Wat Po Bangkok

• Wat Pho is the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok. It is located at the south side of the Grand Palace and is protected by massive walls through which only two of the 16 gates are open to the public. The first temple was built in the 16th century. The 8 hectare complex was added to by successive kings.
• Historically the site was a type of university for public education and hence today we see an array of miscellaneous buildings, murals and inscriptions dealing with astrology, military defence, literature, morality, archaeology and traditional medicine. The temple compound is large and contains numerous pavilions, statues, buildings, 91 Chedi and enclosed gardens.
• Whilst the Temple of the Reclining Buddha inside the complex is a tourist favorite the larger temple to the east wall is more impressive.
• Wat Pho is located on twenty acres south of the Grand Palace on Rattanakosin Island. It was established in 1788 as a first grade royal monastery by Rama I [ King Phra Buddha Yod Fa The Great ] upon the commencement of the Chakri Dynasty. To find it, look for, Thai Wang road on the north side, Settakan road on its south side, Sanam Chai road on its east side and Maharat road on its west side. Divided by a tall white wall on Chetaphon road the monastery is divided between the monk's residential section and the sacred chapel section. The present site was previously a monastery but what you see today is the result of 16.5 years of development commencing with Rama I.
  Things to see at Wat Pho.
  The Sheltered Gates, The Main Chapel, Phra Uposatha, The Crystal Wall, Kampaengkaew, Phra Prang, Phra Rabieng and Phra Viharn Thit, The Single Based Chedi, Phra Viharn Kod, Phra Chedi Rai, The Khao Mor, The Sala Rai, The Belfry, Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn, The Temple Museum, The Vihara of the Recling Buddha, The Scripture Hall, Phra Mondrop, The teaching Hall, Sala Karn Parien, Missakawan Park, The Crocodile Pond, The Contorted Hermit Mount, The Traditional Medical Science School, The Chinese Ballast, Pagodas, Giants and Rockeries.
  
  

• The Sheltered Gates. There are sixteen Sheltered Gates to enter the complex. Tourists can enter through the eastern and northern Gates which are open to the public. As also depicted in the image here, the Sheltered Gates each have the same style with large wooden doors supported by brick and render supports on top of which are crown like spires decorated with multicolored mosaic flowers. These flowers are made from Chinese ceramic bowls which were cut into petal shapes and inserted in the render.
  
• The Main Chapel, Phra Ubosatha. This is the Hall used for monastic ritual and is the main chapel, Bot or Assembly Hall. It was constructed in the period of Rama I and expanded in the period of Rama III. It is illustrated in the top left side image. It is designed in the Ayutthaya style. The principal image of Buddha also shown in the image is called Phra Buddha Deva Patimakorn and it is situated a top a three tiered pedestal under which some ashes of King Rama I are kept. The interior of the Hall is covered with fine murals and the inside of the panels for the windows are covered in lacquer work. This is the most impressive building at Wat Pho.
  
• Then Crystal Wall, Kampaengkaew. This refers to the double marble walls surrounding the main Chapel Phra Ubosot. Here there are eight sheltered gates and eight sculpted boundary stones. The outer side is decorated with bas-relief stone carvings. Here the scenes are of nature, mountains, animals and trees. The outer side of the balustrades around the main Chapel are decorated with 152 selected scenes in bas-relief depicting the Ramayana. These scenes were for many years used to make paper rubbings which were framed and sold to tourists. Because of the damage caused to the bas-relief surfaces this practice is now prohibited.
• Phra Prang. A Prang is a structure in which revered objects are stored. A Maha Stupa is the name for a ''great pagoda''. In Wat Pho there are four pagodas each on the outer side of the chapel yard square. These are tiled in white marble and have Khmer styled statues covered in gold leaves and positioned in the inlaid doorways. These are the Guardian Divinities or the four Cardinal Points on each of the four corners of the square.
• The Two Belfries. A belfry comprises a bell in a mounted tower. They can be found in every monastery in Thailand and they are used to tell the time. Additionally from a spiritual context in Buddhism, they are said to symbolise ''awakening of the Noble truth and the feeling of peace.'' There are two belfries in Wat Pho at the south and north sides of the group of four dynasty pagodas [ Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn ]. Then mount structures are tetrahedrons with twelve notchedrim forms with tall spires on a pedestal with stairs and a small boundary wall.
• Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn. Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn refers to the group of four large pagodas surrounded by a large white wall with Thai and Chinese style sheltered gates decorated with glazed tiles and Chinese rock guardians. Each of these pagodas is 42 meters high with notched rim structures with a tall spire and covered in colorful mosaics. The pagoda with green mosiac was constructed in the reign of Rama I and covers an Ayutthaya period image of the standing Buddha. This is 16 meters high and was brought from the ruined Royal Palace in Ayutthaya following its destruction by the Burmese invaders. The white, yellow and dark blue mosaic covered pagodas were constructed under the reigns of Ram II, Rama III and Rama IV  respectively. These four pagodas were surrounded by the white wall upon the direction of King Mongkut to reflect the fact these four Kings at some stages meet each other and were at some point alive at the same time.
• The Vihara of the Recling Buddha. This building was constructed for housing the image of the Reclining Buddha. The image of the reclining Buddha is made of stuccoed bricks and gilded with gold leaves. It is 46 meters long, 15 meters high at the head end and 3 meters at the feet end. The feet are 5 meters long [ or wide ]. The sole's of the Buddha image are inlaid with mother of pearl on which are crafted the 108 auspicious signs of the Buddha. The art work on the inlay is of Thai- Chinese style. Inside the Viharn the inner walls are lined with murals. This Viharn and image is where most tour groups are led to but it is by no means the only major monument to see at Wat Pho.

• The Traditional Medical Science School. Wat Pho was also a center for medical research and education. In 1856 Rama V requested his royal doctors to translate the Pali Sanskrit medical texts into a Thai version and to divide the works into a medical version and a body massage version. There were two types of traditional massages taught here, one using the contorted hermit postures and the other using herbal massage.
• The Chinese Ballast, Pagodas, Giants and Rockeries. At Wat Pho there are numerous Chinese stone or cement rock statues. These came to Thailand from China as ballast. The main categories are; Lan Than, or the rock giants holding weapons and dressed in Chinese opera style costumes, Chinese giants in European clothes [ 4 pairs of Marco Polo ], political noblemen, Chinese monks, Chinese ladies, Philosophers, animals, etc.
• The Single Based Chedi. Buddhists believe that building a Chedi is a way of paying homage to Buddha. The single based Chedi are a group of five Chedi each mounted on a simple square shaped, indented bases with twelve notched rims and added notched rim corners, each decorated with mosaic flowers. Each of these is said to contain relics of Buddha. They were constructed in the reign of Rama I. The group of Chedi here comprise one central larger Chedi with four smaller structures at each corner, all on the same base.
• Phra Chedi Rai. There are 71 small pagodas each in a similar style to the single based Chedi described above. These were constructed for each keeping the ashes of a royal descendant.
• The Khao Mor. The Khao Mor refers to the 24 gardens within the monastery. These were created by King Rama III. Here ''hills'' were created on which small Chinese rock stupas, animal statues and other objects in stone were placed amongst the plants and trees.

The Scripture Hall, Phra Mondrop. The architecture here consists of the central Mondrob surrounded by three portico. The inner Mondrop has a crowned gabled roof decorated by Chinese ceramic bowls. In here is the library of the teachings of Buddha. It was also built in the reign of Rama I. The inner walls of the portico are covered in mural paintings including the scenes from the Ramayana, the Songkran tradition in Thailand and Mon traditions.To enter here there are also sheltered gates and at which on both sides are giants as guardians.
Missakawan Park . Missakawan Park is of interest in that in it is a large tree which originally was brought from Ceylon Sri Lanka during the reign of Rama IV.
The Contorted Hermit Mount. This is near the South Viharn. It was built during the reign of Rama I and was center for medical science and learning. The statues or of hermits practising physical exercises. There were originally 80  statues made of clay, and later replaced with stone versions during the reign of Rama III. Today only 24 remain. The ideas behind the exercises came from Indian Yogi.
The Temple Museum. This Museum is located within the rear portico of the west side Viharn and it houses for display holy objects first enshrined in the four Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn and which were discovered in 1988. The objects include gold coated Buddha images, gold reliquaries with colored enamel. golden Tripitaka scriptures and miniature alters for Buddhist offerings.
Phra Rabieng and Phra Viharn Thit. This refers to the four Viharas or satellite halls placed in the four cardinal points of the Mail Hall. Within each is placed a significant Buddha image and each is connected by the cloisters. In the East Viharn is an image of Buddha sitting under a Bodhi tree. Also here is the 10 meters high standing Buddha image which came from Ayutthaya. In the South Vihara is a principal image of Buddha preaching the first sermon to the five disciples. The West Viharn contains an image of Buddha under Naga. The cloisters contain 150 Buddha images on the inner side and on the outer side there are 244 Buddha images. These images have come from the Northern Thailand provinces during the reign of Rama I. All these images are covered in gold leaf and are protected in glass frames.
Other places of interest. The above list is not complete and visitors are recommended to look at the index and maps of Wat Pho at the entrances and also purchase printed guide materials which are on sale there.