More Local Color: Wat Pho

On the must-see list of Bangkok sites is Wat Pho, an ancient and astoundingly beautiful temple. But to call it a "temple" doesn't do it justice, at least in my limited definition of the word. It was more like a...park? A complex? It's actually a series of incredible buildings housing hundreds of Buddha images, including the most famous, an enormous reclining Buddha that made me want to relax and maybe take a nap. The couch potata Buddha, as it would probably be called if it were in America and had a PR firm, is 50 feet high and about 150 feet long. And gold. Did I mention that? All the various Buddha images are painted gold.




The buildings themselves are hyper-elaborate works of art, covered in mosaics, hand-painted patterns, and even mother-of-pearl inlay on the soles of the reclining Buddha's feet. Here are a couple of shots that give you a sense of the detailed work we gaped at.











Wat Pho is actually older than the city of Bangkok by about 200 years. It's considered the birthplace of Thai massage, and is home to the Thai Massage School.

Aah...Thai massage. Actually, "Ouch...Thai massage" would be a more accurate sentiment. After leaving Wat Pho, Betsy and I went to HealthLand, a spa recommended by Dean Windisch. That, however, deserves its own post, and right now, I'm in too much pain from the experience to keep typing. So I'll share that (hopefully) once-in-a-lifetime event tomorrow. We have an early morning flight to Paro, so I need to take a couple of Advil and head for bed.