WatPho Temple in Bangkok

I'm not really a temple guy. But this one is impressive to a guy not impressed by temples for the most part. The largest of temples in all of Bangkok and the most visited.

The ashes of king Rama I reside in this temple. There are more Buddha images in this temple than any other in Thailand and includes the famous Reclining Buddha:

Hard to get a good picture of the Reclining Buddha because you have to stand so close. Also, there are many others trying to do the same.

Images from inside the complex:

This statue seemed out of place as it seemed more Chinese than Thai to me.

Buddhists enter this area, after removing shoes, and kneel before Buddha. Here they offer their prayers.

Bang a gong for a donation?

You rub the belly of Buddha for good luck. Doesn't look like this Buddha has much luck left.

I came across this photo shoot by professional photographers. I'm not sure if I was suppose to take my own pictures but nobody seemed to mind. Besides. We were in a public place so all is fair game.

I've seen these photo shoots before in China with locals in traditional dress. I expect it is part of a pre-marriage ceremony.

This lady actually smiled for my photo so I don't think she minded.

A shot from behind the professional photographers.

Weddings are huge events inThailand as they are in most of the world. These elaborate gowns probably only cost a small fraction of what they do in the USA.

As I was leaving the temple I witnessed an interesting event. There was a group of school children playing in the temple:

I witnessed a smaller boy sucker punch the big boy you see me focus in on at the end of this video below. The larger kid was 3 times his size but the small boy ran away and was too fast for the large boy to catch.

Sadly, the large boy was crying after the event sunk in. I really wanted to go catch that small boy to bring him to his teacher but I knew that was a bad idea. Interesting no teachers were present.

Such a violent little boy he was. And in the temple!

Anyway, I leave you with a couple videos inside the temple: