Wat Bowonniwet

Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, known simply as Wat Bowon, is the temple most closely tied to the religious life of the Chakri dynasty. Royal princes have spent their time in the monkhood here since the 19th century, and both King Bhumibol (Rama IX), in 1956, and the present king, Vajiralongkorn (Rama X), in 1978, stayed here as monks. It is also the headquarters of the Thammayut Nikaya, the reformist order founded by King Mongkut, and more than one of its abbots has gone on to become Supreme Patriarch of Thailand.

For all that, it is a calm place to visit, only a few minutes’ walk north of Khao San Road in Banglamphu, and most backpackers stroll straight past the gate. Inside are shaded courtyards, a large gilded chedi and an ordination hall with some of the most unusual murals in the city. It is a working royal monastery, so dress modestly and expect some buildings to be closed to the public.

The T-shaped ordination hall enshrines Phra Phuttha Chinnasi, a revered Sukhothai-period bronze Buddha. Its walls carry murals by Khrua In Khong, a monk-painter of the mid-19th century who broke with Thai convention by adopting Western perspective and shading, placing Buddhist parables in scenes with Western-looking buildings and landscapes. Behind the hall stands the golden chedi, which holds relics, and the temple is the resting place of royal remains, including those of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) and King Bhumibol. The two viharns are normally closed to visitors.

In front of the temple, a short stretch of the old Rattanakosin city wall survives with a rebuilt gate tower.

Khao San Road is five minutes’ walk south of the temple, whose entrance is on Phra Sumen Road. Phra Athit pier on the Chao Phraya Express Boat is around 15 minutes away on foot, and Phan Fa Lilat pier on the Khlong Saen Saep canal boat is a similar walk to the east.

The temple was founded in 1824, early in the reign of King Rama III, by the viceroy of the day. In 1836 the prince-monk Mongkut moved here as its first abbot. During 27 years in robes he founded the stricter Thammayut order, which has been based at Wat Bowonniwet ever since, before leaving the monkhood to become King Rama IV in 1851.

The temple has also been caught up in modern politics. In 1976 the exiled former military ruler Thanom Kittikachorn returned to Thailand as a novice and entered Wat Bowonniwet; the protests against his return ended in the massacre at Thammasat University on 6 October that year.