There was no doubt in my mind that our trip to Thailand would be hot. It’s just inevitable.
During our day trip to Wat Pho was no different. The best thing we could do just prepare ourselves physically (hat – checked, fan – checked, breathable clothes – checked) and mentally.
Get Ready to Explore Wat Pho
So we marched into Wat Pho late morning with a game plan to beat the Bangkok heat. First we would replenish ourselves with cold water and yummy popsicles as often as we could. Forget about checking out the site and walking the whole temple. We would just have to pick and stick only to the main area.
The Reclining Budha (Phra Buddhasaiyas)
Our first stop after an ice cream break was to visit the Reclining Budha. With the measurement of 46 meters long and 15 meters high, the Golden Reclining Budha is one of the most visit sacred destination in Thailand.
Built during Rama III’s restoration of Wat Pho, the Reclining Budha 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.
Calm, Cool and Coins
As we walked around to the other side of the Budha, the 108 bronze prayer bowls are lined along the wall as visitors put a coin to each one as they give merit and wish for good luck.
Don’t worry if you don’t have 108 coins handy in your pocket, there is a donation table that already setup a bowl of coins for you.
As we dropped one coin at a time to the bowl, I could feel the stillness and calm inside the building.
Thai Massage at the Original Thai Massage School
Along with being one of the oldest and largest temple in Bangkok, Wat Pho is also known for Thai traditional massage school. And that was my game plan number two. As much as I would love to walk around the grounds, I knew that my family was melting rather quickly. So we played a game of “Get in the Shade” as we made our way to the back of the temple for the Thai Traditional Massage area.
To my surprise, the upgrade from fan to A/C definitely provided us with much comfort and relief we looked for. The Wat Pho massage that I have seen in the past was done in the open area where fan was the only source of air flow. Now that they had upgraded to A/C, we couldn’t sign up fast enough for massage sessions for the whole family.
Yes, I mean the whole family as in Miss J and Mr. Z as well. I guess we could say their first Thai massage experience were truly from the origin.
Family Tips:
- Dress in appropriate clothes as a temple is a place of worship.
- To avoid the heat, the morning hours will provide some relief from hot Sun in mid-day.
- To cover the grounds with kids might be too much in the heat. So plan to break it up to small area.
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About Amy Querido
The Q Family is a family of 4 with 2 school-aged kids who love to explore as much as their parent.
The temple looks magical. And, I’m guessing Mr. Z is tickleish. Nice way to end a packed day.
Surprisingly they did pretty well and yes, he is a bit tickleish..
what lovely photos – it DOES look magical! i need to go (esp for that massage)…hope you got one!
Thank you, Jessie. Yes.. I did get one myself. :) It was a great way to break up a long hot day in Bangkok.
Beautiful photos! That first one is my favorite!
Thank you! I borrowed my brother’s wide angle lens and now I’m in love!
Yep, that wide angle lens is great :) Sounds like a really memorable day!
Thank you! Now I just have to save up to have my own wide angle lens.
A massage in air-conditioned comfort on a hot, hot day? Sounds pretty divine to me :)
Who can resist, right? :)
Thai massage…. Drool….. Looks amazing. I would love to visit Thailand some day.
Let me know when you plan to visit. I will hook you up with my sister and brother to take care of you. :)
GREAT post! And my gosh, your photos are just gorgeous!
Thank you, Beth! The place is marvelous by itself I just pressed the shutter.
What an amazing experience. I love, love, loved that temple, and now I’m picturing bringing my own kids there ;)
Thanks so much for sharing.
Beautiful photos & great ideas! My daughter loves massages & she’s had them in Morocco, Spain, USA and more, so I know she will love them in Asia.
I am worried about the heat when our open ended, family world tour leads us to Asia this winter. Thanks for the tips!
You are an awesome parent making sure your kids gets massages! Do they have any idea how lucky they are.
I love Thai massage, but I never thought of taking the kids. We definitely will now!
They provide both Thai massage and foot massage. I saw a lot of kids who also opt for foot massage as well.