Wat Songtham Worawihan

Wat Songtham Worawihan is a second-class royal temple, Worawihan grade, in Talat subdistrict, Phra Pradaeng. It isn’t first-class, despite what some listings claim, and its ordination hall doesn’t carry Ramakian murals either; that detail doesn’t appear in the temple’s own historical records or in Samut Prakan’s provincial documentation. What the temple actually has is a distinctly Mon architectural profile, dating to the founding of Nakhon Khuen Khan, the fortress town King Rama II established here around 1815 to guard the mouth of the Chao Phraya against seaborne attack.

A royal prince oversaw the original construction. King Rama III later moved the temple inside the Pom Petchrung fortress walls and consolidated its buildings, and King Rama V briefly renamed it Wat Damrong Ratchakam before it reverted to its current name. The main chedi is unmistakably Mon in style, a tiered stupa roughly 11 metres tall with four smaller stupas at its base, each said to hold relics placed there for the 25th Buddhist century commemoration in 1957. The ordination hall itself is a striking piece of design: 56 round brick columns support its roof and wings, with carved teak lotus-finial details on the viharn.

The principal Buddha image sits in the Sukhothai-style Maravijaya, or subduing-Mara, pose. Entry is free, and the temple keeps to fairly standard hours, open daily from 8am to 4:30pm.

Insider Tip: Time a visit for Songkran, 13–15 April, if you can. Wat Songtham Worawihan hosts one of the more distinctive Mon-community processions in the Bangkok area, with hong sa, or swan, and centipede-shaped flags carried through the grounds, a tradition specific to Phra Pradaeng’s Mon population rather than the water-throwing most tourists associate with the festival.

The temple sits close to Phra Pradaeng Market, and it’s an easy few minutes on foot to Phra Suea Mueang Shrine, the district’s guardian-spirit shrine, if you want to pair a Buddhist and a folk-animist site in the same short walk. Khung Bang Kachao, the green, car-light river bend that’s become Phra Pradaeng’s best-known draw for cyclists, is a short drive further into the district.

Watch out: the 56-column ordination hall is a working prayer space, not a museum display. Check that no ceremony is under way before wandering in, and keep to the edges if one is.

Dress modestly, cover shoulders and knees, and remove your shoes before entering any hall. This Samut Prakan temple isn’t set up for large tour groups, so a visit here tends to be a quieter, more personal stop than the more heavily promoted sites closer to Bangkok.