Wat Pho

How to visit, and how to chain it with the Grand Palace

Wat Pho sits five minutes’ walk south of the Grand Palace, so the move is to do both in one morning rather than spreading them across two days. Pay the ฿300 (~£7) foreigner ticket — well under the Grand Palace’s ฿500, and the dress code is enforced more loosely, though you still need shoulders and knees covered. Your ticket usually comes with a free bottle of water you collect near the reclining Buddha, which you’ll want in the heat.

The headline is the 46-metre reclining Buddha, gold-leafed and squeezed into its hall so tightly you shuffle along its length; the soles of the feet, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, are the detail people miss because they’ve already turned to leave. Behind the statue, buy a small bowl of coins for about ฿20 and drop one into each of the 108 bronze bowls lining the wall — it’s a merit-making ritual, and the steady clink is the soundtrack of the hall. Allow about an hour for the grounds, the four big chedis and the Buddha.

The massage school, when to go, and is it worth it?

The quieter reason to linger is the on-site traditional massage school — Wat Pho is the birthplace of Thai massage, and a one-hour massage here runs ฿520 (~£12), or ฿340 for 30 minutes, against the ฿1,500-plus a hotel spa charges. The school takes walk-ins until around 18:00, but the desk queues up by late morning, so put your name down when you arrive and tour the temple while you wait.

Go for the 08:00 opening or after about 16:00: the middle of the day brings the tour buses straight over from the Grand Palace plus the worst of the heat. Getting here is easy — the MRT to Sanam Chai leaves you a five-minute walk away, or take a Chao Phraya river boat to Tha Tien pier.

Wat Pho is the more rewarding of the two big Rattanakosin temples to actually spend time in, precisely because it’s cheaper, calmer and you can fold a proper massage into the visit. Do the Grand Palace first for opening, walk over to Wat Pho, then catch the ฿7 cross-river ferry from Tha Tien across to Wat Arun in the late afternoon when the light is best — that’s the whole old-town temple morning done in one loop.