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Wat Suthat
Wat Suthat belongs to one of Thailand’s six most
important temples. The construction began in 1807 during
the reign of King Rama I, who wished to make it the
central temple of Bangkok, and was completed 27 years
later by King Rama III. It is mainly famous for the
Phra Sri Sakayamuni Buddha statue, the
giant swing in front and for its other architectural
wonders. The Phra Buddha Shakyamuni is an 8 meter
tall bronze statue from the 13th-century which was
brought all the way from the ancient capital
Sukhothai. It is considered as one of the largest
Sukhothai period Buddha images in existence. The
remaining from the cremation of King Rama VIII (the
brother of the current king) were interred its base. The
wall of the temple is covered with exquisite and
intricate paintings depicting the Jataka tales
which talk about the 24 lives of the Buddha. The columns
are also painted with murals showing the early life of
Bangkok. These paintings were started during the reign
of King Rama II and were finished by King Rama III.
Contrary to traditional Thai paintings, these works of
art have western influences in them.
A special feature of Wat Suthat is the central
pair of wooden doors which lead to the main Wiharn
(hall where the Buddha image is located); featuring
intricately carved tropical vines, plants and animals.
It is believed that these doors had been designed and
decorated by King Rama II himself. The Wiharn is
surrounded by a large and peaceful cloister which
contains 156 beautiful images of Buddha. The temple also
has four chapels, many Chinese pagodas, bronze horses,
and figurines of Chinese soldiers which are said to have
been shipped from China as ballast in rice boats during
the reign of King Rama I.
The front of the temple has a much decorated giant
swing named ‘Sao Ching Chaa’. This giant
swing is within a red Chinese frame which was used as
the center of annual ceremonies where teams of young men
would try to swing high enough to retrieve a sack of
gold tied to a pole about 25 meters above ground. The
game was banned in the 1930s after many of these
challengers lost their life.
An interesting feature of this temple is the influence
of the Hindu religion to be seen in the various facets
in and around the temple. The beautiful intermingling of
the two religions is seen in the Hindu Brahman priests
officiating here on important ceremonies. The two Hindu
temples close by with images of Lord Shiva and
Ganesh bear testimony to this confluence.
Owing to a large amount of tourist attraction and local
interest in this temple, Wat Suthat has been well
maintained over the last two hundred years. Some of the
structures and artifacts have been widely appreciated by
tourists worldwide. This temple has graduated to being a
well preserved, sacred sanctuary for Buddhist study and
dissemination over the years. It is defiantly a must see
for any tourist visiting Bangkok. So if you want to
capture the synthesis of the modern and traditional
Thailand and its culture, Wat Suthat should be a
must in your itinerary.
Getting There
Wat Suthat is located at Bamrungmuang Road.
However, it can get quite complicated to reach the
temple. The easiest way is to take a
public taxi. Fare is around 100-120 Baht from the
city center.
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