Having spent one whole day in Ayutthaya visiting various temples and ruins, we decided to visit just one temple in Bangkok. We had 3 choices — Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and the Grand Palace. We decided to go to Wat Pho (a.k.a. Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan) because of the gigantic Reclining Buddha.
We paid the entrance fee of 200 baht, which is equivalent to about ₱315 per person. Shortly after we went inside the Wat Pho premises, we took off our shoes and stashed them inside the provided eco bags. We had to do this to enter the temple where the Reclining Buddha lay. There were a lot of tourists in this area, I just removed everyone via the AI editing tool of my Samsung S24 Ultra lol.
It truly was enormous — definitely a sight to behold. Don’t forget to check out the feet which are inlaid with mother of pearl auspiscious symbols.
There’s a lot to see on the temple grounds, including this cloister which contains 400 images of Buddha from Northern Thailand.
We did some cat-watching too as there are quite a number of them in the gardens. I actually saw some kitty food bowls so I know Wat Pho is a cat-friendly place.
This is the Phra Chedi Rai. The smaller chedis contain ashes of the royal family while the bigger ones contain the relics of Buddha.
Because we walked on our own, we missed going inside Phra Ubosot. Inside the ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. I’ve seen pictures online and I regret missing it huhuhu. We’re not likely to go back to Wat Pho next time because we’ll be checking out the other temples we haven’t been to in the future.
Wat Pho and Wat Arun are quite near each other so you can actually do both on the same day. Klook actually has a walking tour for these 2 places.
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