Wat Pho, Bangkok

Wat Po, known to the Thais as Wat Phra Chetupon, dates from long before Bangkok was founded, as it was built in the 16th century. It became a favourite with the early Chakri kings who turned it into the country's largest monastery. Wat Po's major attraction is the massive Reclining Buddha, 46 meters long, whose feet are decorated with exquisite mother-of-pearl inlay.

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This was our third visit to the Wat Pho and it was as lovely and interesting as ever. In fact we were not intending to visit it, we were heading for the City Pillar Shrine then the Giant Swing, but it was so hot we went for the closest sight to the boat landing instead! To get here take the boat to Tha Tien.

Entry is only 50 baht. Some parts of the site are currently undergoing reconstruction but it is still beautiful and the reconstruction does not spoil it.

Near the entrance just past the ticket office is the huge reclining Buddha statue. It has a wonderfully serene face and beautiful mother of pearl inlaid feet. The statue is 46m long and 15m high.

The grounds of the temple are wondeful and very extensive. They are covered in ornate pointed chedis, contain many statues- lots of which were Chinese originally and were once used as ballasts in Chinese ships. The grounds have around 1000 Buddha statues most taken from the ruins of Ayuthaya and Sukhothai.

There is a second part of the temple across the street but we did not visit that part. The temple also contains a massage school.

Description:

The gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high, and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.

My visit:

First of all, confession time: I am probably one of the few people who went to Wat Pho and managed to almost miss the Reclining Buddha.

Isn't it what the temple is about?

Well, not only, and I did not miss it anyway :) My first visit to Wat Pho was on the afternoon of a 2-day trip to Bangkok, and I was in a rush as the temple was almost closing. By the time I had explored the magnificent ground, I only had 15 minutes left for the big attraction. I had, therefore, only a very limited amount of time to explore the chapel.

It does impress - from the outside, the chapel housing the Reclining Buddha does not seem that large. But when you walk in... the figure is enormous.

The only thing to remember is respect - it is, after all, one of the holiest images of the country.

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It's absolutely worth to visit this interesting and beautifull complex. It is fameous for it's 15 mtr high and 45 mtr long reclyning buddha, wich is a must see in when you vivit Bangkok. Ask for a guide to discover more of the temple's facinating history and secrets.

It's history learns that the temple, apart from being a relegious centre, had been Thailands first university.

Nice to know is that the traditional Thai massage techniques are from Wat Pho. Monks still teach those techniques still nowadays. You can follow classes here or just enjoy a traditional Thai massage here.

Keep in mind to dress properly and take of shoes when entering the sacret rooms of the temple. Please behave in a respectfull way since you are a guest in a religeous complex.

At Wat Pho, there is a giant indoor reclining Buddha. It is impressive. You have take off your shoes to enter and allowed to take photos inside. But it is difficult as the Buddha is so large and the corridor around it is narrow and packed with queues of tourist.

If you do not have a tour guide, it is worth to eavesdrop to other guides in various languages describing the significance of the mother of pearl inlaid drawings on both the soles of both feet of the Reclining Buddha.

Derfinitely a must visit temple for all first time visitors to Bangkok. I have visited Wat Pho many times.

Guides call it the temple of reclining Budda because of an enourmous and revered statue of a reclining Budda hosted inside. This is my prefered temple in BKK. It's south of Grand Palace so you may visit both same day. It's an oasis of peace. I visited almost everytime I was in BKK. Rememberthat the viharn of Reclining Budda is sacred place where a lot of people go to pray So be respectful. The things that never do is wander inside the garden where you are mesmerize by fanrìtastic chines stone figures and animals. Don't miss the ubosot with marble panels.
It's open every day, opening hours are from 08.00am to 5.00 pm, with a break from 12.00pm to 1.00pm. Admission fee: 20 THB
You may get here by taxi or by boat (Tha Tien Pier)

WAT PHO (Reclining Buddha), is located behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It's the largest temple in Bangkok and famed for its huge and majestic reclining Buddha measured 46 metres long and covered in gold leaf. The Buddha's feet are 3 metres long and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl illustrations of auspicious 'laksanas' of the Buddha.

Wat Pho is also famous as Thailand's first university, and is center for traditional Thai masage - the rich, famous and powerful have all been known to come here. If you've never tried a traditional Thai massage, Wat Pho is a good place to start. It's quite different to most other forms of therapeutic massage and tends to be invigorating rather than relaxing, incorporating yoga style postures to relieve stress and improve blood circulation.

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The temple of the reclining buddha is a very large complex of pagodas, it houses of course the reclining buddha, the largest buddha Ive seen at 40+ meters long. It is easily accessible via the jetty pier in Chao Phraya river. There will be some folks trying to convince you that the temple is closed or that you have arrived too early for its openning, or for any other reasons...just ignore them and continue walking until you find the temple entrance.