Wat Hong Rattanaram Ratchaworawihan

Wat Hong Rattanaram Ratchaworawihan sits on the north bank of Khlong Bangkok Yai in Thonburi, part of the older, quieter side of Bangkok, about 500 metres from Wang Derm, the palace King Taksin built after Ayutthaya fell in 1767. He worshipped here throughout his reign, and the temple still carries his memory two and a half centuries later. Entry is free, and the grounds open daily from around 09:00 to 17:00.

A wealthy Chinese benefactor named Hong founded the temple in the late Ayutthaya period on this canal bank — “Hong” refers to the hamsa, the mythical swan of Thai and Hindu tradition, and gave the site its original name. King Taksin restored and expanded it once he moved his capital to Thonburi, and the name changed at least three more times under later reigns before settling on Wat Hong Rattanaram in the mid-1800s. Rama III carried out a further major renovation. The temple now ranks as a second-class royal monastery and serves as the tutelary temple of Prince Pinklao, the Front Palace king who reigned alongside Rama IV.

The ordination hall mixes Thai and European detailing in its door and window frames, uncommon among Thonburi’s older temples, and its murals depict the Mahanipata Jataka, the Buddha’s ten great birth stories. Inside sits Phra Saen, a Lan Xang-style bronze Buddha considered one of the temple’s most sacred images. In the sermon hall stands a late Sukhothai-period gold Buddha that spent decades disguised as an ordinary stucco statue — workers only discovered it in 1957, when cracking plaster revealed the metal underneath.

Local tradition also ties the temple to Taksin’s death at nearby Wichai Prasit Fort: soldiers carrying his remains are said to have seen his spirit here and dropped what they carried in fright, and a shrine near the canal — built, according to legend, from soil mixed with his blood — still draws visitors leaving flowers and incense. Whether or not you take the story literally, the shrine gives the riverside grounds a weight that’s rare among Bangkok’s more visited temples, and it’s rarely crowded enough to feel like a stop on anyone’s itinerary but your own.

Insider Tip: Combine the visit with Wat Arun, a five to ten minute walk along the canal, or the King Taksin the Great Monument a little further on. Most tour groups skip Wat Hong entirely, so you’ll likely have the ordination hall to yourself even at midday.

Dress modestly and remove your shoes before entering the ordination or sermon hall. The temple sees far fewer visitors than Wat Arun or the Grand Palace, so there’s no need to arrive at dawn purely to beat a crowd that, most days, never really shows up.