Wat Suthat

© Heloise Bergman / Time Out

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Looming behind the Giant Swing, Bangkok's tallest vihaan houses the awe-inducing 8m (26ft) Phra Sri Sakyamuni Buddha. One of the largest surviving Sukhothai-era bronzes, it was brought south by boat. Its base contains the ashes of King Rama VIII. Begun by Rama I in 1807, the temple took three reigns to complete, though its mesmerising murals are decaying. Rama II himself started the carving of its original teak doors (now in the National Museum). Numerous Chinese stone statues (found in several Rattanakosin temples) served as both tributes to the king and as valuable ballast for Chinese junks collecting rice.