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Usually locked inside a Bangkok arts institute, Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na is welcoming visitors and revealing its rare murals – until September 20
For most of the year, Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat can only be glimpsed from behind a fence. Tucked inside the grounds of the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute near the National Museum Bangkok, the ordination hall is usually closed to the public and used by performing arts students for wai khru ceremonies. Its current opening offers a genuinely rare chance to step inside.
Better known as Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na – the ‘Emerald Buddha temple of the Front Palace’ – the site is open daily, free of charge, until September 20 as part of the Fine Arts Department’s Rak Nakara: Markha Haeng Rattanakosin festival.
The name reflects the temple’s status, not its contents: there is no actual Emerald Buddha inside. The comparison is apt, however. Like the Grand Palace’s Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram, this royal temple has no resident monks and was built solely as a place of devotion within a palace complex.
That complex was the Front Palace, Wang Na, once home to the kingdom’s second-ranking monarch. Construction of the ordination hall began under the Front Palace prince during the reign of Rama III and continued under Rama IV, making the building nearly two centuries old. Its greatest draw, though, is on the walls: elaborate murals by early Rattanakosin master craftsmen depicting the legend of the Phra Buddha Sihing, the 28 past Buddhas and scenes of Hindu deities. This is artistry normally seen only by scholars with special permission, not casual visitors.
The Fine Arts Department describes the opening as a ‘once in a blue moon’ occasion – and going how tightly access is usually controlled, that is no marketing spin. It began on August 12, coinciding with Queen Sirikit’s birthday and Thai Mother’s Day, when the wider Rak Nakara festival also kicked off across Rattanakosin Island.
Where: Inside the Bunditpatanasilpa Institute campus, close to the National Museum Bangkok, at the Phra Pinklao Bridge end of Na Phra Lan Road – an easy add-on to a day around Sanam Luang and the Grand Palace.
When: Daily, 9am-4pm, until September 20. Guided tours led by the Fine Arts Department’s Archaeology Division run at 1pm and 3pm.
Fee: Free entry.
Good to know: Some sections remain closed for restoration. Do not touch the murals or use flash photography.