And Angelina Jolie only got a tree named after her . . .

I have a rather extensive list of places to visit on some future trip to Thailand. My to-do list for Bangkok alone would require a few more decades of travel to completely cover. And that list continues to grow. Whenever I see one of those ‘what to do in Bangkok’ posts on one of the forums where some poster asks what there is to do in Thailand’s capital city during the day I assume it is a post for the sake of posting. For me, there’s never enough time on any trip to fit in even a small percentage of the things I’d like to do or places I want to experience.

I’m probably a bigger fan of wats than most. Many visitors do the Grand Palace and Wat Pho and then decide they are watted out. I find something unique about every wat I visit and since there are a thousand or so just in the Bangkok area alone I’ll never be without a few new temples to visit on any trip.

I have, and will continue to cover many of the wats I’ve visited in posts on this blog. I just ran across one that made it to my to-do list, but will probably remain toward the bottom for a long time. It’s not that big of a draw for me, but then since it might be for you I thought I’d highlight it.

Wat Pariwat is located on Rama III along the Chao Praya River in Chinatown. Word is that the fairly new temple (not to be confused with the adjacent and crumbling old Wat Pariwat) is not your typical red-roof-white-wall wat, but instead looks like more like a school. It’s a single building and rather than the wiharn occupying its own structure, like at most wats, at this one it is located on the second floor. And that’s where you’ll want to head if you feel the need to kneel at the shrine of David Beckham.

A dozen or so years ago Thai sculptor Thongruang Haemhod captured Beckham’s likeness in gold leaf as a way to keep “Beckham’s memory alive for 1000 years.” The temple’s Abbot donated space on the wat’s altar for the image claiming, “Football has become a religion and has millions of followers.” Ya gotta love Thailand. And ya gotta love that the Thais have given Beckham’s nickname, Golden Balls, new life.

Beckham’s image is styled as a garuda and is one of a series carved into the altar, it’s not a freestanding statue; regardless of his fame or hotness he still can’t compete with The Buddha. From several accounts I’ve read on-line, the temple is generally not open but there seems to be an attendant around who will gladly open the doors to show you the wat.

I guess you can not hold the Olympic Games in London and not have Beckham’s famously hot body show up again and again. Reports say the 37-year-old LA Galaxy midfielder and former England captain was a key member of London’s winning bid to host the London 2012. Earlier this month he joined the London mayor and Britain’s Princess Anne in Greece to accompany the Olympic torch back to the United Kingdom where it was lit in Cornwall and began its 8,000-mile journey around England. And there is a chance that Beckham will join the Great Britain team as one of the three allowed players over the age of 23. If so, that would be Beckham’s first Olympic appearance.

But even gods need to make a buck, and Beckham’s endorsement deals have caused some Olympic controversy. Some criticized him for representing Samsung during the torch ceremonies. And others have claimed that if he is picked to play on GB’s team it will be because it would guarantee filling the stadium, not to mention the haul from commercial tie-ins like shirt sales. Beckham insists he should be awarded a spot on the team based on merit, not on celebrity. Adidas, Samsung, and Burger King all agree.

Beckham has long made it know that he considered the 2012 Olympics in London this summer to be his sort of swan song in international play. However, team coach Stuart Pearce has kept Beckham in limbo. Pearce has not said when he’ll name the three over-age players to the UK roster; he has until mid July to make his selection.

[‘The XXX Games’ are a series of posts about hot Olympians, gay competitors – both present and past – and general articles about the 2012 London Olympics of interest to gay men. So, yeah, lots of hot male eye candy. Click the XXX Games graphic below for additional news, stories, and pictures.]