Wat Mahan is a royal temple built by Prince Annop, a son of King Rama III. The prince began construction on the temple in 1850. Wat Mahan happens to be the location of Siam’s first public school for commoners which was established by King Rama V in an attempt to set up a system of public schools like those he had seen in Europe.

Wat Mahan houses the famous 500 year old Luang Pho Ruang Buddha image. Prince Annop brought this Buddha to Wat Mahan from the old Siamese capital of Sukhothai. And many Thai people come here to pay their respects to the image and make offerings.

Chinese immigrants have lived in Bangkok for over three centuries. Most settled near the river where they traded goods with foreign ships passing north to the former capital city of Ayutthaya. These immigrants have played a key role in shaping the city. A perfect example is the Chao Pho Seua Shrine.

Chao Pho Seua is dedicated to the spirit of a tiger who once lived in the jungle surrounding this area. Legend says that the tiger once killed and ate the only son of a widowed old woman leaving her lonely and destitute. The tiger later regretted his actions and pledged to protect and provide for the old woman. In front of the gate, there are a couple of stone tigers who still look after this place.

Phraeng Sanphasat used to be the main entrance to one of the three royal palaces that stood in this area. The palace entrance is marked by an arching brick gate in European style. At the top of the gate is a statuette of a torch-bearing Greek goddess. This gate was restored by the Fine Arts Department in 1976 and is all that remains of the palace.

Rama V planned this neighborhood shortly after his return from a trip to Europe in 1887. The lane had a noticeable European feel to it and many influential Siamese built large fancy homes along this street. The most famous resident of Sanphasat Road was Phibul Songkran, one of the two leaders of the 1932 coup that brought democracy to Siam.

The 3-story yellow building you see here is the only palace left standing in Samphraeng. The palace was built in wood and masonry by Prince Nara, a younger brother of King Rama V. The interior is decorated in finely carved Golden Teak. On the second floor of the palace there is a spiral iron staircase that runs up to a shrine room on the top floor where Buddha images and family urns are kept. You can see that the building is not in good condition now and needs to be restored.

Prince Nara loved the performing arts and so decided to build a big beautiful theater in the open court behind this palace. This was Thailand’s first Western theater and opera house.

Thanks to the efforts of the local community, this is probably the best preserved heritage neighborhood in Bangkok. Recently, the residents within Phraeng Phuton decided to restore their community and improve their landscape.

With some government support and donated paint, they brought the community back to life. They have created an open public space in the center of the square which they use for community plays and festivals, just like in the old days. Things look pretty much the same today as they did during the reign of King Rama V.

On this block there are 145 rooms decorated with beautiful fretted wooden works, typical of the neo-classical European design favored by Rama V.

Bangkok may be full of shopping centers today, but 100 years ago this street was all there was. Bamrung Muang Road is the location of Bangkok’s first western-style shopping mall, and it was at one point the most diverse shopping and commercial zone in Bangkok.

Bamrung Muang, which in Thai means “the road embellishing the city”, is one of the oldest roads in the city. Since the very first days it has served as the main footpath from the river to Wat Suthat. The road was modified in 1863 when Bangkok’s first sewer system was installed.

Small wooden shops once lined the entire length of Bamrung Muang. After King Rama V returned from Singapore in 1870, he razed the wooden shops and built rowhouses resembling those he saw in Singapore.

King Rama I intended to make his new capital of Rattanakosin as grand as Ayutthaya; he started by calling on architects from the former capital to build a temple as grand as Wat Phanon Choeng which was Ayutthaya’s largest temple. Precise planning from the beginning earned it praise as “the most finely proportioned temple.” Wat Suthat also contains some of the most excellent examples of Thai Buddhist art and architecture outside of a museum. Wat Suthat was intended to not only mark the heart of Bangkok, but also to mark the center of the universe. In fact, the name “suthat” denotes Suthatsa Nakhon, the celestial city of Indra which sits at the top of the mythical Mount Meru.

The Vishnu Shrine is a 25 year old temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, one of the members of the Hindu trinity. The predominant feature of this shrine is a brightly colored statue of Vishnu above which a cobra protectively spreads her hood. The atmosphere around the shrine is especially fascinating in the evening around 7 o’ clock when Thai Buddhists and Indian Hindus gather together here to chant hymns.

Lord Vishnu is popularly regarded as the preserver of the universe. He is depicted frequently in human form with four arms: One hand holds a lotus; a second holds a conch; a third holds a discus; and the fourth carries a mace. The petals of the lotus are believed to symbolize the unfolding of creation; the conch is said to symbolize that from which all life originates.

According to ancient Thai law, giant swings were to be built in every major city in the kingdom. Although there is no physical evidence of them, some scholars guess that there were giant swings in all important cities throughout Siam including Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Nakorn Si Thammarat. So naturally, when Rama I built a new capital here in Bangkok, Brahmin priests advised him to immediately build a Giant Swing. On April 8th, 1784 construction was completed on the Giant Swing.

The original swing was 42 meters tall, nearly twice the height of the present swing. And in those days it stood directly in front of the Brahmin Chapels. It was later moved to its present location by King Rama V to make room for a tank to hold the kerosene used to light the Grand Palace.

There used to be a royal mansion located here. But it was pulled down during the reign of King Rama V and this area was converted into one of Bangkok’s biggest markets of the period.

Just in front of the square you can see a giant granite plaque with the proper name of Bangkok inscribed in Thai characters. The intention was to place the plaque here so that tourists could stand in front of it and take their photos. But most visitors to the square are unaware of what the plaque says as it is in Thai language and there is no explanation provided. The full name of the city is, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the longest place name in the world:

Krungthepmahanakhonamornrattanakosinmahintharayudthayamaha
dilokphopnoppharatratchathaniburiromudomratchaniwetmahasatharn
amornpimarnawatansathitsakkathattiyawitsanukramprasit