Wednesday afternoon was our first foray into a Bangkok wat: Wat Pho (pronounced watt, as in 100 watt bulb, and po as in Edgar Allan). According to our guide book, wat means "temple monastery" and the ones we've seen so far and usually walled enclosures with a series of buldings and temples inside.
It's hard to know where to start describing Wat Pho. Wats specialize in colour and texture. There are stupas, "conical Buddhist monument, used to inter sacred Buddhist objects" which are covered from head to toes in mosaic tile.
There are big stupas (this one is a few stories tall):
(Detail of a side of a stupa:)
...and little stupas:
In amongst the stupas are a series of temples with Buddha images on display, such as this one which is particularly elaborate:
The reclining Buddha is the show-stealer of Wat Pho, and is 46m long an 15m high
(here are Buddha's toeprints, just because I think it's a neat design:)
Lining the wall behind the reclining Buddha are a row of alms bowls for the monks of the monastery. People make a donation to the (locked) donation box and receive a small cup of 1 baht (1/30 cent) denomination coins, 1 for each bowl lining the wall (there are about 40 or 50).
Then, you carry the cup of coins tot he wall of alms bowls and proceed down the line, placing one coin in each bowl. It's good system because donators (both Thai and tourist) get the experience of putting coins in the individual bowls (which make a gorgeous ringing sound that you can hear all across the temple) and the temple doesn't have to worry about making sure no one steals from the bowls. (I have a sound recording of the sound of the alms bowls, but I haven't been able to upload it yet.)
In addition to the Buddhas, tiles, buildings and such, there are painted designs on all of the ceilings:
Along the outer walls of the wat there is a covered walk with painted walls and paintings line the inner gables (this painting is about 7 or 8 inches high):
The wat is also the natinoal headquarters for traditional Thai massage so in addition to two buildings in the inner courtyard where you can pay for a massage from the students, there are also massage diagrams painted under the gables:
Oh, and there are sculptures outside in little gardens:
...and stone guards at the gates:
(Detail of guard's belt:)
It's a lot to take in, so we take our time and just spend a few hours wandering around and enjoying the colours and textures and not asking too many questions.
Photo credits: PG, PG, PG, PG, PG, PG, PG, DG, DG, DG, DG, DG, DG, PG, DG, DG
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