The Temple of Dawn, Bangkok, A Name Born at Sunrise
The story of the Temple of Dawn, Bangkok starts in the Ayutthaya period, long before it looked anything like it does now. When King Taksin re-established the Siamese capital at Thonburi, he is said to have arrived here at first light and named the site Wat Chaeng in the process. For roughly 5 years, from 1779 to 1784, it even housed the Emerald Buddha, before the image moved across the river to Wat Phra Kaew. King Rama II began raising a new prang over an earlier 16-m tower, and King Rama III completed the work in the early 19th century, commissioning the porcelain decoration that still covers it today.
Wat Arun Ratchawararam took its final name under King Rama IV, and it honours Aruna, the Hindu god of the rising sun, which is where the English nickname comes from. Architecturally, the central prang represents Mount Meru, the cosmic mountain of Buddhist and Hindu cosmology, and climbing its steep terraces is meant to symbolise the ascent toward enlightenment. The most recent restoration, carried out by Thailand's Fine Arts Department between 2013 and 2017, replaced damaged tiles and refinished the surface to match the original finish of the Temple of Dawn.
Meet the Temple on the Wrong Side of the River
Wat Arun Ratchawararam sits on the west bank of the Chao Phraya, in the Bangkok Yai district, directly across the water from Wat Pho and the Grand Palace. Its central prang rises to somewhere between 67 and 86 meters and is covered in a mosaic of Chinese porcelain and seashells. The spire is topped with a 7-pronged finial known as the Trident of Shiva, and on the second terrace stand 4 statues of the Hindu god Indra riding Erawan, the 3-headed elephant.
4 smaller satellite prangs surround the central tower, each tied to 1 of the 4 elements: fire, water, earth, and air. The complex also holds an ordination hall guarded by towering yaksha figures, with mural paintings depicting the Buddha's life inside. The ashes of King Rama II rest beneath the hall's presiding Buddha image. Each year, a member of the Thai royal family still travels here for the Royal Kathin ceremony, presenting new robes to the resident monks. The temple draws its own crowds again in November for Loy Krathong, when lanterns drift down the river below it.
- Open daily from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with last entry around 5:30 PM
- Entrance fee of 200 THB for foreign visitors, paid in cash at the counter
- Free entry for Thai nationals
- Shoulders and knees covered, no sleeveless tops, shorts, or miniskirts.
- Sarongs available to rent near the entrance for guests who arrive underdressed
- Shoes off before stepping into the ordination hall
- Photography allowed throughout the grounds, though drones need a permit
- Take the BTS Sukhumvit Line from Asok or Nana towards Siam
- Change to the Silom Line at Siam and ride to Saphan Taksin (S6)
- Take Exit 2, then a short walk to Sathorn Pier for the Chao Phraya Express Boat, Orange Flag, to Tha Tien Pier
- From Tha Tien, a cross-river ferry runs every 10 minutes and takes about 3 minutes to Wat Arun Pier
A direct taxi or Grab from Sukhumvit to Tha Tien takes 25 to 45 minutes depending on traffic, heaviest between 7:00 and 9:00 AM and 5:00 and 8:00 PM, so the river route sidesteps the worst of it entirely.
- Wat Pho: Right beside Tha Tien Pier, home to the reclining Buddha, is an easy first stop before you cross. Wat Arun is only a 3-minute ferry hop across the river from Wat Pho.
- The Grand Palace: A short walk from the nearby Tha Chang Pier, it is best saved for last
All the locations are comfortably covered before the midday heat sets in, provided you start early. And if you are ready to cover them in one morning, grab your boat pass at Sathorn Pier and get moving before the crowds do. For more temple pairings around the city, our guide to Popular Bangkok Temples is worth a look, and the Chao Phraya River itself rewards a slower look beyond just the ferry ride across it.
Night Hotel Bangkok: Sukhumvit Base, Old City Mornings
A morning that starts with a river crossing and ends with 3 temples ticked off deserves a proper base to come back to, and Night Hotel Bangkok fits the brief. Sukhumvit Soi 15 is a free tuk-tuk ride from Asok BTS, so the first leg of tomorrow's early start is already sorted. Rooms and suites come with Egyptian cotton bedsheets, allergen-free pillows, blackout curtains, and a 42-inch flat-screen TV, which matters more than it sounds like after a few hours on temple steps.
Breakfast at Flava Restaurant runs buffet-style before you head out, and the same kitchen serves Thai and international plates for the rest of the day, with a cocktail and wine list at Flava Lounge once you are back. For winding down, the rooftop pool and the Flava Lite Rooftop Pool Bar & Cafe are hard to beat. Coran Boutique Spa closes out the day with 5 treatment rooms for Thai massage, aromatherapy, and body treatments.
