Bangkok - Wat Arun

Wat Arun

When, having fallen to the Burmese, Ayutthaya was reduced to rubble and ashes, General Taksin and the remaining survivors vowed to march "until the sun rose again", and there to build a temple. Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, stands on the spot to which they came and where later the new king built his royal palace and with it a private chapel.

The wat, with its 79-m (259-ft) high central prang surrounded by four smaller ones, has become a symbol of Bangkok despite the fact that it adorns the Thonburi embankment on the far side of the river. The plastered brick exterior is decorated with countless fragments of porcelain. It is possible to climb up the prang, the effort being rewarded by an excellent view of Bangkok. Seen from the Bangkok side of the Menam Chao Phraya, sunset over Wat Arun is an unforgettable experience.