Wat Mangkon Kamalawat

Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, Leng Noei Yi in Teochew, was founded in 1871 and is the largest and busiest Chinese Buddhist temple in Bangkok. It follows Chinese temple layout - a sequence of courtyards and halls under swept tiled roofs with dragons on the ridges - and it is a Mahayana temple in a Theravada country, serving the Chinese-Thai community whose ancestors settled Yaowarat. It is not a quiet place: incense smoke fills the halls, people burn joss paper and gold offerings, fortune sticks are shaken and read, and the noise and smoke are constant. Its busiest period is the nine-day Vegetarian Festival, Tetsagan Gin Jay, in September or October, when Yaowarat turns yellow with flags and the whole street eats vegan food; the temple is the ceremonial centre and is packed. Chinese New Year is similar. The MRT station outside is named for it and opens directly onto the street.

What you actually see

• The Chinese layout - courtyards and halls under dragon-ridged roofs.
• The incense - constant smoke and burning offerings through the halls.
• The Vegetarian Festival - the nine-day September or October ceremony centred here.
• The community - Chinese-Thai worship in the heart of Yaowarat.

When to go

November to February for the weather; the Vegetarian Festival in September or October is the temple at its most intense and most crowded. Chinese New Year is similar.

Honest expectations

Heavy incense smoke throughout - genuinely difficult for asthma or smoke sensitivity. Extremely crowded during festivals. It is an active place of worship, not a monument. Modest dress expected.

Nearby

Yaowarat and its street food are immediately around it; Wat Traimit is at the eastern end.