Wat Yan Nawa

A chedi shaped like a full-size Chinese junk sits behind the ordination hall at Wat Yan Nawa, on Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok’s Sathon district, a few minutes’ walk from BTS Saphan Taksin. King Rama III had it built in 1844 in place of the temple’s old ubosot, reportedly so that younger generations could see what a junk — the dominant trading vessel on the river for centuries — actually looked like as steamships began to replace them. It’s the only structure of its kind in Thailand: a full-size masonry boat doubling as a chedi, complete with two mast-like spires and a wheelhouse-shaped shrine at the stern. Entry is free, and the temple is open daily from 06:00 to 18:00.

The site is older than the boat. It was known as Wat Kok Khwai during the Ayutthaya period, with no founder on record, and was elevated to royal-temple status in the early Thonburi period in 1782. King Rama I later had a small ubosot built here and renamed it Wat Khok Krabue. When Rama III ordered the 1844 rebuild, he replaced that ubosot with the junk-shaped chedi and added two monks’ residences with gilded pediment carvings over the doors and windows — decoration that survives on the current buildings. A statue of Rama III stands in front of the chedi, facing the river.

Inside the ubosot, four Buddha images of different sizes sit in the Maravijaya posture — right hand touching the earth, the pose associated with the Buddha’s enlightenment. The interior woodwork, showing Deva figures set against a pattern of Himmapan-forest creatures, dates from Rama I’s original construction and is considered a strong example of early Rattanakosin royal craftsmanship, even though the building around it was substantially rebuilt decades later. A three-storey hall on the grounds houses the temple’s Tripitaka — the core Buddhist scriptures — along with other Dharma texts, and functions as a working library rather than a public display.

Insider Tip: Combine Wat Yan Nawa with a Chao Phraya Express Boat ride — the Sathorn/Central Pier stop right by the temple runs boats both upriver toward the Grand Palace temples and downriver to Asiatique. It’s a natural add-on rather than a destination in itself, and most visitors spend 20-30 minutes here.

The temple sits between two of Bangkok’s bigger riverside draws. IconSiam is a short boat ride upriver on the Thonburi side, and Asiatique The Riverfront is a few minutes further south — both reachable from the same Sathorn pier, making Wat Yan Nawa an easy stop to fold into a river-hopping afternoon rather than a dedicated trip.