Wat Pho 2.0

They were, as Dad put it, "deforesting" this chedi

Papa contemplating

According to Buddhist lore, "...four weeks after Buddha began meditating under the Bodhi Tree, the heavens darkened and a prodigious rain descended. However, the mighty King of Serpents, Mucalinda [who had 7 heads], came from beneath the earth and protected with his hood the one who is the source of all protection. When the great storm had cleared, the serpent king assumed his human form, bowed before the Buddha, and returned in joy to his palace."

 As I mentioned before, King Rama III (1824-1851) realised that loads of people visited Wat Pho every day and decided to use the opportunity to teach the public about health and caring for oneself through traditional Thai medicine and massage. These images (above) are painted and inscribed around the temple complex, describing different afflictions and beside them, recommended prescriptions of herbs and massage technique. It grew and eventually became part of the first public university in Thailand.

After we left Wat Pho, we ended up walking through neighborhoods where, as Dad said, "no white man has ever gone before" in search of a route to possible lunch locations. The trek was draining in the mid-day heat, so I asked for coconut juice with lunch. And I got it.