Original Watpo Massage - Tha Tien

I would give zero stars if I could for my experience. The temple itself is gorgeous but DO NOT go there for a massage. I am trained as a Traditional Thai Massage Therapist. I was so looking forward to going there to get a massage as my teacher trained there and he always had such wonderful things to say. Maybe things have drastically changed since the early 2000’s when he trained there. What I experienced was absolutely not Metta or ‘the physical application of loving kindness’ as I was taught Thai massage. The place itself feels like a massage factory, getting people in and out quickly and the it’s expensive for Thai standards. The therapist seemed annoyed and overworked. She was rude and when I asked her to go a little deeper, she went so deep I screamed in pain and asked her to go lighter which she then did not. It felt like she was being spiteful with her pressure as I gave feedback then it was so hard afterwards. I honestly should have stopped the massage and just left. She cranked my neck and I’m lucky I didn’t get injured.. probably because I know self techniques to release and restore and I used tiger balm on myself. In conclusion absolutely DO NOT go to Wat Po Temple and get a massage. My experience was very disheartening and absolutely altered my view of Wat Po Temple training and the therapists they produce. I got a 90 min massage for 375 bhat that was incredible by a random place in Chinatown, where as Wat Po was 540 bhat for an hour and it was awful.

a month ago

🚨don't go there if you are a tourist just looking for a good thai massage: combined entrance fee for the temple + massage prices = you can definitely get better thai massage experiences in bangkok, or you get 2 times the same quality of massages somewhere nearby for the same price🚨 note that thai citizen's don't seem to have to pay entrance fee. the quality of wat pho's original massages has been consistently good. out of the ~ 500 'healing massages with asian features including plenty of thai massages' across thailand and elsewhere, i would personally rank the best massages i got at wat pho top 10% but not any better. for 800 bath (sept 2025) including entrance fee, and tip you can definitely get better premium massages of massage therapists who have talent, are well trained with thai massage techniques & additional techniques e.g. japanese acupressure, and with magic healing hands. in case you like to visit the temple and combine your visit with a good thai massage, watpo's massage school is an option. a few years ago it was possible to visit the massage school on the temple grounds without going through the new airport-check-in like mass tourism area at wat pho's.

6 months ago