Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha)

The Reclining Buddha of Wat Pho!

The oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, it houses the country’s largest reclining Buddha, and it has the biggest collection of Buddha images in the country. Wat Pho is also the national headquarters for the teaching and preservation of traditional Thai medicine, including Thai massage.

Wat Pho!

Important Facts:

Entrance Fee: 100 Baht

Open everyday from 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM

How to get there:

If you're coming from the Grand Palace, Wat Pho is just 5 to 10 minutes walk. It is near N. Pier 8 or the Tha Tien Station. You can ride a tuktuk from the Grand Palace to Wat Pho but beware cause you might find yourself in a different temple. Haha.

My tour of Wat Phra Kaew and Grand Palace ended at noon, in time for lunch. I went to Ta Chang Pier to look for cheap eatery where I can escape from the hot weather and to pacify my growling stomach. Since I love watching Running Man (Korean Action-Comedy Sunday Variety Show), I went to the eatery featured in one of their episode shot at Bangkok and was satisfied with what I ordered.

After eating lunch and getting some much needed rest, I immediately went to Wat Pho, The Temple of the Reclining Buddha. Wat Pho is more or less 1 kilometer away from Ta Chang Pier and is just across N Pier 8 or the Tha Tien Pier.

The ticket booth is just beside the entrance. The admission fee is 100 baht and includes a bottle of water and a free 1-hour WIFI connection. As one of the sacred temples of Thailand, a strict dress code is also followed here. Visitors must be properly dressed before being allowed entry to the temple. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves, no tank tops. If you're wearing sandals or flip-flops you must wear socks, no bare feet. Women must be similarly dressed, they must wear at least knee-length skirt, pants or longer, and shirts that covers shoulders. No see-through clothes and bare shoulders.

Wat Pho is known to house the reclining Buddha; hence it is the highlight of my visit there. The Buddha is 15 meters tall and 46 meters long. The position of the Reclining Buddha represents the passing of Buddha into Nirvana.

There are 108 bronze bowls in the room, on which you can put a coin in each bowl as you walk around it. It is believed that this will bring you good luck and long life. The coins can be purchased at the entrance of the hall. I never tried it though. The money goes towards helping the monks renovate and preserve the temple.

I thought showing skin on your legs above the knee is prohibited? LOL

After spending some time at the reclining Buddha, I went around to the rest of the temple. Similar to the ones in Wat Phra Kaew, the designs are also intricate and equally beautiful. Although the detailed murals that cover the walkways around Wat Pho will require a book or guide to decipher, the exquisite murals are so detailed and intricate that even if you don’t understand all the imagery you can still appreciate the artwork.

Wat Pho also has good English speaking guides who will provide interesting information for around 200 - 400 baht, depending on how many people there are in your group and how good your negotiating skills are. But if you are on a tight budget like me, you can always pretend to follow the group/s with guides and secretly listen to what the guide is saying. As shameless as it sounds, resourcefulness and creativity goes a long way. LOL.  

On one part of the complex you can find classrooms where monks are teaching some students. It was fascinating to look at even though I don’t understand a word they’re saying.

It was around 3:30 PM when I finished touring the whole complex of Wat Pho. I immediately went to Tha Tien Pier to ride the cross river boat going to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. 

Go back to Tra-Abel Guide to Bangkok, Thailand