First established during the Ayutthaya period in the 1600s as "Wat Sakae", the temple once covered a vast area that included the city's central charnel grounds. The surrounding neighbourhood is still known as "Ghost Gate" thanks to the countless corpses that were cremated here. The gory process involved feeding body parts to a swarm of vultures that were long a fixture at Wat Saket. All of this was undertaken by an undertaker who received payment by way of a coin deposited by family members in each dead person's mouth. It's said that the undertaker would pluck out the coin and quickly place it in his own mouth for safekeeping.
Even in this age of elevated trains and skyscrapers, Wat Saket makes itself known.