Wat Paknam Phasi Charoen

About this place

An old temple on the Bangkok Yai canal in the west of the city, dating back to the Ayutthaya era, famous in the twentieth century because its abbot Luang Pu Sodh, in charge from 1916, founded a meditation school here that spread across Thailand and abroad. Today it is one of Bangkok's most photographed temples thanks to two modern landmarks. The first is a seated Buddha about sixty-nine metres tall, completed in 2021, visible from afar above the district's rooftops and from the elevated trains. The second is the great white stupa, about eighty metres high, whose top floor holds a small green glass stupa beneath a ceiling painted like a galaxy of stars and planets, a sight that stops everyone who climbs up. The lower floors hold a small museum of the monks' collections. Entry is free and the temple opens from about eight in the morning until six in the evening. Modest dress is required at royal temples: shoulders and knees covered, and shoes come off before entering the halls. Silence is asked for in the glass stupa hall, which is a place for meditation. The easiest way in is the Blue Line metro to Bang Phai station and a short walk, or a boat along the canals. Come on a weekday morning before the groups arrive and allow an hour and a half.