Wat Chaiyo or Wat Ket Chaiyo was built during the Ayutthaya Period. It became important during the reign of King Rama IV. The venerable Somdet Phra Phutthachan (To Phromrangsi) of Wat Rakhang Khositaram built the large Buddha image in a subduing Mara gesture and placed it outdoors. However, the image collapsed soon after construction. He re-built it in the same pose but smaller, covered it in plaster and without gold leaf. As the image could be seen from far, the villagers called it Luangpho To (meaning huge image). Further temple restoration during the reign of King Rama V the Buddha image collapsed again. The King ordered the renovation of the image with steel bars inside. The new image was covered in gold leaf and monks’ robes and was given the new name by King Rama V the Great “Phra Maha Phutthaphim”. A new main chapel was constructed to house the image. Upon completion, King Rama V the Great established the temple as one of the royal temples.
To pay respect to Luangpho ...
The shopping district of Hanoi’s Old Quarter is a dense network of narrow historic streets centered around Hoan Kiem District, where trade has taken place for centuries. Many of these streets remain active into the evening, with shops, small stalls, and food vendors creating a lively nighttime atmosphere even outside of any temporary market setups. Visitors often stroll the area after dark to browse clothing, silk goods, jewelry, handicrafts, and everyday items while the streets fill with locals and travelers.
Hang Gai, long known as Silk Street, continues to draw people in the evening for its selection of fabrics, scarves, ready-made garments, and custom tailoring shops that stay open later. Nearby Hang Bac, or Silver Street, offers jewelry and silverwork in a more traditional setting.
Other lanes such as those around Hang Ma specialize in decorative and festival items, while clothing, bags, and accessory shops line several connecting streets.
Dong Xuan Market itself, the large covered ...
Hanoi’s Train Street grew out of the French colonial railway that cut through the city in the early twentieth century. As the tracks settled into daily life, residents gradually built homes, shops and workshops right up against the line until the passing trains brushed past doorways and windows with only a few feet to spare.
For decades this was simply a working-class neighbourhood where the railway was an ordinary inconvenience. Then social media discovered the surreal sight of locomotives roaring through a residential lane, and the street transformed almost overnight into one of Hanoi’s most photographed attractions.
Crowds of visitors began filling the narrow passage, turning doorsteps into makeshift cafés where people sipped coffee and waited for the next train. Safety concerns eventually forced the authorities to restrict public access, yet the atmosphere remains.
Today the street still carries the same charged energy: laundry hanging above the rails, vendors selling cold drinks ...
Indy Night Market Chatuchak, known in Thai as ตลาดอินดี้จตุจักร, is a medium-sized evening market that takes place in the same general area as the famous Chatuchak Weekend Market but offers a distinctly different experience once the sun goes down.
Located along Kamphaeng Phet 2 Road in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok, it draws a predominantly local Thai crowd seeking a more relaxed and independent atmosphere focused on trendy fashion, handmade accessories, vintage finds, and small-batch items created by individual vendors rather than large commercial operations.
The market features folding tables, good lighting, live music often in the form of solo performers or small bands playing Thai indie sounds, and a laid-back energy that makes it easy to wander without the intensity of the daytime weekend market. It is positioned as part of the broader Indy Market concept found in several Bangkok locations, emphasizing an independent spirit and support for local ...
