Famous Place of Mega reclining Buddha at Wat Pho
Leaving the Metro – a quiet, underground, air-conditioned environment – and surfacing in chinatown takes a quick adjustment. As seasoned travelers, our “scam radar” is always on, and suddenly it went ping-ping-ping. A nice, normal-looking man (with a briefcase) started a conversation about where we were going, etc. He claimed to be a subway engineer, and his explanation for using the tuk-tuk idling nearby was that the King and his family just happened to be visiting Wat Pho, so we might want to consider his alternate suggestions for visits. We didn’t fall for it … but he got points for style and originality.
Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest wats (Buddhist Temples) in Bangkok, and in addition to the reclining Buddha, it’s home to more than 1,000 Buddha images. It’s a colorful, glimmering fantasy land of Thai Buddhist art and architecture.Contrary to what many people think, Buddha is not a God, but a respected teacher. Buddhism is complex, and the symbolism of the Buddha’s position is important. Statues may show the Buddha seated, standing, or in a reclining position. A reclining Buddha may mean death and reaching Nirvana.
The temple compound is also the headquarters for the education of traditional Thai medicine, Thai massage, etc. It is amongst the highly visited Thailand tourist places.
