Wat Makut Kasatriyaram Ratchaworawihan, commonly known as Wat Makut, is a second-class royal temple of the Ratchaworawihan type located along Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem canal near Ratchadamnoen Nok Road in Bang Khun Phrom subdistrict, Phra Nakhon district, Bangkok.
King Mongkut (Rama IV) commissioned the temple as part of his vision to line the newly excavated outer canal with monasteries, mirroring the arrangement seen in the former capital of Ayutthaya. It was built as a companion to Wat Sommanat Ratchaworawihan and served as a personal royal temple reflecting the king’s deep commitment to the Dhammayuttika Nikaya order, which he helped establish to promote stricter monastic discipline and scriptural study.
Construction, supervised by Somdet Chaophraya Borommaha Sri Suriayawong (Chuang Bunnag) with Prince Rajsri Wisit as the lead architect, was completed in 1868, the same year Rama IV passed away. Initially known temporarily as Wat Phra Nam Banyat or Wat Nambanyat, the temple received its ...
Long Bien Market, known locally as Chợ Long Biên, sits near the northern edge of Hanoi’s Old Quarter beside the historic Long Bien Bridge. For generations it has served as one of the city’s main wholesale hubs for fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs and other produce.
Goods arrive overnight by truck from farms across northern Vietnam and beyond, feeding the network of smaller morning markets and restaurants that keep Hanoi supplied each day.
The market’s rhythm is dictated by the night: activity builds after midnight, reaches its height in the early hours, and gradually winds down toward dawn as traders pack up and move on for the day to repeat it again the following morning.
What visitors encounter is a working wholesale space rather than a polished tourist market. Narrow lanes fill with crates of greens, mountains of seasonal fruit, sacks of herbs and the constant movement of porters, vendors and buyers.
Bargaining is direct and practical. The air carries the scent of fresh earth, ...
Hỏa Lò Prison, known to American prisoners of war as the “Hanoi Hilton,” is one of Hanoi’s most powerful historical sites, linking the eras of French colonial rule and the Vietnam War.
Built by the French between 1896 and 1901 as Maison Centrale, it was designed to hold Vietnamese political prisoners and revolutionaries.
Overcrowding, shackles, solitary cells, and a guillotine defined life inside its thick stone walls. After 1954 the prison came under North Vietnamese control, and from 1964 to 1973 it held captured American pilots, including John McCain. Most of the complex was demolished in the early 1990s, leaving only the gatehouse and a portion of the original structures, which now serve as a museum.
Located at 1 Hỏa Lò Street in Hoàn Kiếm District, a short distance from Hoàn Kiếm Lake, the museum is open daily from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Adult tickets cost 50,000 VND, with discounts for students and seniors and free entry for children under 16. An audio guide is available for an...
The Khlong Tan Sunday morning market, officially known as Khlong Tan Railway Station Market and commonly called Talat Lao or the Laos Market, has operated for several decades along the active railway tracks beside Khlong Tan Railway Station in Bangkok.
Some longtime vendors report selling there for more than twenty years, while others have done so for no less than forty years, recalling earlier days when traders helped clear overgrown areas near the station and under a nearby bridge to establish informal stalls.
Traders from eastern provinces such as Prachinburi, Chachoengsao and Sa Kaeo, along with many from Isan regions including Sisaket, Kalasin, Sakon Nakhon, Chaiyaphum and Ubon Ratchathani, began bringing seasonal produce, wild ingredients and regional specialties into the city, often arriving by train or vehicle on Saturday evenings to set up for the following morning.
The informal name “Laos Market” arose because a large share of the goods reflect Isan culinary traditions, which share ...
