Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan (Wat Chinorot)

Rating: 4/5 (8 votes)

Open Days: Daily

Opening Hours: 08:00 – 17:00

 

Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan (Wat Chinorot) If you’re looking for a temple on Bangkok’s Thonburi side with the calm, lived-in feel of a canal-side community temple—yet packed with artistic details that keep you lingering—Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan is a seriously worthwhile stop. The temple sits along Khlong Mon, right by Itsaraphap Road, directly opposite the Royal Thai Navy Dockyard, so the surroundings carry both the atmosphere of an old neighborhood and the everyday rhythm of locals who still come here to make merit.

 

This temple was built around 1836 (B.E. 2379) by Somdet Phra Mahasamana Chao Krom Phra Paramanuchitchinorot, back when he held the title Krommuen Nuchitchinorot. That origin gives the place more weight than a typical “drop-in to pray” temple—it’s like a living trace of its era, tying together religion, craftsmanship, and the shared memory of Thonburi in one compact space. If you walk in without rushing, you’ll notice the appeal isn’t about grandeur—it’s about intention in the details.

 

One of the temple’s strongest signatures is the naga motif, used as a symbol linked to Somdetฯ Krom Phra Paramanuchitchinorot’s former name, “Prince Wasukri.” During King Rama IV’s reign, sculptors and painters were commissioned to place naga imagery throughout the temple. A gilded royal crown (Phra Maha Mongkut), lacquered and gold-leafed, was also created above the niche behind the principal Buddha image inside the ordination hall. If you enjoy reading temples through their symbols, this is the kind of place that makes the walk instantly more engaging.

 

The ordination hall (ubosot) showcases a blended artistic style with a clear King Rama III-era character: a tiled roof with chofa and bai raka finials, and a pediment decorated with stucco branches and flowers, featuring a half-figure of a kneeling celestial deity (thepphanom) at the center—gilded and inlaid with mirrored glass. Inside, the doors and window panels feature “Lai Ho” (also known as Chinese table-pattern motifs), giving a distinct Thai–Chinese fusion mood. Outside, the panels are decorated in gold-lacquer “rod nam” technique with a naga riding the clouds. The central outer door even depicts “Siao Kang stepping on a naga while holding a feather fan,” a hidden-gem detail that line-and-pattern lovers can stare at for ages.

 

Another detail that gives the hall its personality is the red ceiling painted with coiling naga forms, finished with gilded cutout-style decoration. The moment you look up, you can feel how deliberately the craftspeople designed it to make visitors pause. And if you’re into unusual mural themes, Wat Chinorasaram had a rare highlight: murals near the front of the main Buddha image—around window level—that once showed maps, including a map of Wat Chinorot, maps of canals and rivers, and even a map of the Grand Palace area, while other sections depicted various temples. Sadly, the original patterns and paintings have faded almost entirely, but the idea of “recording place through maps” still makes Wat Chinorot stand out in Thai art history terms.

 

On the community side, Wat Chinorasaram continues to function as a real center for merit-making and Thai Buddhist traditions through the calendar year. People in the Ban Chang Lo–Bangkok Noi area still come regularly, so the atmosphere stays peaceful yet alive—quiet enough for mindfulness, but never empty or eerie. If you’re coming specifically for the art, mornings are ideal: it’s easier to move slowly through the details, and you can take photos without getting in anyone’s way.

 

Getting ThereThe temple is on Itsaraphap Road, close to the Bangkok Noi area. It’s easy to reach by private car or public transport. If you’re using rail transit, you can plan to get off on the Thonburi side and continue by taxi or motorbike taxi to Itsaraphap Road, or use the MRT and connect into Bangkok Noi via the most convenient interchange for you. If you drive, pin “Wat Chinorasaram Worawihan (Wat Chinorot)” on your map and allow extra time during morning and evening rush hours, since Itsaraphap Road and the links to Charan Sanitwong Road can get congested.

 

 

A: Generally, yes. Visiting in the morning is ideal if you want to take your time with the ubosot and the finer artistic details.

 

A: 08:00 – 17:00.

 

A: The Rama III-era blended artistry of the ubosot, the Lai Ho / Chinese table-pattern door-and-window motifs, the naga symbolism, and the story of the temple’s distinctive “map mural” concept.

 

A: During King Rama IV’s reign, naga figures were added in multiple areas as a symbolic reference to the founder’s former name, Prince Wasukri.

 

A: Yes. You can use BTS or MRT and then continue by taxi or motorbike taxi to the Itsaraphap Road area, allowing extra time during rush hours.

 

A: Dress respectfully—avoid overly short or tight clothing—and keep a quiet manner, especially inside the ubosot.