Wat Sao Thong Tong

Wat Sao Thong Tong stands on Ko Kret, the car-free river island in Pak Kret district that Mon settlers first built on during the Ayutthaya period. There’s no bridge to the island. Every visitor arrives by boat, whether a short cross-river ferry from one of the piers on the Pak Kret riverbank or a longer trip upriver from central Bangkok.

The temple’s Mon founders originally called it Wat Suan Mak, after the areca-palm orchard once planted here, and referred to it informally as the western temple for its position on that side of the island. The current name, meaning roughly Golden Flagpole Temple, dates to a set of gilded flag poles that once stood at the entrance; they deteriorated over time and were eventually removed, but the name stuck. The main chedi, twelve-cornered in the Ayutthaya style, is the tallest structure anywhere in Pak Kret district, and the ordination hall houses a stucco Buddha image in the Maravijaya pose alongside two small spirit shrines.

King Chulalongkorn visited in 1897 and stayed the night, taking part in ceremonies inside the ordination hall, a detail local guides are often happy to point out if you ask. Beyond that royal footnote, this is a genuinely quiet working temple: no entry fee, no crowds competing for photos, and none of the pottery-stall bustle that fills Ko Kret’s main walking lanes closer to the pier.

Watch out: don’t plan on a taxi or BTS route straight to the temple gate. Ko Kret has no roads for cars, and the only way across the river is by boat. Factor in the ferry crossing, a few baht, frequent departures, when timing your visit, and expect to walk or cycle once you’re on the island itself.

Photography is generally welcome around the grounds, and the temple’s riverside position means you get river breezes even in the hotter months. Come in the morning if you want the calmest light and the fewest other visitors. Ko Kret gets busier with day-trippers by early afternoon, especially on weekends when the island’s pottery market is at its liveliest.

Insider Tip: Combine the temple with a walk around the rest of Ko Kret. The pottery workshops and stilt houses that make the island worth the boat trip in the first place are a short walk from Wat Sao Thong Tong’s gate.

Dress modestly and remove your shoes before entering the ordination hall, as at any Thai temple. There’s no fixed visitor schedule here, since this is an active monastery in Nonthaburi, not a ticketed site, so plan around whatever ceremony might already be under way when you arrive.