Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [552]
BIG BUDDHA
Set on a hilltop just northwest of Chalong circle and visible from almost half of the island, the Big Buddha ( Map) sits at the best viewpoint on Phuket. To get here you’ll follow the red signs from the main highway (Hwy 402) and wind up a country road, passing terraced banana groves and tangles of jungle. Once you’re on top, pay your respects at the tented golden shrine, then step up to Big Buddha’s glorious plateau where you can peer into Kata’s perfect bay, glimpse the shimmering Karon strand and, on the other side, survey the serene Chalong harbour where the channel islands look like pebbles.
Of course, you’ll be forgiven if you disregard the view for a few minutes to watch local craftsmen put the finishing touches on their 60 million baht Buddha, dressed in Burmese alabaster. Over the last 20 years construction on Phuket hasn’t stopped, so it means something when locals refer to the Big Buddha project as Phuket’s most important development in the last 100 years.
Visitors can help complete the Big Buddha by purchasing small tablets of white stone for 200B each. You can sign the stone, which will eventually be cemented into the facade.
WÁT
Phuket has many centres for Buddhist worship; just remember to ditch your beach clothes before stepping on temple grounds. Donations are warmly accepted at all wát.
One of our favourite wát on Phuket, Wat Chalong ( Map; Hwy 4021, Chalong; 6am-6pm) is a bustling, tiered temple with 36 Buddhas that are seated, reclining or meditating on the first two floors. Concrete serpents line the banisters and the lotus pond outside. It’s not an antique, but it does have a heady spiritual vibe, especially when worshippers come to pay their respects.
Located near Thalang Town, Wat Phra Thong ( Map; 6am-6pm) is known as the ‘Temple of the Gold Buddha’. The image is half-buried so that only the head and shoulders are visible above ground. According to local legend, those who have tried to excavate the image have become gravely ill soon after. The temple is particularly revered by Thai Chinese, many of whom believe the image hails from China. During Chinese New Year the temple is an important focus for Phang-Nga and Krabi provinces. In addition to Phra Thong, there are several other Buddhas, including seven representing the different days of the week, plus a Phra Praket (an unusual pose in which the Buddha is touching his own head).
Although the architecture is rather uninspiring, Wat Nai Han ( Map; Hat Nai Han; 6am-6pm) is a working monastery, so if you show up at dawn you can watch, or even join in, as the monks chant scripture. Just make sure to ask permission from a monk the day before.
Set back from the road, Wat Karon ( Map; Th Patak East, Karon; 6am-6pm) is a relatively new temple complex with a small shine occupied by a seated, black-stone Buddha. Behind it is the striking crematorium with its tiered roof – which only opens on ceremonial days. The grounds are lush with banana, palm and mango trees.
LAEM PROMTHEP
You won’t be alone, but that won’t matter once you scan the 270 degrees of Andaman Sea, noticing how elegantly it arcs around the cape below, where local fishermen cast into the waves from the jutting rocks. With the possible exception of the Big Buddha, Laem Phromthep ( Map; Hwy 4233) is the best place to watch the sunset. Take it from the crowds, most of whom are Thai tourists. They spill onto the concrete platform, make offerings to the fantastic elephant shrine and climb to the top deck of the modern lighthouse shaped like a crab.
If you really crave privacy, follow the handful of locals down the fishermen’s trail that hugs the ridge and ends on the rocks just a few metres above the sea. Although it looks like a thin strand from above, the peninsula – the island’s true southernmost point – spreads out quite nicely, and you will easily find a nook of your own.
THALANG DISTRICT
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