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 | Bangkok Wat Pho Reviews | Tips 11 - 20 of 248 |  |
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I visited Wat Pho during a visit to Bangkok in September 2007. Wat Pho, which is located just a few minutes walk from the Grand Palace, is the largest Wat in Bangkok, and is famous for its huge reclining Buddha. Entrance costs just 50 Bahts (approx. 0.80 GBP) and tourists must enter through specially designated entrances. I found Wat Pho to be less crowded, more laid back and generally more enjoyable than the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew where I had just come from. The famous reclining Buddha, housed in a rather humble building, is 46 metres long and 15 metres high. The sheer size makes it impossible to capture the whole Buddha in one photograph, even if you stand in the far corner of the room. Even its feet are enormous, towering above the awestruck visitors, and they are decorated on their soles with mother of pearl decoration. Along the wall besides the reclining Buddha there are 108 bronze bowls. Visitors are encouraged to place a coin in each of these bowls in order to achieve merit. I didn’t have many coins on me, and only found out later that you can change notes for hundreds of small coins at the temple. While the reclining Buddha is the main reason for visiting Wat Pho, the rest of the site is also very pleasant to walk around. There are apparently 91 chedis (bell shaped towers decorated with colourful porcelain) on the site and many of them are clustered together like little chedi villages! A small temple on the site contains a handful of golden Buddha icons. Wat Pho also contains a highly regarded massage school where visitors can either receive a massage or take classes in the art of massage. After you’ve exhausted the various sights at Wat Pho, you can retire to the on-site souvenir shop and shaded café. You can find fortune tellers sitting at the tables of the café if you wish to know what the future holds…I just bought a cold bottle of Gatorade to quench my thirst. Wat Pho…my favourite temple in Bangkok…and not just for the giant reclining Buddha! Leave a Comment Phone: 02-221-991Website: www.watpho.com
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Bangkok
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