Wat Yai Inthraram (Royal Monastery)

Wat Yai Inthraram sits on Chet Chamnong Road in Bang Pla Soi, the old downtown quarter of Chonburi town — not Bang Saen beach, a separate neighbourhood about 5 km away in Saen Suk subdistrict. The royal monastery dates to the Ayutthaya era and is best known for its ordination hall, built with a raised, curved base styled after a junk’s hull. Entry is free, and the grounds are open daily from 08:00 to 18:00.

Bang Pla Soi was one of the coast’s old trading settlements, and Wat Yai Inthraram grew up as a royal temple of some standing alongside it — the ubosot’s curved, ship-like foundation is typical of high-status Ayutthaya-period ordination halls. Inside, the longitudinal walls carry murals depicting the Jataka tales, the Buddha’s previous lives, painted in the layered narrative style of the era. Chedis and smaller shrines fill the grounds around the main hall, shaded by banyan and frangipani trees that keep the courtyard cool through the afternoon.

Watch out: The murals are the main reason to visit, but the hall that holds them is usually kept locked outside of ceremonies. Ask at the temple office whether a monk can open it — there’s no guaranteed viewing, so treat it as a bonus rather than the certainty other write-ups suggest.

Insider Tip: Go around 8am if you want to see the temple functioning as a working monastery — monks moving between buildings, morning offerings at the shrines — rather than an empty courtyard. Dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees) and remove your shoes before entering any hall.

Chonburi town itself is a short stop, easy to pair with a run down to Bang Saen Beach about 15 minutes away if you want temple and coastline in the same day.