What you will find in the blog here would be information about the lower inner Thonburi area. The interesing off-the-beaten-track and local experience attractions can be found hidden around the area. Those interesting attractions are Wat Saphan Floating Market, Taling Chan Floating Market, Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, Wat Taling Chan, Koh Shrine, Ban Wang Chan, Khlong Bang Ramad, Wat Koh, Wat Champa, Wat Chaiyapreuk Mala Rachawora Maha Vihara, Orchid Garden of Uncle Niyom, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre. Let’s explore the uniquness of this part of Bangkok, shall we?
Table of Contents
Wat Saphan Floating Market (Talad Nam Wat Saphan)
Wat Saphan Floating Market is a new floating market of the Taling Chan District. It is one of the floating market in the group sustainable travel community; the same as the Talad Nam Taling Chan and the Talad Nam Khlong Lat Mayom. Wat Saphan Floating Market is in Wat Saphan that is located near Khlong Bang Noi. The canal was the main transportation in the past since it is in front of the temple. The road is behind the temple. In the temple, there is a hall called ‘Vihara Thong’, a bare hall with no walls. In the past, it was three small halls. After that villagers built them to be a v big hall, so there were three groups of stat Buddha. It is believed that Wat Sapan was an ancient temple since the Ayutthaya period. The important statue of Buddha is Luang Pho Dum, Luang Pho Klang, and Luang Pho Toh, Wat Saphan Floating Market is a small local market with boat service to visit nine temples or go to Talad Nam Khlong Lat Mayom or the Orchid garden.
Taling Chan Floating Market (Talad Nam Taling Chan)
Photo credit ททท
Also Known as ‘Khlong Chak Phra’, the Talad Nam Taling Chan has a fresh atmosphere and beautiful scenery. It is a semi-rural market which displays a harmonious integration of canal side residents and nature. People here live their lives based on the royal initiative of the philosophy of sufficiency economy by elling home grown fruits and vegetables and varieties will vary depending on the season. The traditional way of life can be found here as vendors sell their foods, fruits and vegetables from boats or floating pontoons. There is another part of the market located in front of the Taling Chan District office which offers a variety of restaurants and stalls selling flowers, orna-mental plants, and decorative items. Besides, the main attraction of the Talad Nam Taling Chan a visitor could hire a long tail boat to explore life along Khlong Bangkok Noi and Khlong Bang Chueak Nang, Khlong Chak Phra he canal that was built, in the same purpose as Khlo Bangkok Noi and Khlong Bangkok Yai, as a by-pass for traveling in the Chao Phraya River. Every second day of the waning moon on the twelfth month, there will be Chak Phra ceremony. A boat that loads a Buddha image will be drawn from Wat Nang Chi at Khlong Pasi halern, trough Khlong Chak Phra and Khlong Ban Noi, into Chao Phraya River, turn to Khlong Bangkok Yai and back to Wat Nang Chi. It is the only Chak Phra Ceremony in Bangkok and the origin of the canal’s name. urrently, the canal serves for drainage and tran especially travelling, because it is the locati Nam Taling Chan and links with other ca
Taling Chan floating Market opening hours are from 9 am to 4 pm on weekend only.
Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market (Talad Nam Khlong Lat Mayom)
Talad Nam Khlong Lat Mayom was once a small riverside market. It was founded by twenty residents of the Khlong Lat Mayom Community who wanted to offer delightful activities on the canal along with ca preservation, nowadays there are more than seven hundred shops in the market. The community receive award of excellence in a tourism community of Bangkok from the Tourism Authority of Thailand. A distinctive feature of Khlong Lat Mayom floating market is the sale of art works; many souvenirs stores and unique hand- made items can be found easily. Besides, for exploring life along Khlong Lat Mayom, there is a service available from boat trips to row boat for hire which cost twenty baht per person.
Wat Taling Chan
Wat Taling Chan is situated in the area of basin plain, on the bank of the Khlong Chak Phra. The temple was built during the late Ayutthaya period in approximate- ly 1767. The ubosot enshrines the principal Buddha statue in the Marn or Mara Wichai posture with knee width of 1.5 metre and the Buddha’s footprint. The features of the ubosot include the windows and doors ornamented with mother of pearl inlay depicting scenes from the ten Jatakas (the previous life of the Buddha), the pediment decorated with pieces of porcelain, the interior wall painted with mural depicting the Buddha image in the meditation posture sitting on a seat rimmed by four lotus petals.
Koh Shrine (Island Shrine)
There are two main canals that run through Koh Shrine (Koh Sarn Chao); Khlong Bang Ramad and Khlong Ban Sai, with Khlong Lad Wat Champa linking the former two with each other. Koh Shrine, thus, became an island and was called ‘Koh Sarn Chao’ or Koh Shrine. The shrine of Chao Poh Jui, located near the mouth of the canal and Wat Champa, is the spiritual sanctuary of the residents and craftsman workshop where the ‘Champa Craftsman Group’, who expertise in painting, sculpting, traditional carving, making traditional perfume, and many other inherited local crafts, are active. Currently, the community opens the shrine area to the public, informing and welcoming visitors about local knowledge. There are homestays for tourists too.
Ban Wang Chan
Photo credit https://urbancreature.co/
It is in the Wat Champa Community, Koh Shrine and the owner is Taweesak Wangchan, president of the community. It is famous for Tangyuak art, carving banana trees into different patterns. The craft knowledge has been passed down for hundreds of years. Tangyuak required materials which include a homemade knife. Tani banana trees are used because they are strong. There are other decorations as well, such as vegetables and fruits which add a more beautiful pattern. Coloured paper is also used to highlight the patterns on the trees. The patterns are Kanok patterns such as Funpla, Funsam, Funha, Funbua, Kaeng Singh.
Khlong Bang Ramat
This district is an old community that dates back to the Ayutthaya period. It is over five hundred years old according to records in the ‘Kamsuan Samut’ poem. In this area is a fruit garden with bananas, sugar cane, and vegetables. There are many important places along Khlong Bang Ramad such as the Jullasewok house, which is the house of an old nobleman of Phra Chao Worawongther, Phra Ong Chao Jullajakapong or Phra Ong Jul and Koh Shrine. The house is surrounded with many big trees and it was used as a shelter in the war period. In addition, there is Wat Sapan that is an old temple from the Ayutthaya period. In this temple, there are several big brown sand stone statues of Buddha placed in a hall. The Talad Nam Khlong Lat Mayom is Khlong Bang Ramad as well.
Wat Koh
Wat Koh was built in 1927. The location of the temple situated on the flat plain, surrounded by the canals and waterways. The temple has a very pleasant atmo- sphere, where the two canals intersected. The upper stream is khlong Bang Noi and the lower stream is khlong Bang Chueak Nang, which made the temple, appear like an island and thus it received its name. Most of the buildings are made of wood, with only the main vihara made of concrete. The traditional Thai architectur- al style ubosot built from the red sand stone. The roof is decorated with chofa and bai raka. The main Buddha sculpture with the meditation posture is made of metal and painted with gold surfaces. The monk cells are the traditional central Thai style compound houses. The only access to this temple is through the waterways.
Wat Champa
Wat Champa is situated on the bank of Khlong Bang Ramad. It is an old temple built in the Ayutthaya period. King Rama Ill who had much faith in Buddhism granted a part of the temple’s ground to them. He also ordered the construction of many temples during his reign. The king himself attended the ceremonial conse- cration of the temple’s holy grounds. This temple stands out for it’s unique architec- tural designs and the ancient plaster ornaments. The main Buddhist image in Wat Champa is Luang Pho Chok Dee. It is an image of the Buddha seated with one hand folded on his lap and the other resting on one knee, also known as the Marawichai gesture. It is constructed in the Ayutthaya artistic style and is a ve popular image of worship.
Wat Chaiyapreuk Mala Rachawora Maha Vihara
Wat Chaiyapreuk Mala is the second royal temple grade, holding the rank of Rachawora Maha Vihara. The temple was originally built during the Ayutthaya period, but was demolished in the Thon Buri period. The restoration of the temple was completed in the reign of King Rama IV. The main attractions are the chedi built in the reign of King Rama IV, the old and new ubosots, King Rama II statue, including the tranquil atmosphere of the community on the bank of Khlong Mahasawat.
Orchid Garden of Uncle Niyom
The Orchid Garden of Uncle Niyom is one of the interesting places to see when travelling to the floating market in the Taling Chan District. It is an activity of travelling by boat with “the Orchid Tour, Paying Respect to monk, See Market”program. You will see the beautiful scenery of Khlong Chak Phra and Khlong Bangkok Noi and visit the Orchid Garden of Uncle Niyom that is full of beautiful orchid blossoms. Certainly, you can buy orchids as well, if you like them.
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre was founded by Silpakorn University in 1989 to celebrate Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 36t year of Birth Celebration (1991). It is a learning centre of anthropolo- gy, archaeology, history, art history, culture and local knowledge in Thailand and South East Asia. It is also a centre of gathering knowledge to support and publish research. Furthermore, it is a service centre of anthropol- ogy information. The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn nthropology centre is composed of the biography of Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn room (the second floor) that presents her biography, her portraits, her photo- graphs, her royal works, her royal ceramics and her royal aintings. There is also a museum of pottery in Thanthropology library (the 6t”-7h floor), computer room and other exhibitions.
Thonburi, a part of Bangkok that is actually older than Bangkok as you see that there are hidden communities, temple and authentic way of way that are rarely to see these in Bangkok. If you would like to go visit these commnuities and the attractions, check out our private and custom tour experience that you can customize your own unique itinerary. Our professional tour guides can escort you to the attractions that you like.