Wat Pho and Lumphini Park

A short walk away from the Grand Palace is another famous temple, Wat Pho.  It is one of the oldest wats in Bangkok.  It is also a center of learning for traditional medicine and massage.

Wat Pho is also known as Wat Phra Chetuphon.  There are 99 chedis located around the main bot complex.

At the compound's inner gates are some farang guard statues.  "Farang" means "foreigner" and these statues are made to look like caricatures of westerners with top hats, beards, and large noses.

Many Buddha statues are on display in temple buildings.

But the most visited Buddha image at Wat Pho is the Reclining Buddha, Phra Buddhasaiyas.  It is 150 feet long and made of brick and plaster covered in lacquer and gold leaf.

Buddha statues have four basic postures: standing, sitting, walking, and reclining.  A reclining Buddha usually represents the point of ultimate nirvana.

After visiting the Wat, we caught the river ferry and BTS train back to Lumphini Park to meet up with Jonathan (my brother's roommate, also from Arizona).  The park is the main greenbelt in Bangkok and was created in the 1920's by King Rama VI.  A statue King Rama VI stands at the entrance.

Contemporary bronze statues have been placed along the walking paths.

There are two artificial lakes created for boating.  You can rent paddleboats shaped like swans.

But I'm not sure I would want to rent a boat here; there are dragons in the lake.  Don't believe me?  Kevin saw a guy feeding bread to the "ducks".  On closer inspection, it turned out the kid was feeding this:

It looks like a small dinosaur.  It is actually a water monitor, a distant relative of the Komodo dragon.  They can grow up to 10 feet long and weigh around 200 lbs.  A bite can be toxic to humans, so definitely no swimming!

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