On my first trip to Bangkok back in 2006 I spent half a day at Wat Arun taking pictures only to find out later that my camera had broken and only a few pictures were able to be salvaged. I finally made it back to Wat Arun this past April and luckily the camera held up.
I originally wrote a little about the history of Wat Arun in Bangkok’s Temple of Dawn, Wat Arun and added what few picks I had been able to salvage. So this time around I thought I would share a lot of pictures and my experience there.
Wat Arun is definitely one of the sights not to be missed while in Bangkok. As a matter of fact there are a lot of major attractions such as The Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Chinatown very close together and easy to get to. The easiest and cheapest way is to take the skytrain to Saphan Taksin station. If you are near the Nana area of Bangkok you’ll have to jump off the skytrain at Siam station which is the interchange and jump on the lower train to Saphan Taksin, which is the last stop at the city pier on the Chao Phraya River. From here you just need to jump on a river taxi which will cost you 13 baht and head to stop #8 which is the Tien pier.
Once at the Tien Pier you will take the ferry across to the West bank of the Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun. The ferry will cost you 2 baht each way. Tien pier is also the stop on the Chao Phraya River that you will need to get to The Grand Palace, Wat Pho, The Tien Market and the National Museum. So, it is possible to make a day of it from Tien pier but you will be very tired as it will be a long day.
It’s very easy to spend a couple of hours at Wat Arun if you like to take pictures. The site is absolutely beautiful and you can climb and crawl through most of it. You can walk to the top landings of the central prang but keep in mind that the steps are very steep and tall. The steps 
to the first landing aren’t too bad but the steps to the second are very steep and you won’t really notice it until it’s time to come down so take your time and be careful.
I chose the hottest and sunniest day of the year I think when I visited in April and coming down from the second landing proved difficult as the railings are black Iron and the midday sun heated them to ultra hot.
This is a must see if you plan on visiting Bangkok. To see more pictures of my visit please check out the Gallery, Wat Arun-Temple of Dawn
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I thought they had banned smoking at a lot of sites in Bangkok….the reason I say that is because you must have had a cigarette butt under your left shoe because the Temple is leaning way to the right.
What an amazing site and the steps shown in one of the smaller photos look a bit too steep for a roasting April day. I will get around to seeing the Bangkok sites one day but it’ll have to be on an extended LOS trip, me and big, big cities don’t mix. Good to see you returned home safe and I look forward to the many stories I’m sure you’ve kept in your locker.
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Martyn, you never heard of the leaning prang of Bangkok? Maybe your computer is crooked.
Yeah…I don’t know what happened with that shot and the others were off a little too from this vantage point…I think it was the dock I was standing on was off a fair bit or I was
Hi Talen,
Wat Arun is staggering to the eye, this is the first time I’ve seen it. Nothing really compares. Glad you and your camera got through the heat okay.
I just visited Wat Arun recently. All those bits of ceramic are amazing. I took some close ups that wouldn’t win any contests, but from a distance it all pulls together.
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I got some good closeups of the ceramics but there were a lot that didn’t turn out well.
Only joking about the cigarette butt because looking at everything else in the top photo, it all looks straight. The Temple must have a definite lean to the right.
Martyns last blog post..Thai Ladyboys – Pattaya
Talen great shots. It also looks impressive from the river. Definitely worth the effort.
Beautifully written blog. I love the photos especially the Buddha’s in at Wat Arun. Keep posting.
A friend of mine just recently visited Thailand and she gave me a Tamarind from there, it tasted so sweet. Love it.
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amazing pictures i can’t wait to start my travelling in june
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