Wat Suthat and the Giant Swing

Wat Suthat is a first-class royal temple begun by Rama I and completed by Rama III, and it is arguably the most complete piece of early Rattanakosin architecture in the city — a huge symmetrical vihara containing the 8-metre bronze Phra Si Sakyamuni Buddha, cast in Sukhothai in the 14th century and transported here by barge. The walls are covered in murals depicting the 24 Buddhas of the past and scenes from the Jataka tales, some of the finest surviving wall painting in Thailand. The ashes of King Rama VIII are interred at the base of the Buddha.

Outside the temple compound stands Sao Ching Cha, the Giant Swing: two enormous teak posts, painted vermilion, 27 metres tall. It was built for a Hindu Brahmin ceremony in which teams of young men rode a swing high above the crowd to try to catch a bag of silver coins with their teeth — a dangerous rite abolished in 1935 after several deaths. The current structure was replaced in 2007 from teak logs shipped from Phrae Province. Around the swing, the streets are lined with Buddhist supply shops selling monk robes, alms bowls, temple parasols and giant beeswax candles.

The temple is a five-minute walk from City Hall and the same again from the Golden Mount, so string all three together as an old-city loop. Come on a weekday morning when the vihara is empty and the murals catch soft light through the shutters. On Sunday afternoons, local families picnic in the plaza around the swing — a very Bangkok scene of teenagers on skateboards and monks in saffron walking to the temple.

Hours & entry

Not free

Daily 8:30-21:00 · Vihara closes 17:00

What to see

• Phra Si Sakyamuni Buddha — Main altar of the vihara, inside the temple's central compound
• Jataka murals — Interior walls of the vihara, all four sides
• Sao Ching Cha (Giant Swing) — In the plaza directly north of the temple main gate, on Bamrung Muang Road

Tips from the ground

• The swing itself is free to view at any hour and lit at night; only entry to the vihara costs $3.
• Bamrung Muang Road east of the temple is Bangkok's Buddhist supply street — worth a slow walk.
• Skip weekends midday when the plaza fills with tour buses.