Wat Pho – Bangkok

Wat Pho in Bangkok is the first in the list of six first class Royal temples. A first class Royal temple classifies a temple, which was built or restored by the king.

Although Wat Pho is not the most sacred temple in Bangkok, it is the most famous and most popular among tourists, because it is located directly south of the royal palace.

Presumably it was founded in the 17th century when Bangkok became the capital and was enlarged and restored by king Rama I.

The most famous sight, the Reclining Buddha, is in a pavilion next to the entrance. The statue is 46 m long and 15 m high.

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The soles of the foot are richly decorated with mother of pearl inlays. During our visit they were covered by plastic sheeting, because they are currently being restored.

The friendly restorer shows us a sketch of the decorations.

On a photo, that we have taken on our first visit about 20 years ago, one can imagine the beauty.

In the next courtyard, whose entrance is flanked by two powerful guardians is the Medicine Pavilion with historical murals of Thai massage.

The whole area is dominated by four powerful Chedis, with a height of 42 m, which are lavishly decorated with mosaics and tiles. They were built by King Rama I, Rama III and Rama IV. The style is inspired by the the chedi in Ayutthaya.

On the whole area you find further 71 Chedis, but none of them exceeds 10 m height.

The largest courtyard of Wat Pho has covered corridors along the outer walls with a large number of Buddha statues.

Here you find Phra Ubosot, the most sacred building. A golden Buddha-Statue sits enthroned inside. It was built by King Rama I and was also inspired by the style of Ayutthaya.

We recommend to visit Wat Pho early in the morning when it is not so crowded by tourists.

Please read on Wat Phra Kaeo and Grand Palace

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