Wat Jom Sawan

Wat Jom Sawan was built by Burmese and Shan timber merchants during the reign of Rama V, in the late 19th and early 20th century. Designed by a Burmese architect, it has a one-of-a-kind atmosphere: the building housing the monks’ living quarters overlaps with the prayer hall, and the roofs join together like interlocking jigsaw pieces. It is a carefully crafted compound, strongly influenced by Burmese art and among the most important temples of its kind in Thailand.

Inside the prayer hall, a high ceiling displays delicate wood carvings and is partly supported by a set of fantastic wooden pillars. Impressive decorations abound, including lacquered rattan statues and traditional Buddha images carved from ivory. The most memorable artifact is an ivory slab carved with sacred Buddhist texts in Burmese script; another relic that draws attention is a ceremonial bamboo basket coated in sheets of gold, of which there are few, if any, left in the world.