Wat Pho
Wat Pho is the
popular name for Wat Phra Chetuphon. This world famous temple , one of Bangkok's
oldest and largest, is located right south to the Grand
Palace. Wat Pho was built by King Rama I (reigned 1782-1809) nearly 200
years ago and houses a gigantic gold plated Reclining Buddha, 46 meters long and
15 meters high. The reclining posture depicts the transcendence of Buddha from
the mortal world into nirvana. the immortal state of absolute peace. The unique
feature of the image is the Buddha's soles with intricately inlaid
mother-of-pearl illustrations, of the 108 auspicious physical features of the
Buddha. Wat Pho is the temple with largest number of pagodas (95 in all)
in the city. Wat Pho is also regarded as the first center of public education and is
called ‘Thailand’s first university’. Mural paintings, inscriptions, and statues found in the temple educated people on varied subjects such as literature, warfare, archaeology, astronomy, geology, meditation and Thai traditional massage.
The temple is also the headquarters for the Traditional Medicine Practitioners
of Bangkok. Thai-style massage is available in two open plan areas within
the temple grounds.
The temple is open daily from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Admission fee is 20 Baht. Proper attire is essential - no shorts, sleeveless shirts or shower thongs. Telephone - 2220933.
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