Laem Sor Pagoda Temple is a public temple under the Maha Nikaya sect, located in Na Mueang Subdistrict, Koh Samui District, Surat Thani Province. It is currently led by the abbot Phra Khru Thirabunyakorn.

Laem Sor Pagoda Temple was established in 1908 (BE 2451), predating the Sangha Act of 1941 (BE 2484), but it was an old temple that had not been officially registered. It was only officially recognized and registered as a temple on February 17, 2011 (BE 2554).

The pagoda of the temple is registered as a historical site. The original pagoda was built in 1907 (BE 2450) to enshrine the Buddha’s relics. However, in 1967 (BE 2510), the pagoda was struck by lightning and severely damaged. As a result, the relics were moved to a new pagoda located on Laem Sor Beach, which is the one seen today.

The relics enshrined here are part of the Buddha’s chest bone (Uraṅkha relics), which Phra Khru Phiboon Thammasarn, the former district monk leader of Koh Samui, brought back after leading a group to Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal around 1904–1905 (BE 2447–2448). Phra Khru Phiboon Thammasarn urged the people and his disciples to construct a pagoda on Laem Sor Hill, using coral carved into square shapes to replace bricks. The coral stones were crushed into fine powder and mixed with buffalo hide glue, palm sugar, and sap from the chet tree to bind them. The construction took six months to complete, and a consecration ceremony was held in 1908 (BE 2451).

Currently, the original Laem Sor Pagoda is in a deteriorated state. The central part of the base has been hollowed out in search of valuables, and the bell-shaped section has collapsed. The plaster coating on the pagoda has worn away. In 2004 (BE 2547), the Department of Fine Arts undertook the restoration of the pagoda, restoring it to its original condition.

Source of information: https://th.wikipedia.org/