Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
simple reflexology foot massage (available at almost all salons) may be a good place to
start if you've never had a professional massage or are wary of the practice in any way.
WAT PHO
Wat Pho next to the Royal Palace in Bangkok is the ground zero of Thai massage. Before the royal wát was built
on this site by Rama I in the late 1800s, a centre for traditional Thai medicine was here. The future wát incorpor-
ated this history into its curriculum and eventually became home to the first official school of Thai massage; in-
scribed tablets of the Sen pathways grace the temple's interior walls. Today the school is still considered the best
in the country and visitors can attend training programs or simply come in and have a massage. In 2008 Wat Pho
was recognised by Unesco in its Memory of the World Program. The manager of the school, Khun Serat, is the
founder's grandson and many of the instructors are descendents of the original faculty.
Check the website
www.watphomassage.com
for details on everything from 30-hour Thai massage or foot
massage courses to several month-long training programs. Course prices start at 7500B or you can get a half
hour or hour-long traditional massage at the wát for 260B to 420B.
