Wat Po, Bangkok's largest and oldest temple, has a lot of interesting things to discover: inscriptions, murals, images, and sculptures, not to mention the traditional massage and herbal medicine centers.

Buddhist temples are supposed to be a place for quiet contemplation; a place where devotees can seek refuge from the hectic outside world and learn the profound teachings of the Lord Buddha in a serene environment.

But this is not exactly the case with Wat Po. Located within a short walk from the Grand Palace, this much-visited temple is one of the busiest in the capital. Day in and day out tourists crowd the place, lavishing rolls after rolls of film as they look at the marvelous structures on the temple premises.

Wat Po is over 200 years old, but most of the structures within it were built about 150 years ago. The foremost attraction is the enormous Reclining Buddha, a 19 meter-long gilded image protected inside a spacious viharn, This building is lavishly adorned with centuries-old murals.

The temple's main chapel, which lies within a double cloistered courtyard, is worth a look. It is covered on the inside with traditional Thai murals of great craftsmanship. Beneath the inner and outer cloisters of this courtyard are rows upon rows of Buddha images which look rather new because of restoration works.

Wat Po is also famous for its traditional Thai massage center and school. This school offers traditional therapeutic massage to all visitors at reasonable prices.

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