Wat Suthawat (Wat Mai)

Wat Suthawat in Sing Buri’s In Buri district is one temple known by two names — “Wat Suthawat” and “Wat Mai” both refer to the same site, not a pair of neighbouring temples. Locals still call it Wat Mai (New Temple) day to day; Suthawat, meaning roughly “heaven of Brahma,” became its formal name later. It’s a working Mahanikai-sect temple with free entry, open daily 08:00-16:30.

The temple’s history dates to 1860, when a settler named Nai Em moved his family here from Bang Chang in Samut Songkhram and found a large, damaged stone Buddha image on a hill surrounded by ruined stupas — the remains of an earlier, abandoned Ayutthaya-period temple. He restored the image and re-established the site as a place of worship, which is why the “new” temple sits on genuinely old foundations. The surviving Ayutthaya-era viharn is the main reason to visit: inside, mural paintings by temple artists depict scenes from the end of the Buddha’s life — his final illness, the journey to the sal tree grove, his passing (parinirvana), and the cremation and distribution of his relics among gods and kings. The temple received its official ecclesiastical boundary (visungkamsima) in 1970, formalising its status as a registered monastery.

Wat Suthawat gets a fraction of the visitors that Sing Buri’s better-known Ayutthaya-ruin sites see, so there’s rarely anyone else in the old viharn beyond the resident monks and a handful of local worshippers making merit. It’s a quiet, unhurried stop rather than a headline sight — worth combining with other In Buri district attractions rather than visiting alone.

Insider Tip: Ask to see the old viharn specifically — it’s the historic Ayutthaya-period structure with the murals, separate from any newer buildings on the grounds, and it’s easy to miss if a monk doesn’t point it out.

Morning visits between 08:00 and 10:00 give the best light for viewing the murals and the best chance of the temple being quiet. Dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees) and remove shoes before entering the viharn. The temple sits off the main In Buri-Sing Buri road in Thap Ya subdistrict; a car, motorbike, or taxi from Sing Buri town (about 15-20 minutes) is more practical than relying on local buses. Combine the visit with Inburi National Museum, a few kilometres away in the same district, to pair the temple with more context on the area’s Ayutthaya-period history.