Wats and Statues on Phuket Island
Monday, September 22nd, 2008While visiting Phuket, there are quite a few wonderfully-Thai Buddhist wats (temples) and sites available to those wanting to get a feel for the country’s religious style and architecture, as well as seeing how Thais relate to their religion and integrate it with their daily lives.
On their days off and national holidays, Buddhist Thais often go to their local wat to make offerings and say prayers. From talking to them, they see this as something they genuinely enjoy doing, rather than seeing it as a cultural responsibility. They also really appreciate foreigners taking an interest in their religion and are very happy to see foreigners curious about and taking care to observe temple etiquette when visiting these sites, such as wearing modest dress (long pants and at least a short-sleeve shirt for men, long pants or skirts and tops that cover the shoulders for women) and removing shoes before entering a holy area (it’s easy to spot where to take them off, just look for where all the shoes are lined up at the entrance to a spot; often there are signs in English as well).
By far the most visited Buddhist site on the Island is Wat Chalong , located between Phuket Town and Chalong. The grounds are fairly large with several buildings worth going into.
One building contains statues of the founding monks of the wat , two of whom were well-known healers (one a herbalist, the other a bone-setter) and were key in negotiating a settlement in an 1870’s Chinese miners uprising.
Another building here is a tall tower adorned inside with colorful murals in the Thai style depicting stories of the Buddha. Continue to the top and you will see a enshrinement of what is said to be a bone shard of the Buddha as well as other relics. The view of the island from this point is very nice as well, with a view of Buddha Mountain (more on that later).
It is on the standard tourist route, so it can be fairly busy; the best times to go are before 10 or in the late afternoon, when you can tag on a trip to Phromthep Cape for and unforgettable sunset.
Six years and 60 million Baht (about US$2 million) so far in the making, the Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri, as it is officially called, will be an impressive monument on the island at about 45m tall sitting atop a hill whose view spans the island.
The project is expected to be completed in 2009, but visitors are welcome now to watch construction on this large undertaking.
This temple houses the mysterious half-buried Buddha statue that, depending on who is telling the story, either sprung up out of the ground and confounds those who try to dig it up, or was buried in silt as a result of the change of course of a nearby canal.
This is the oldest temple on Phuket, built more than 540 years ago, and home to some historically significant statues.
Other Temples Around the Island
All-in-all, there are 29 wats on Phuket Island, each with its own story and character. I’d encourage you to stop by the local wat wherever you are staying to find out what you might discover. Make an offering, circumambulate a stupa, or just sit and feel Thailand. Meditation can be found anywhere.
