Wat Charoen Sukharam Worawihan

Luang Pho To, the principal Buddha image at Wat Charoen Sukharam Worawihan, is a laterite figure cast in the Sukhothai-style Subduing Mara pose — 178 centimetres across and 208 centimetres tall. Local history holds the statue was moved here from an abandoned temple across the provincial line in Ratchaburi, before the site was formally restored in 1883. The temple sits in Samut Songkhram’s Bang Khonthi district, in the Bang Nok Khwaek canal neighbourhood.

The ordination hall’s roofline curves upward at both ends like the hull of a boat, a distinctive touch that sets it apart from the flatter, gabled roofs on most of the province’s other temples. A separate four-gabled viharn stands alongside it, and a chedi behind the compound holds the ashes of the temple’s first abbot. The site was originally an abandoned religious ground before its 1883 restoration. After a floodgate went up on the adjoining canal in 1908, locals started calling the place Wat Pratunam Bang Nok Khwaek — “the floodgate temple” — a name still used alongside the formal one. The government elevated it to royal-temple (worawihan) status, third class, in 1957.

Morning is the working hour here — resident monks chant before 8am and the grounds are quietest before the day’s merit-makers arrive with rice and flowers for Luang Pho To. Motorboats still use the canal that runs past the temple, and a handful of Bang Khonthi’s floating and canal-side markets, including Bang Nok Khwaek Floating Market, operate within a few minutes of the temple gate. There’s no crush of tour buses here — this is a working neighbourhood temple, not a coach-tour stop, so expect a handful of local visitors rather than crowds.

Insider Tip: Combine the visit with Wat Bang Kung, the banyan-root-wrapped temple a short drive away in the same district — both open early and neither takes more than 30–40 minutes to see properly.

Wat Charoen Sukharam Worawihan is open daily from 08:00 to 17:00 and charges no entrance fee, though donations toward temple upkeep are welcome. Cover your shoulders and knees and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall or viharn. The temple is reached by road from central Samut Songkhram or Bang Khonthi district town; there’s no rail or public boat service directly to the gate, so a car, motorbike, or arranged transfer is the practical option.