Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Bangkok

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Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn (map), is one of the most important temples in Bangkok. Officially, it is known as Wat Arun Ratchawararam. Wat Arun is located at 34 Arun Amarin Road, in Bangkok Yai, one of the two districts in Thonburi, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya river which gave the English name "Bangkok" to the whole city.

Wat Arun (30 December 2002)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

The central prang, or pagoda, of Wat Arun is one of the most iconic symbols of Bangkok, adopted as the crest of the Tourist Authority of Thailand, TAT, as well as on the 10-baht coin. The prang is to be between 66.8 and 68 meters tall. It is surrounded on four sides by smaller prangs, an arrangement that is to represent Mount Meru, the traditional abode of the gods in Hinduism and centre of the cosmos in Buddhism. The architectural style is Ayutthayan, with influences from the Khmer, which in turn bears elements of Hinduism.

Wat Arun is older than Bangkok itself, having been established when the capital was in Ayutthaya. Originally, it was known as Wat Makok, or Olive Temple. When General Phraya Taksin arrived at Thonburi at dawn, he renamed it Wat Chaeng, meaning Bright Temple. It served as his royal chapel and housed the Emerald Buddha until it was moved to Wat Phra Kaeo in 1785. Under the reign of King Rama II, its name was changed to Wat Arun Ratchatharam, after Aruna, a Hindu god of dawn. Finally, under King Rama IV, it got its present name, Wat Arun Ratchawararam.

Gateway to Kuan Im Temple, Wat Arun (30 December 2002)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

The main prang and the four smaller prangs are decorated with broken porcelain, bearing influences of Chinese chien-nien (broken-porcelain) art. The porcelain pieces, donated by the locals as a form of merit making, are arranged to form floral patterns though some as simply pasted whole onto the prangs. In niches at the smaller prangs are statues of Phra Pai, the god of wind, on horseback. Around the base of the prangs are rows of yaksha, "demons" that lend support to the structure. Within the compound of Wat Arun (and as a matter of fact, a few other Buddhist temples in Bangkok), you can find life-style Chinese-style sculptures of warriors or guards. These are actually ballasts used by cargo ships that ply between China and Bangkok, and are now installed at the temples as ornamentations.

Getting there

Assuming you are coming from the main part of Bangkok, which is on the east bank of the Chao Phraya river, take a ferry boat across the river from Tha Tian Express Boat Pier located at Thai Wang Road. The ferry operates from 6:00am to 10:00pm daily, and only costs 2 baht each way. The journey across the river takes about 10-15 minutes.

Location: Arun Amarin Road
Opening hours: 8:30am to 5:30pm daily
Entrance fee to Wat Arun is 30 baht for foreigners Email: cmo@cm.co.th
Official Website: http://www.watarun.org

Visiting Wat Arun at night

A few friends joined me as we explored Wat Arun after closing time.

Taking the ferry boat across the Chao Phraya to Wat Arun (24 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

Wat Arun at night (24 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye using this photo

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