Wat Apson Sawan Worawihan

Wat Apson Sawan Worawihan is a working Buddhist monastery on Khlong Dan canal in Bangkok’s Phasi Charoen district, more than 200 years old and ranked a third-class royal temple. Entry is free and it draws far fewer visitors than the city’s headline temples, largely because it sits well outside the usual Rattanakosin sightseeing loop.

The temple was originally called Wat Mu — “pig temple” — after the pig stables that once stood on the land, and its founding predates reliable written records. During the reign of King Rama III (Nangklao), Royal Concubine Noi funded a restoration; the king then had the temple renamed Wat Apson Sawan, meaning “temple of the celestial apsara.” The ubosot (ordination hall) and vihara were rebuilt in Chinese architectural style rather than the classical Thai form, a treatment shared with neighbouring Wat Nang Chi directly across the canal. Inside the ordination hall stand 28 principal Buddha images in the Maravijaya posture — the moment of the Buddha’s victory over Mara — commissioned during Rama III’s own reign.

The temple’s most distinctive structure is its ho trai, a wooden library built to hold Tripitaka manuscripts in Ayutthaya-period style, set in the middle of a pond on the grounds — a design meant to protect the texts from insects and damp. The Fine Arts Department listed the whole complex as a national historic site in 1977, which is the clearest official marker of its significance beyond the neighbourhood.

Insider Tip: Wat Nang Chi and Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen both sit within a short distance across the same canal — worth combining into one Phasi Charoen temple loop rather than a single stop, since none of the three draws crowds on their own.

Dress modestly — covered shoulders, no shorts above the knee — and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall, as at any active Thai temple. It’s a working monastery rather than a museum, so time your visit around quieter mid-morning or early-afternoon hours if you want to look around without interrupting daily rituals.