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Wat Choeng Tha, Ayutthaya: the temple where King Taksin went to school as a boy
Wat Choeng Tha stands on the north bank of Khlong Mueang, opposite the Royal Palace of Ayutthaya. Thais know it as the place where the boy Sin, later King Taksin the Great, went to school. Tradition has it that at about the age of 9 he was sent to study under Phra Achan Thongdi at this temple, then called Wat Kosawat. Today it is still a working temple with resident monks, and has several Ayutthaya-period monuments to see.
This place through the periods
According to tradition, at about the age of 9 the boy Sin was sent to study under Phra Achan Thongdi at this temple, then called Wat Kosawat, and he is also said to have been ordained and to have studied here. The temple faces the Royal Palace with only a canal between them, so temple boys in this neighbourhood saw the boat processions and the life of the court every day. The temple was also repaired in the reign of King Borommakot.
During the Burmese siege the temple lay outside the walls on the north side, the same side as the fields where the Burmese set up their camps in a line, closing in on the city. There is no specific record of what this temple was used for in the war, but the whole northern side was in the fighting line for the full 14 months.
After the fall the temple was abandoned along with the city. Some studies say that when King Taksin came back and took the Pho Sam Ton camp, he spent the night in a throne hall in the Royal Palace, close to the temple where he had once been ordained and studied.
In the Thonburi years Ayutthaya was an old city to which people slowly returned to build their homes. No record has been found of this temple being restored in King Taksin's reign. Later, in the reign of King Rama I, the temple was repaired, and King Rama IV gave it its new name, Wat Choeng Tha.
A working temple with resident monks. It has a main prang, an ubosot (ordination hall) with a curved, boat-shaped base, which the Fine Arts Department restored in 2019, several subsidiary chedis, a sermon hall and a small temple museum. From the waterside in front of the temple you can look across to the Royal Palace bank.
The temple where the boy Sin came to school
King Taksin was born in Ayutthaya in 1734, as generally accepted. His father was a Teochew Chinese and his mother was named Nok-iang. Tradition has it that Chaophraya Chakri, a senior official, took the boy Sin in as an adopted son and, when he was about 9, sent him to study under Phra Achan Thongdi at Wat Kosawat, which is today's Wat Choeng Tha.
In those days the temple was the school. Boys came to learn to read and write Thai, arithmetic and Khmer script, as well as various treatises, from the monks. The story goes that the boy Sin studied here for several years before being presented at court as a royal page, and came back to be ordained and study again when he was older. These stories come from accounts compiled in later times and do not appear in the royal chronicles, so they should be read as tradition.
A name that changed several times
The Fine Arts Department's sign links the name Wat Kosawat with Chaophraya Kosa Pan, the official of King Narai's time who restored the temple. Local people also say its first name may have been Wat Khoi Tha, "the temple of waiting at the landing", because it stood by a landing where people waited for boats. Later, when the temple fell into disrepair, it was called Wat Tin Tha, until King Rama IV gave it the name Wat Choeng Tha, used to this day.
Western maps from the end of King Narai's reign show this area as a boatyard, and excavations in 2020 found a brick ramp at the water's edge that may have been a boat landing. The temple was thus in a neighbourhood busy with boats throughout the Ayutthaya period.
What to see
The Khmer-style main prang still has traces of the standing Buddha images that decorated it. The ubosot has a curved, boat-shaped base, a feature of late Ayutthaya architecture; the Fine Arts Department restored it in 2019. Around the temple are several Ayutthaya-period subsidiary chedis, and the boundary stones survive almost complete.
Inside the sermon hall are a long Ayutthaya-period preaching seat decorated with glass inlay, and murals painted in the Rattanakosin period that have begun to deteriorate with time. The part of the temple still in use has monks' quarters, a bell tower, a Buddha footprint and a small temple museum.
Getting to Wat Choeng Tha
The temple is outside the city island to the north, a short way across the bridge from the Royal Palace side. By car, take the road along the north bank of Khlong Mueang, going west past Wat Na Phra Men. If you are touring by boat around the island, the temple has its own pier. It makes a good first stop for a day in King Taksin's footsteps, before you cross to the Royal Palace, where he served as a royal page.
Where historians still disagree
- Did King Taksin really study at this temple? The story comes from accounts compiled in later times and from oral tradition, and does not appear in the royal chronicles, but it is widely accepted and the temple itself keeps the story alive.
- The names Wat Khoi Tha and Wat Ya: these are local oral tradition; no old document has yet been found to confirm them.
Visiting information
- Admission: Free admission (as of 2026)
- Dress modestly, and do not climb the prang or the subsidiary chedis
- If you want to see the preaching seat and the murals, ask the monks or temple staff first
- From the waterside in front of the temple you can see the Royal Palace bank; across the water is the area where King Taksin served as a royal page.
Opening hours and admission fees may change, so please check before you go.
Frequently asked questions
Are Wat Choeng Tha and Wat Kosawat the same temple?
Yes. Wat Kosawat was its name in the Ayutthaya period; King Rama IV gave it the new name Wat Choeng Tha.
Did King Taksin really go to school at Wat Choeng Tha?
Tradition (the book Aphinihan Banphaburut) says he studied under Phra Achan Thongdi at this temple from about the age of 9, but this does not appear in the royal chronicles.
Is there an entrance fee at Wat Choeng Tha?
As of 2026 there is no entrance fee, as it is a working temple with resident monks.
Notes
- The boy Sin's age when he began his studies at Wat Kosawat: this page uses "about 9", following the book Aphinihan Banphaburut, the old text that gives his age: "when he was 9 years old, Chaophraya Chakri took the boy to the care of Phra Achan Thongdi". Some sources, such as the English Wikipedia, say 7. None of these childhood stories appears in the royal chronicles.
Last updated 13 November 2026