Emboldened by our success on our first day, we decided to spend our second morning in Bangkok visiting Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha).
Less famous, and therefore less busy than The Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho is equally as beautiful as his more popular counterpart.
We arrived at the complex by the same method as the day before (Sky train to Saphan Taksin, and the express boat to Tha Tien - a stop before The Grand Palace). From the pier, it was an easy walk to the Temple, and just 100Bhat to get in- a significant improvement on the entry cost of the Grand Palace!
Inside, the temple was calm, and quiet, far more what you would expect from a place of religious significance.
We began our explorations heading away from the (busier) main temple, and spent some time wandering between towering chedis, through courtyards lined with golden Buddahs, and into subsidiary temples, complete with larger than life status of Buddah.
There seemed to be more practicing Buddhists here, than at the Grand Palace (perhaps because it was quieter), which only served to make me like the place even better. It felt so much more authentic, much less 'Disney'.
The attention to detail here is unbelievable
As before, the complex is deceptively large, and just when you think you've seen everything, you stumble across another temple (in our case, a temple containing several Chinese style Buddha's, and a dilapidated chedi, whose charm was only added too by its air of disrepair).
Having finally made our way round the rest of the complex (we think..), we joined the crowds heading towards the Reclining Buddha.
He was a sight to behold! Where the Emerald Buddha was so highly revered, and tiny, this Buddah was enormous! Not a sight I am likely to forget any time soon!! (And on the off chance I do, you are allowed to take photos here - once the hoards of tourists snapping selfies on their iPads cleared, the statue made for quite a remarkable subject).
Mother of Pearl feet | A golden pillow
Having seen as much as we could at Wat Pho, and with the storm clouds rolling in, we decided to take shelter in one of Bangkoks many malls. But thats a story for another day I think.
Much Love,
Jess
xxxx
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