RiderLogTempleBangkok Noi
Wat Srisudaram PierThe childhood school of Sunthorn Phu, Thailand's most famous classical poet. The temple itself is much less important than the connection between literature, education and old Bangkok canal life.
Thonburi and the West Bank: 15 Places to Ride To
Cross a bridge and the city drops a gear. The west bank keeps the canal temples, the porcelain prang at Wat Prayurawongsawas, the glass stupa inside Wat Paknam and the floating market at Khlong Bang Luang, most of them down lanes too narrow for a car to bother with. This is the side of the river where a scooter is the point, not the compromise.
TempleCafeSunset spotViewpointHidden gem
Every pin here is on the city map too. Open Thonburi and the West Bank on the full Bangkok map, or drag the map above and the address bar keeps your view.
Photo: Chainwit / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
An Ayutthaya-period temple whose name literally relates to a female ascetic/nun. Its origin story involves a nobleman's daughter recovering from illness and making a religious offering. Very local-feeling Thonburi.
Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Thonburi riverside history, old canals and one of the most interesting stories around the temple's name: a bell found here became associated with the famous bells of Wat Arun after being moved during the early Bangkok period.
Photo: Pablotorrado / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Historically it's fascinating: founded around 1610, nearly abandoned, then transformed by meditation master Luang Pu Sodh into a huge educational/meditation centre. It's also the origin point of the Dhammakaya tradition.
Photo: Ahoerstemeier / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
Dark history + extraordinary murals. An Ayutthaya-era temple that was reportedly used as an execution site for Burmese prisoners during the Thonburi period. The interior murals are the real reason to come.
Photo: Preecha / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
A miniature sacred mountain called Khao Mo, surrounded by water and turtles - an unexpectedly peaceful little ecosystem beneath the enormous white chedi.
TempleThon Buri
Wat Khun ChanA seriously strange-looking Thonburi temple where Thai and Myanmar/Burmese artistic styles collide.
Cafe
Calico RoasteryA quiet Thonburi coffee hideaway, owner-roasted beans, handmade art and a resident cat called Si-Nam.
Sunset spot
Uruea Cafe Boat Pier and Photo View PointRight on the canal - a canalside café to watch the sunset over Wat Paknam: sunset + canal + Buddha + industrial Bangkok.
Viewpoint
Big Buddha viewing platformViewing platform for the giant Buddha of Wat Paknam.
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Photo: Supanut Arunoprayote / CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons (resized)
The Thonburi canal world: wooden houses, boats, monitor lizards, gardens, temples and people living beside the water. The Artist House area is the easiest entry point.
Hidden gem
ChangChui Creative ParkThe giant aeroplane in the middle is ridiculous enough to justify the trip, surrounded by art, food, bars, vintage objects and creative installations - Bangkok's weird creative side.
Hidden gem
Wang Lang MarketTourists sometimes discover it, but locals own it: food, clothes, strange little shops, hospital workers, students and the river.
Hidden gem
The Artist House BangkokThe canal neighbourhood makes you feel like you've slipped into an older Bangkok - what the city looked like before it was dominated by roads.
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All 15 places in Thonburi and the West Bank are pinned above. The whole Bangkok layer is in RiderLog: every pin with its story and exact location, check-ins with photos, and the lists riders you follow are building. Record the ride there and back, and it turns into a card worth sending. Free on the App Store.
Mapped by riders who rode here, on check-ins rather than star averages. No sponsored pins, ever.