[PLACE] 20150114 Wat Pho - Sleeping Buddha @ Pranakorn, Bangkok

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Wat Pho ("Wat" means temple in Thai) is one of the largest and oldest temple in Bangkok and is well known for its largest Buddha statue, which is the Sleeping Buddha or also known as Reclining Buddha. The giant sleeping Buddha statue is 160 feet long and covered with gold leaves.

Wat Pho is just 10 minutes walk away from the Grand Palace and its often the next destination for tourists to drop by. An entrance fee of 100 Baht is chargeable on foreigners and entitled for a bottle of mineral water. Besides the reclining Buddha, Wat Pho has other halls within its compound with more than 1,000 Buddha statues, big and small.

Another highlight of Wat Pho will be the detailed architectural of its structures and building where very strong presence of Thai culture is observed in the design and carvings. Dress code applies for female tourist and sarongs or scarf are available for those who wears shorts or sleeveless clothes, especially when entering the prayer halls.

Guided tour is available with price ranging from 200 Baht to 400 Baht, depending on size of crowd and season, can be negotiated. The tour guide will be able to brief you on the history and details of the temple if you are interested to engage their service. Traditional Thai massage service is also available here and Wat Pho is the origin of Thai massage as there was a massage school established here in the older days.

Wat Pho, Pranakorn, Bangkok
Nearest BTS Stations: Nil
Telephone: N/A
Opening Hours: 08:00am until 06:30pm

TO GO


There are a few methods to get to Wat Pho and unfortunately there's no direct assess by BTS nor MRT. While taking cab or tuk tuk is the most convenient way, you may still be able to reach Wat Pho if you have to take the BTS.

Take the Silom Line (Dark Green) and disembark at Saphan Taksin Station. Walk towards Exit 2 towards the Central Pier, you may then purchase the boat ticket from the ticket counter for 40 Baht per pax and then take the Chao Phraya tourist boat. Get off at Pier 8 - Tha Tian Pier. Wat Pho is located right at the exit of the pier, towards the right side.


ATTRACTION



The weather was just awesome for the day with clear blue sky, with the help of my CPL filter as well. The picture above is the rear of the hall where the reclining Buddha is located.


Visitors are required to wear proper attire (no shorts or sleeveless shirt) and to remove your footwear and carry along when you are entering the hall. The reclining Buddha statue is so huge and long that you will require a ultra wide angle lens to fit in everything within the narrow space.


The Buddha's feet with 108 auspicious symbols of Buddha. It seems like a normal picture, but you definitely unable to capture the same image with normal cameras as the picture above is taken with an angle as wide as 10mm (16mm equivalent for 35mm format).


Other highlight of Wat Pho will definitely be the amazing structures of the temple roofs.


Some parts of the temple consist of ancient schools for various disciplines including art, culture as well as Thai massage.


The vibrant colours and the unique texture of the roofs is infused deeply with the Thai culture.





There's a huge prayer hall located right at the centre of the temple which offers a place for visitors to either pray or just to sit down and feel the atmosphere and the serenity of the temple.

You can also consider to visit Wat Arun after Wat Pho as it is just at the opposite bank of the Chao Phraya River.

SUMMARY


Overall, Wat Pho is worth a visit with the main attraction of the reclining Buddha, as well as other thousands of Buddha images, accompanied by fascinating Thai architecture of the structures and buildings. It is just a short walk away from the Grand Palace and can be an alternative destination if you are planning your itinerary.

Attraction
☆☆☆☆
Main highlight will be the reclining Buddha but other attractions also worth a visit
Cleanliness
☆☆☆☆☆

Entrance Fee
100 Baht for foreigner (inclusive of complementary bottle of mineral water)
Free for locals
Opening Hours
08:00am until 6:30pm (Daily)
Wifi
N/A
Parking
N/A
Website
N/A

GPS: 13.746374, 100.491235

farscope

Malaysian lad, engineer by background, banker by profession whom passionate in photography, food and travelling.

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