Wat Pho, Thailand

Wat Pho (Wat Phra Chetuphon) is an important Buddhist temple in Bangkok which is located next to Grand Palace. It is also known as the temple of the reclining Buddha. This temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.

This is my second visit to the Wat Pho and it was as lovely and interesting as ever. The entrance ticket is 50 Baht. Near the entrance is the huge reclining Buddha statue. The statue is 46m long and 15m high.The feet of Buddha is also large at 3 meters of height and 4.5 meters of length.

 Next to the Buddha statue there are 108 bronze bowls indicating the 108 auspicious characters of Buddha.People drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune.

Outside the temple, the grounds contain 91 chedis (stupas in Sanskrit), four viharas (halls), and a bot (central shrine). 71 chedis of smaller size contains the ashes of the royal family, and 21 large ones contain the ashes of Buddha. A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the ashes of deceased, used by Buddhists as a place of meditation. After the parinirvana of the Buddha, his remains were cremated and the ashes divided and buried under eight stupas. The emperor Asoka had the original stupas opened and the remains distributed among the several thousand stupas he had built. (Source: Wikipedia)

Phra Uposatha (the main chapel or Bot or the Assembly Hall - a hall used for performing the monastic ritual). 

The grounds have around 1000 Buddha statues mostly moved from the ruins of Ayuthaya and Sukhothai.

Visit Date: 22.10.2012
More photos can be seen here (2010 visit)  http://sudarsanjayasingh.blogspot.in/search/label/Bangkok

Thailand - Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital city of Thailand and also called the city of angels in Thai. I visited this fascinated city in December 2010. I stayed in a unique place called suk11 hostel.

the wall full of signatures from around the world

Suk 11 lobby...Breakfast was simple & delicious and rooms were clean with Aircon. 

Wat Phra Kaew (The temple of emerald Buddha) is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. The main building is the central ubosoth, which houses the statue of Emerald Buddha. The Emerald Buddha, a dark green statue, is in a standing form, about 66 centimeters (26 in) tall, carved from a single jade stone.

Phra Siratana Chedi
 

  Wat Phra Kaew guard

Kinnara is a paradigmatic lover, a celestial musician, half-human and half-horse (India) or half-bird (south-east Asia).

The entrance is guarded by a pair of yakshis (mythical giants – 5 metres (16 ft) high statues).

The pedestal on which the Emerald Buddha deified is decorated with Garuda (the mythical half-man half-bird form, a steed of Rama, who holds his mortal enemy Naga the serpent in his legs) motifs It is central to Thai Buddhism.

Wat Pho is the largest Wat in Bangkok and it is famous for the huge Reclining Buddha statue. The highly impressive gold plated reclining Buddha is 46 meters long and 15 meters high, and is designed to illustrate the passing of the Buddha into nirvana. The feet and the eyes are engraved with mother-of-pearl decoration, and the feet also show the 108 auspicious characteristics of the true Buddha.

Wat Arun Temple of the Dawn

Thonburi Snake Farm

The Thonburi Snake Farm has a lot of snakes, crocodiles, and birds. It is located near to Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun). Thonburi Snake Farm, is accessible only by taking a rua hang yao (long-tailed boat) through the khlongs of Bangkok. 

 

Floating Market

The most famous of the floating markets is Damnoen Saduak, about 100 kilometers southwest of Bangkok.

Chatuchak Market / Park

 

The Golden Mount or Wat Saket temple, to reach the top you need to climb a 300 + steps. On the way up, you will see lot of bells in varying sizes, and also a gong.

 

The chedi is swathed in red cloth which is made available for worshipers and visitors to write their names (in felt tip pen) upon, for good luck.