Wat Som Kliang

Wat Som Kliang is a working neighbourhood temple on the east bank of Khlong Khao Wang canal in Bang Khu Wiang subdistrict, Bang Kruai district, Nonthaburi. Records place its founding around 1847, in the early Rattanakosin period, under the original name Wat Sangkhedecha; it was later renamed Wat Som Kliang and formally granted its Wisungkamsima ecclesiastical boundary — the official recognition that lets a temple ordain monks — on 2 August 1946. Entry is free.

The temple grounds cover roughly 20 rai, with three adjoining cemetery plots adding a further 23 rai. Like most Bang Kruai canal-side temples of its era, the complex holds an ordination hall (ubosot), monks’ living quarters, and a scattering of shrine buildings arranged around the waterway rather than a public road, which keeps it quiet even by Nonthaburi standards. There’s no dramatic architecture or famous relic to draw a special trip — this is a temple that serves its own community’s merit-making and funeral rites, not a stop built for tour groups.

That’s also the honest appeal: no entry queues, no souvenir stalls, and monks going about ordinary temple business rather than performing for visitors. If you’re staying in Bang Kruai or exploring Nonthaburi’s canal-side temples beyond the well-known names, it’s a genuine, unpolished example of small-town Thai Buddhist life. Watch out: there’s minimal English signage on site and no tourist infrastructure, so this suits travellers comfortable navigating with a map app rather than expecting a guided experience.

Getting here means a taxi or ride-hailing trip from central Bangkok — roughly 30-40 minutes to Bang Kruai depending on traffic — since there’s no nearby rail link. Dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees) and remove your shoes before entering any building, as this remains an active place of worship rather than a museum. For a fuller Nonthaburi temple visit, pair it with Wat Chalor or Wat Sak Yai, both a short drive away in the same district.