Thai massage; like Traditional Thai Medicine more generally; is a combination of influences from Indian; Chinese; Southeast Asian cultural spheres and traditions of medicine. The art as it is practiced today is the product of a 19th century synthesis of various healing traditions from all over the kingdom. Even today; there is considerable variation from region to region across Thailand; and no single routine or theoretical framework is universally accepted among healers.

Originally built in the 16th century; Wat Pho is Bangkok's oldest temple. King Rama I of the Chakri Dynasty (1736鈥?809) rebuilt the temple in the 1780s.

Officially called Wat Phra Chetuphon; it is one of Bangkok's best known Buddhist temples and is nowadays a major tourist attraction; located directly to the south of the Grand Palace. Wat Pho is famed for its Reclining Buddha and renowned as the home of traditional Thai massage.