Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia
Bangkok’s royal temples and the wats of northern Thailand.
Start here · Essential guide
An orientation to Bangkok's royal temples as pilgrimage places: Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho and Wat Arun, Theravada context, modest dress and checking opening times.
Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn on the Chao Phraya River: its central prang, porcelain decoration, riverside setting and respectful visiting tips.
How Wat Phra Kaew was founded with Bangkok as the capital in the late 18th century, and how the Emerald Buddha temple sits within the Grand Palace grounds.
A walking route through Chiang Mai's old city temples, placing the ruined great chedi within northern Lanna Buddhist heritage and everyday temple life.
Wat Chedi Luang in Chiang Mai: the usual name for the great partly ruined chedi, its history, and its traditional link with the Emerald Buddha's story.
Doi Suthep, the mountain temple above Chiang Mai: its white elephant founding legend told as legend, the stair climb pilgrims make, and heat and fitness cautions.
Phuket's hilltop Big Buddha as a lens on modern large Buddha images in Thailand: how they are funded and venerated, and how to visit a developing site with respect.
How Wat Arun's tiered prang is commonly read as an image of Mount Meru and the Buddhist cosmos, with a note on how interpretations vary.
The great reclining Buddha at Wat Pho in Bangkok, what the posture recalls in Buddhist tradition, and the temple's long link with traditional Thai learning.
Reading the Ramakien gallery murals and guardian figures at Wat Phra Kaew, and how Thai Buddhist and older epic imagery meet in one royal temple.
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