Wat Sisathong

Wat Sisathong is a Buddhist temple located in Tha Kham Subdistrict, Nakhon Chai Si District, Nakhon Pathom Province, west of Bangkok. Established in the late Ayutthaya period and associated with Lao communities resettled in the early Rattanakosin era, it is widely known as a center for the worship of Phra Rahu, the celestial deity believed to influence fortune. The temple features traditional Thai architecture, Rahu imagery, and active merit-making areas visited by local devotees.

Visitors can expect an active Buddhist temple compound with an ordination hall, viharn, large Phra Rahu statues and shrines, and open courtyard areas for worship. The setting is a flat lowland temple grounds with traditional Thai roofs, gilded decoration, and black-themed Rahu iconography. Visitors can observe devotees making offerings, lighting incense and candles, and participating in Rahu chanting rituals, and can explore the main halls, outdoor shrines, and amulet and offering stalls within the compound.

Wat Sisathong was founded in the late Ayutthaya period and later restored in the early Rattanakosin period. It is historically linked to Lao communities relocated from Vientiane during the reign of King Rama I, who settled in the Nakhon Chai Si area and helped maintain the temple. The temple has long been associated with the veneration of Phra Rahu.

The temple is one of Thailand's most prominent centers for the worship of Phra Rahu, a celestial deity in Thai astrology and Buddhism believed to affect fortune and ward off misfortune. Devotees visit to make black offerings, chant katha, and seek blessings for good luck, with Wednesday considered an especially auspicious day for Rahu rites. It remains an important local religious and merit-making center.