A Glimpse of Smiles Across the Miles

The temple is notably older than Bangkok City itself as it has been founded in the 17th century.  The name Wat Po originates from Wat Potaram.  RAMA I was the founder of Bangkok who then enlarged the temple and installed several statutes and many memorabilia recovered from Ayutthaya and renamed the temple as Wat Phra Chetuphon in 1801.

In 1832, RAMA III enlarged the temple even further and turned it into a very important source of learning for Thailand's first university.  RAMA III was initiated the construction of the reclining buddha which is up to now housed in the Wiharn which is only big enough to hold the statue and thus, it would be very difficult for visitors to take wide shots of the whole image.