Wat Arun

I have been on the grounds near Wat Arun and watched the sun set over Wat Arun, but I had never actually been to the temple itself. So, I decided to go this past weekend. Wat Arun is across the Chao Phraya River (the main river in Bangkok) in the Thonburi section of Bangkok. Because there were political protests planned on some of Bangkok’s main streets, going by taxi seemed like a bad idea. So I took the Skytrain to the Saphan Taksin stop, got on an express ferry boat to the Tha Thein pier, and then took another ferry across the river to Wat Arun.

The cross-river ferries are small, white, boxy-looking ferries that just go back and forth across the river all day long. They’re slow, but it’s a short ride and they only cost 3 baht (about 10 cents) so you can’t really complain. Here are a few photos. That is Wat Arun in the distance.

I was happy to see a monk get on with us – figured that was a good omen that we wouldn’t sink mid-way across. (The Chao Phraya River is not inviting, especially this time of year with all the recent heavy rains.)

There are several outer buildings, including this one with two guards.


The name Wat Arun means “temple of the dawn.” The temple was built in 1809 and is famous for its central “prang” (spire), the four smaller prangs around the base, and because it is decorated top to bottom in bits of colored porcelain.

According to my guidebook, the porcelain came from Chinese trading ships that used the porcelain as ballast. It truly is stunning up close, with lots of interesting angles and intricate details.

Unfortunately, the sun was pretty strong that day and directly overhead, so the colors in many of my photos look more bleached out than they are in reality. But, I think you’ll get the idea.

You can also climb up to two terraces. The staircases are very steep and the terraces narrow and I’m scared of heights, but I went anyway, figuring… how many more times will I have the opportunity?

Here is a shot of Bangkok from the upper terrace. (You can’t climb all the way to the top – and I’m okay with that.) Bangkok truly sprawls and there isn’t a defined “downtown” area – more like several clusters of high-rise buildings all over the city. So, this is just one small section of Bangkok.