Wat Kaeo Fah

Wat Kaeo Fah sits on Khlong Bangkok Noi in Bang Kruai, part of Nonthaburi, and dates to around 1552, when officials loyal to the assassinated child-king Prince Kaeo Fah built it as a memorial to him. Entry is free, and most visitors today come for one specific reason: the temple’s kasin fire karma-cutting ceremony, held four times a day.

Prince Kaeo Fah — also known as Somdet Phra Yot Fa — inherited the Ayutthaya throne at eleven years old and reigned barely a year before Khun Worawongsa had him killed. The temple built in his memory received formal boundary consecration in 1567 and 1571, and its old ordination hall still stands: an unglazed clay-tile roof with a central spire, stucco-framed windows, and eight arched colonnades in the classic late-Ayutthaya style. Inside, around 40 wall murals — reportedly worth tens of millions of baht — surround Luang Pho Yai, the temple’s principal Buddha image.

The kasin fire ritual is what brings crowds now. Monks lead a meditation focused on the fire element while participants write their names on two slips of paper — one to cut away bad karma, one asking forgiveness — along with vegetable oil and alcohol, then burn the offerings in a container set in front of the ordination hall. Ceremonies run at 09:30, 13:30, 19:30, and midnight, with an extended fortune-blessing rite added on Buddhist holy days and Sunday afternoons.

The mood shifts noticeably around ceremony times. Outside them, Wat Kaeo Fah is a quiet neighbourhood temple where locals bring alms in the morning and children play in the courtyard between the old colonnades — a contrast to the more famous royal temple of Wat Chaloem Phra Kiat Worawihan elsewhere in the province, or the market island of Ko Kret a short drive north.

Insider Tip: Turn up 15-20 minutes before a scheduled burning — seating around the fire pit fills fast once a ceremony is announced over the temple’s PA system.

Watch out: The karma-cutting ritual draws a genuinely devout, sometimes emotional crowd. Treat it as a real ceremony rather than a photo opportunity, and ask before pointing a camera at anyone mid-ritual.

Dress modestly and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall, whether or not you’re there for a ceremony.