk-shaped wat. The crumbling stone steps and photogenic wooden door demonstrates the temple's age, but stone Buddha statues and bougainvilleas in dragon pots brighten up the yard. Sultry cats search for shade, lizards scurry across the packed earth, and the smell of grilling satay wafts across from the nearby pier.

A short distance away, the new wat, has a different mood, with vivid colours and striking, shiny adornments. This fascinating mixture of past and future has proved a hit with Bang Kruay's 25,000 or so villagers. Some days a thousand locals drop by to meet with friends and meditate. "Each community wants its own temple where people can assemble to discuss their lives, their dreams, earn merit, and carry out Buddhist rituals of daily life," explains Pra Kru.

Life drifts by as it has for generations in Bang Kruay. The relaxed, carefree appeal of the Thai personality is often attributed to the Buddhist idea of impermanence, "What arises passes away," and there's nowhere better to tap into this mood than at Wat Chalaw.

The abbot and the villagers chose a quiet site for the new wat alongside the klong (canal) bordering Bang Kruay. The klong is still in daily use for bathing and washing clothes as children dive into the water bobbing up and down in the wakes of passing long-tail boats carrying passengers to and from jobs in Bangkok. Vendors in simple wooden boats ply their trade selling vegetables and fruits from neighbouring farms. Houses set up on stilts line the bank opposite and food sellers offer soups, curries, and noodle dishes from their base behind the temple. Life in this traditional village is a simple one.

But all that may change as the splendour of Wat Chalaw attracts more and more visitors to town. Although Deputy District Sheriff Chaleo Oummepein concedes the wat will add traffic congestion to the small community, he emphasises that the people of Bang Kruay are excited about the temple and the recognition it will bring to the township.

Thai proverbs often reflect the philosophy, sense of humour and character of Thai people. As suburban Bangkok encroaches and the tourists roll up, the people of Bang Kruay have adopted one of the more popular maxims: 'Do not trouble yourself about future difficulties.' On the way out of Wat Chalaw, take a look back at Subannahongsa's fierce features. Even she now seems to have a slightly laidback look in her big, goggle eyes.