Wat Sala Phothi Serey Sako is located in Ward 2, Vinh Chau town (Soc Trang province). Local people also call it the New Pagoda. The pagoda was built in 1938.
Venerable Thach Phet - abbot of the pagoda said that the old main hall was degraded and the pillars and beams were weak. In 2011, the Venerable mobilized the people, Buddhists and some benefactors to rebuild it, and it was completed in 2018.
Sala Phothi Pagoda is known to many Buddhists and tourists for its whale tomb. The tomb is built spaciously in the temple grounds, the whale statue is made of lifelike cement and lies on a nearly 1m high pedestal decorated like a miniature ocean.
According to local people, on October 11, 2013, a whale weighing more than 10 tons ran aground on the coast of Vinh Chau. At 4:10 p.m. the same day, the whale died. Venerable Thach Phet and local people and Buddhists contributed their efforts and money to solemnly organize the procession of the whale to the pagoda, build a tomb and hold a burial ceremony.
Since then, every day, visitors from all over the country come to burn incense and pray for the fish, especially those who make a living from fishing or living near the sea. During peak holidays, pagoda festivals attract thousands of people to visit and worship the whale's grave.
Currently, the pagoda still worships a pair of whale jaws, about 2m high, worshiped on April 26, 1935.
Currently, along with organizing cultural activities and festivals according to Southern Buddhism, Sala Phothi Pagoda also holds a ceremony to pray for the whale on the 7th day of the 9th lunar month every year.
Besides visiting the whale's grave, locals and tourists can visit the temple and admire the unique architecture.
The main hall was built spaciously with a high roof consisting of 3 overlapping floors. The most special feature in the temple roof architecture lies in the image of Prince Siddhartha flying to Bach Ma to become a monk in the forest.
In the temple grounds, there is also Ward 2 Primary School built in 1945; Pali Primary School built in 1995; the library has 2 types of books in 2 languages: Vietnamese - Khmer.
The highlight is the tower worshiping the Buddha Shakyamuni statue made of a single block of stone, 1.5m high, weighing about 3 tons, which was invited from Cambodia by Venerable Thach Phet in 2013. In 2015, the Venerable continued to invite another Buddha Shakyamuni statue and placed it in the Sala house.
In addition to using some traditional patterns of the Southern Khmer people, the architectural lines in the pagoda harmoniously combine some architectural motifs of India and Thailand, enriching the architecture.
