A Taste of Thailand in Tampa: How to Enjoy the Thai Temple and Its Sunday Market

Did you know there’s a Thai Temple in Tampa? And that it’s open to the public with a savory Sunday food market?

When I first learned about this remarkable cultural experience near downtown Tampa, I knew I had to visit Wat Mongkolratanaram for myself. Though the grounds and temple are open every day, and free to visit, one of the biggest attractions of the Tampa Thai Temple is the Sunday food market.

The food market features delicious Thai favorites such as pad thai, beef noodle soup, and sesame balls. Everything is made right there on the premises so you know you’re getting the real deal. My best advice: come hungry!

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Background of the Thai Temple in Tampa

Sponsored by the King of Thailand, Wat Mongkolratanaram was built in 1981 to serve a growing Asian population in Tampa. It moved to its current location along the Palm River in 1983. The reason for our visit, the ever-popular Sunday Market, began operating in 1987.

Since then, the Wat has doubled in size, with monks’ quarters and the current temple built in 2007. In that year, the temple was honored with a gift from the King of Thailand, a royal robe.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, “Each year, hundreds of different temples nominate a monk to receive a royal robe. Only a handful are chosen, on the basis of their good works that year.” Tampa’s Thai Temple was the first in the United States to receive such an honor.

Donations and the weekly market help pay for religious services, the Wat’s bills, and improvements around the property, such as the dock, the benches and tables, and the seawall.

Visiting the Tampa Thai Temple

The beauty of the Thai Temple draws photographers from around Florida, and my visit was no different. On a bright and cool-for-Florida morning in October, five members of my photography club visited the temple.

When we arrived, the Temple stood front and center, immediately visible as we pulled into the dirt parking lot. We found an out-of-the-way spot near the exit, grabbed our cameras, and followed the scent of food and the sound of voices to the food market.

The food market is held in two buildings beside the temple. By 9:30 AM when we arrived, lines were already queued up as visitors waited to purchase their favorites. The building directly adjacent to the temple is open air and features items such as sesame balls, fried plantains, shrimp rolls, and empanadas. These are portioned and packaged for quick purchase.

The other building, a larger one with a wide porch on two sides, offers pad thai, noodle soup, and other hot favorites. Everywhere on the grounds, the smell of savory food wafted through the trees and across the picnic grounds enticing visitors to eat and relax.

Between the temple and the Palm River, a large grassy area beneath oak trees offers picnic tables for visitors to sit and enjoy the views while enjoying their food.

The Viharn

A viharn, or assembly hall, is the place where several Buddhist ceremonies take place and welcomes both monks and lay people. Entering the viharn feels like stepping into a church or other holy building. It’s quiet, reverent, though smaller inside than it appears to be from the outside. The carpet beneath our bare feet is thin, pink, showing the signs of years of bare feet traversing this space. 

Four rows of chairs sit at the back of the room, a food offering between the two sections of rows, centered with the giant Buddha statue in a place of honor at the front of the room. A gong sits to the left, three rows of chairs extending from it to the front altar and facing west.

Along the west wall, several zafu and zabuton (meditation pillows and base mats) for the monks face east. The altar at the front, however, is the centerpiece of the temple.

A large gold Buddha image sits, back against the white wall, surrounded by tables overflowing with flowers, candles, and offerings. Every table is intricately carved and gilded in gold paint. 

At the front, seated knee to knee, a family meditated. When they rose and left, a single woman approached and sat on the pink carpet, crossed her legs and began her own meditation. Several people sat in the chairs, some with eyes closed in private prayer, others simply looking around and taking in the temple’s features.

Cameras clicked.

The sound felt invasive though I also know there would be signs posted at the entrance if photography wasn’t allowed. The feeling, however, encouraged me to use my phone for photos rather than my DSLR which also clicks when I snap photos.

I sat in the back of the room, closed my eyes, and let the serenity take hold. In our world we often talk about “vibes”, of places or people having good or bad vibes. Though I think that’s a real thing, I don’t often feel it like I did in the temple. An inner calm, a quiet knowledge that everything will be okay, even when the world feels as if it’s blowing apart and becoming more divisive than ever. Everything will be okay.

We spent a half hour or so in the temple, mindful of the time as they had a special service that day in honor of the death of King Rama IX on October 13, 2016 and open only to members.

The Grounds

Back outside the viharn, we explored the rest of the grounds. To the east side of the picnic grounds sits a naga. The naga is a large mythological snake, often with multiple heads. They often protect Buddhist temples. Near the naga a small meditation chapel sat as example of the larger ones found at wats around the world.

We walked the riverfront, photographed birds and the many orchids adorning the trees. Near the river a small temple sat on a post, filled with offerings. People had left soda cans – some empty – money, action figures, and numerous other offerings.

Reflections on my Visit to the Thai Temple

The mission of the Thai Temple in Tampa is to spread the power of positivity and reflection throughout the Bay Area. In a world when it seems a new war begins every year, in a time when it’s almost impossible to sidestep the divisiveness found in most media outlets, Tampa’s Thai Temple does just that.

The Wat provides a place of peace and serenity. Somewhere to meditate and reflect alone or enjoy an early lunch with friends. It’s a place for healing, inside and out, and a reminder of the most basic of Buddhist teachings: not to do any evil, to cultivate good, and to purify one’s heart.

Tips for Visiting the Tampa Thai Temple

Here are a few tips for your visit to the Thai Temple in Tampa.

• Bring cash. Credit cards are not accepted.
• Arrive early as the most popular food items sell out quickly.
• Come hungry. The portions are hefty!
• Stick around – whatever is left around noon will be discounted. They were selling the remaining food for two-for-one and “buy three, get two free”.
• Wear appropriate clothing if you plan to enter the temple. No shorts, tank tops, etc. Find the complete guidelines to temple etiquette here.
• The Sunday Market is open from 9am to 1pm.

The Sunday Market at the Thai Temple in Tampa is a must-visit destination for anyone who loves Thai cuisine. The market offers a wide variety of authentic Thai dishes, including curries, noodles, and soups, all of which are prepared fresh on-site. The atmosphere is lively and festive, with colorful decorations and live music adding to the ambiance.

If you love to immerse yourself in cultural experiences like this, you can make a day out of it by visiting the Thai Temple in the morning then heading to nearby Ybor City, Tampa’s Latin quarter, in the afternoon.