7 Best Sights in Bangkok, Thailand

The city's largest wat has what is perhaps the most majestic representation of the Buddha in Bangkok. The 150-foot reclining Buddha---carved from brick and stucco, then covered with black lacquer and a final layer of gold---is so large it fills an entire viharn. Especially noteworthy are the mammoth statue's 10-foot feet, with the 108 auspicious signs of the Buddha inlaid in mother-of-pearl. Behind the viharn holding the Reclining Buddha is Bangkok's oldest open university. A century before Bangkok was established as the capital, a monastery was founded here to teach traditional medicine. Around the walls are marble plaques inscribed with formulas for herbal cures, and stone sculptures squat in various postures demonstrating techniques for relieving pain. The monks still practice ancient cures, and the massage school (now outside the temple grounds on a nearby street, though massages are still available in the temple) is world-famous. Thai massages (which can actually be painful, though therapeutic) cost around B400 for 1 hour. Appointments aren't necessary—you usually won't have to wait long if you just show up. Massage therapy courses of up to 200 hours are also available at the school.

This is the most sacred temple in the kingdom, and no other wat in Thailand is so ornate or so embellished with glittering gold. As you enter the compound, take note of the 20-foot-tall statues of fearsome creatures in traditional battle attire standing guard. Turn right as you enter the compound, where the inner walls are covered with colorful murals depicting Thailand's national epic the Ramakien, a Thai version of India's Ramayana. Several kinnaree (half-woman, half-lion creatures) stand guard outside the main chapel, which has a gilded three-tier roof. Inside sits the Emerald Buddha. This most venerated image of Lord Buddha is carved from a single piece of green jasper 26 inches high.

While this temple isn't especially notable for its architecture, off to its side is a small chapel containing the world's largest solid-gold Buddha, cast about nine centuries ago in the Sukhothai style. Weighing 5½ tons and standing 10 feet high, the statue is considered a symbol of strength and power. It's believed that the statue was brought first to Ayutthaya. When the Burmese were about to sack the city, it was covered in plaster. Two centuries later, still in plaster, it was thought to be worth very little; when it was being moved to a new Bangkok temple in the 1950s, it slipped from a crane and was left in the mud by the workmen. In the morning a temple monk, who had dreamed that the statue was divinely inspired, went to see it. Through a crack in the plaster, he saw a glint of yellow. In addition to the Buddha, Wat Traimit's museum devoted to Thai-Chinese history is worth checking out.

Built in 1899, this wat is a favorite with photographers because of its open spaces and bright shining marble. Fifty-two Buddha statues of various styles surround the courtyard, the magnificent interior has crossbeams of lacquer and gold, and an exquisite bronze seated Buddha is the focal point of the ordination hall's main altar. But Wat Benchamabophit is more than just a glorious structure. The monastery here is a seat of learning that appeals to Buddhist monks with intellectual yearnings.

In classic Chinese style, this 150-year-old temple has a glazed ceramic roof topped with fearsome dragons. Known in Chinese as Leng Noi Yee, the central shrines contain not only statues of Buddha but other art that incorporate Confucian and Taoist elements. The wat is especially colorful during Chinese New Year, when thousands of Thais visit the temple to burn incense to pay respect and make merit.

A well-known landmark, the towering gold stupa of Wat Saket, also known as the Golden Mount, was once the highest point in the city. King Rama III began construction of this temple, but it wasn't completed until the reign of Rama V. On a clear day the view from the top is magnificent. Every November, during the Loy Kratong festival, the temple hosts a popular fair with food stalls and performances.

To reach the gilded chedi you must ascend an exhausting 318 steps, so don't attempt the climb on a hot afternoon.

Built between the reigns of kings Rama I and Rama III, this highly venerated royal temple houses Thailand's largest surviving Sukhothai-period bronze Buddha, along with intensely colored murals depicting scenes from Buddhist mythology. The ashes of Rama VIII (Ananda Mahidol) are interred in the base of the huge Buddha.