Wat Prayoon (Turtle Mount)

Wat Prayurawongsawat Worawihan, known as Wat Prayoon, is a temple at the Thonburi foot of the Memorial Bridge, built from 1828 by Somdet Chao Phraya Borom Maha Prayurawongse (Tish Bunnag) on his coffee estate. Its white bell-shaped chedi, the first Sri Lankan-style chedi of the Rattanakosin period, holds Buddha relics and won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific heritage conservation award in 2013; a museum beside it displays some of the 270 Buddha images and thousands of amulets found inside the base during restoration. Its other landmark is Khao Mo, the Turtle Mount, an artificial rock mountain more than 180 years old, ringed by a pond full of turtles and dotted with miniature chedis, shrines and a Gothic-style mondop; bags of fruit to feed the turtles cost about 20 baht. The temple is at 24 Prajadhipok Road, about 5 minutes from Memorial Bridge pier or 10 minutes across the bridge from MRT Sanam Chai. Open daily about 07:00 to 18:00 and free; dress respectfully.