Wat Phra Nang Sang is the oldest temple in Phuket, dating back maybe as much as 500 years. If I read what I can find on the internet, it seems the exact age is unsure and for sure the temple has been renovated and rebuilt over that time. It might be accurate to say a temple has been on the site for 500 years. One story says a powerful southern Thai ruler had the temple built for his wife. Another story says that the temple was built in honour of a princess who was due to be executed, although she had been framed and was innocent. When she was executed she bled white bood, thus showing her purity. The temple is also called Wat Luad Khao (White Blood Temple). In 1785, the Burmese invaded Phuket and were fought off by the people of Phuket led by 2 ladies. The Phuket people gathered at this temple before the battle which must have been fought nearby. At that time, Thalang was the main town in Phuket.
The battle is commemorated every year in March at the Phuket Heroines Festival in Thalang. A statue of Thao Thep Kassatri and Thao Sri Sunthon (known as Chan and Mook before the King gave them these names for their valiant defense of Phuket) lies in the temple grounds - a larger one can be seen at the so called Heroines Monument - a traffic circle on the main road between the airport and Phuket City.
Nearby you can also find Wat Phra Tong (which lies a bit further north) and Wat Sri Sunthon (a little south of Thalang). I've only stopped once at Wat Phra Nang Sang. Will no doubt go back - but it still appears to be undergoing restoration work, so I'll wait a while. The grounds are quite large, it's worth taking your time. I do need to get new photos as on this visit the main prayer hall was closed, and since it was a few years ago, my camera was not great either!
There's a lot of history here. My daughter was amazed to see a mummified Abbot who died about 50 years ago I think. Not sure she could believe she was seeing an actual dead Monk. There is another building featuring 3 large Buddha images. These were built before the Burmese invasion in 1785. The temple was home to 3 sacred Buddha images made of tin, which would have been taken by the invaders had they not been beaten back. The tin Buddha images were hidden inside the 3 images that you can see, which were made of concrete. The tin images were apparently forgotten about and only uncovered as recently as 1973. Phuket was until recently a major tin mining center and this helped to make Phuket quite wealthy.
Wat Phra Nang Sang - Location Map
View Wat Phra Nang Sang in a larger map
The battle is commemorated every year in March at the Phuket Heroines Festival in Thalang. A statue of Thao Thep Kassatri and Thao Sri Sunthon (known as Chan and Mook before the King gave them these names for their valiant defense of Phuket) lies in the temple grounds - a larger one can be seen at the so called Heroines Monument - a traffic circle on the main road between the airport and Phuket City.
Nearby you can also find Wat Phra Tong (which lies a bit further north) and Wat Sri Sunthon (a little south of Thalang). I've only stopped once at Wat Phra Nang Sang. Will no doubt go back - but it still appears to be undergoing restoration work, so I'll wait a while. The grounds are quite large, it's worth taking your time. I do need to get new photos as on this visit the main prayer hall was closed, and since it was a few years ago, my camera was not great either!
There's a lot of history here. My daughter was amazed to see a mummified Abbot who died about 50 years ago I think. Not sure she could believe she was seeing an actual dead Monk. There is another building featuring 3 large Buddha images. These were built before the Burmese invasion in 1785. The temple was home to 3 sacred Buddha images made of tin, which would have been taken by the invaders had they not been beaten back. The tin Buddha images were hidden inside the 3 images that you can see, which were made of concrete. The tin images were apparently forgotten about and only uncovered as recently as 1973. Phuket was until recently a major tin mining center and this helped to make Phuket quite wealthy.
Wat Phra Nang Sang - Location Map
View Wat Phra Nang Sang in a larger map
