Bangkok, November 23, 2012: Thailand’s famous Temple of the Reclining Buddha has gained further global prominence following a 45-minute tour by U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their November 18-19 visit to the kingdom.
Known as “Wat Pho”, the historic Bangkok landmark was the first stop on President Obama’s itinerary after his arrival on November 18, where he was personally escorted and guided by the Abbot, Phra Suthee Thammanuwat.
Widely televised in the U.S. and around the world, the President’s tour included four key locations – the principal hall; the pavilion housing the Reclining Buddha; the main stupa; and the Contorted Hermit Mount, where hermit statues in traditional exercise postures are on display.
It was particularly significant because Thailand was the first foreign country visited by President Obama following his historic re-election, and making the temple his first stop was considered a gesture of respect and friendship towards the Thai people. (Videos of the tour are widely available on various Internet websites).
Located right next to the Grand Palace, another popular tourist icon, Wat Pho is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok. The total area of 80,000 square metres houses more than 1,000 Buddha images, as well as one of the largest single Buddha images, the 46-metre-long Reclining Buddha.
It is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science and literature through murals and sculptures.
The temple is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage since the 1955 establishment of a school for traditional medicine and massage inside the temple grounds. The school helps keep alive the long-standing wisdom of Thai traditional healthcare in terms of herbal recipes, diagnosis and treatment of general ailments, massage inscriptions and drawings, etc.
The temple tour was an initiative of the US Embassy in Bangkok, which felt that starting the tour with a cultural touch would be most appropriate. “The temple and Thailand would like to thank U.S. Ambassador to Thailand Kristie Kenney for helping to choose the temple, which has certainly helped bolster Thailand’s reputation,” Deputy Abbot Phra Udornkanarak was quoted as saying in one media report.
President Obama’s visit was also seen as the perfect occasion to launch the celebration of the 180th anniversary of Thai-US diplomatic relations in 2013.
In 2011, US visitor arrivals totalled 644,727, up 9.93%. US visitors had an average length of stay of 14 days, more than the total average. Their average daily expenditure of US$146 generated US$1.320 billion in total tourism income. (The figures were tabulated by country of residence)
In January – October 2012, US visitor arrivals totalled 603,493, an 8.46% increase over the same period of 2011. This year, TAT is projecting 700,000 arrivals from US, up 8.57% over 2011. (The figures were tabulated by nationality)
On aviation linkages, as of November 2012, there are 4 direct flights per week by Thai Airways International between Los Angeles and Bangkok and dozens of other connecting flights via Narita, Seoul, Taipei; such as, Delta Airlines, Eva Airways, Korean Air, Northwest, and United Airlines.
