Wat Mangkon Kamalawat

The very Chinese facade of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.

 
At the heart of Bangkok's Chinatown is the Chinese-Buddhist temple of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, known in Chinese as Wat Leng Nui Yee. The temple is the center of festivities during important festivals such as Chinese new years and the vegetarian festival.

Incense smoke fills a courtyard of the temple.

You enter the temple through a passageway off Charoen Krung Road. The temple is a low rambling structure with the requisite dragons playing with a pearl on the roof. Inside you'll find a labyrinth of courtyards and passages connecting various alters to Buddha as well as Taoist deities. All the while, the smoke of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of sticks of incense fills and swirls about the courtyards.

Many standing Buddhas in a courtyard of the temple.

If you make your way back far enough, you'll find one courtyard with cases full of standing gilded Buddha images on either side.

Outside of the temple building is a small chedi, as well as a place to burn paper offerings for ancestors. Unfortunately, the temple's forecourt is often filled with parked cars.

Getting There

A visit to the temple should be park of a general walking tour of Chinatown. The district is easily accessible by boat. Take the Chaophraya Express Boat to Ratchawong pier. From the pier, walk up Ratchawong road to Charoen Krung, turn right and Wat Mangkol Kamalawat will be on your left a little more than one block down.