🔄 Updated 21 Jun 2026
Wat Bang Phli Yai Nai — or just Wat Luang Pho To, as locals call it — sits on the bank of Khlong Samrong in Bang Phli Yai subdistrict, Bang Phli district. It's not far out of Bangkok at all: roughly 30 minutes to an hour by car from the Sukhumvit area. This is an old temple that's been tied to the riverside way of life in Bang Phli for generations, and if you're coming to Samut Prakan to make merit and pay respects, it's the first pin to drop.
Luang Pho To, the town's floating Buddha
Luang Pho To is a bronze Buddha image in the Subduing Mara posture, in the Sukhothai style, with a lap span of around three sok and one khuep (roughly 1.5 metres). It's enshrined as the principal Buddha in the ordination hall, finished in gleaming gold, with calm, graceful features — and it draws worshippers throughout the day.
The story passed down through the years goes that during the wars at the end of the Ayutthaya period, several Buddha images came floating together down Khlong Samrong. The villagers of Bang Phli raised one of them from the water and enshrined it at the temple, and that became the Luang Pho To the people of Bang Phli still honour as the guardian Buddha of the town today. The temple's original name was Wat Phlapphla Chai Chana Songkhram, linked to a battle victory in the time of King Naresuan.
Good to know
Besides the principal Buddha in the ordination hall, the grounds also hold a large reclining Buddha (Phra Non) to pay respects to, and a viharn where you can apply gold leaf and make a wish. Take your time and walk the whole site — there's no need to rush.
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How to pay respects to Luang Pho To
There's nothing complicated about it. Most locals keep their merit-making simple: settle your mind, bow and ask for whatever you came to ask, then give as much as your faith moves you to. You can light incense and candles in the areas the temple has set aside for it.
- Flowers, incense, candles and gold leaf — stalls selling offering sets line the front of the temple and the market, around ฿20–50 a set, easy to grab on the spot.
- Applying gold leaf — many people like to press gold leaf onto the replica Buddha in the viharn, making wishes for health, work and money.
- Give what you can — there are donation boxes, sangha-offering sets and other ways to contribute with the temple. No fixed rate.
- Dress modestly — this is an ordination hall and a sacred place, so skip spaghetti straps and very short shorts, and take your shoes off before going inside.
Rap Bua, Bang Phli's one-of-a-kind festival
If you want to see the temple at its liveliest, come during the Rap Bua festival, held every year just before the end of Buddhist Lent — on the 14th day of the waxing moon in the 11th lunar month (around October). It's an old tradition of the Bang Phli community, tied directly to life along Khlong Samrong.
The highlight is a boat procession carrying the (replica) Luang Pho To image down Khlong Samrong. People line both banks and toss lotus flowers into the passing boat as an offering and a way of making a wish — the canal filling up with floating lotuses is what this festival is all about. Around the temple and market there's food, games and crowds of visitors packing in.
If you're coming for Rap Bua
The festival days are busy and traffic around Bang Phli gets heavy, so leave plenty of extra time to get there — or take public transport, which moves better. If you want a clear view of the boat procession, claim a spot along the canal early in the morning.
Carry on into the old Bang Phli market
The charm of this spot is that you can finish paying respects and walk straight into the market. The old Bang Phli market is right next to the temple, running along Khlong Samrong. It's a hundred-year-old market where two-storey wooden shophouses still hold the original atmosphere, with local eats, Thai sweets, noodles and souvenirs to graze your way through.
Old Bang Phli Market
Wooden shophouse market along Khlong Samrong, right by the temple. Local eats and Thai sweets to graze on, and busiest on weekends.
Khlong Samrong waterfront
Sit and rest by the water and watch local life, with views of the canal tied to the Luang Pho To legend and the Rap Bua festival.
Hours · getting there · costs
- Opening hours — open daily, roughly 08:00–17:00 (the ordination hall may close at certain times for chanting, so late morning to afternoon is best).
- Entry — free; give as your faith moves you.
- BTS + onward ride — get off at Samrong station (BTS Sukhumvit line), then take a taxi or songthaew the rest of the way, about 20–30 minutes.
- Taxi from Sukhumvit — around 30 minutes to an hour, roughly ฿120–200; tell the driver "Wat Luang Pho To, Bang Phli" and they'll know it.
- Driving yourself — there's a car park, but parking is tight and traffic is heavy on weekends and during the Rap Bua festival, so allow extra time.
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