The Big Buddha of Phuket

The Phuket Big Buddha has been covered several times over the years since the Phuket Blog started in 2006. The construction had already started when I first blogged it in May 2006 - I wrote "Much of the enormous base is complete, and a small (12m) replica is already shining gold in the sun". A photo from September 2006 shows good progress, and this photo in July 2007 shows that things were moving on nicely. We go up the hill every now and then. Back in 2007, hardly anyone went up there, since the statue was not complete, although the views were nice (and the views are still nice!). By May 2009, the main 40m high statue was covered in white marble (see photos).

The last time I "blogged" about the Big Buddha was December 2010 and it was looking like not a whole lot had happened since 2009. Statue marbled, but otherwise a building site!



(above) The Big Buddha, photo taken October 2010

Seemed to be taking quite a while to get things done .. and by 2011 there were already lots of visitors, with the main statue being all white and visible from half of southern Phuket. The road up from Chalong which used to be dirt was paved, although inexplicably there are still several small stretches of dirt! Most people will go up by road, though I have done a hike to the Big Buddha one time, starting from Karon Beach. During 2011, quite a bit more work was done with most of the "lotus leaf" base also being marbled. Over the years it's been possible to pay a fee and write your name on marble or brick to be used in construction. The fee has increased plenty since 2006 and with the main statue now complete, I can't see where "your piece of marble" will end up! I hope the ones that we wrote on years ago are part of the Buddha.



By the end of 2011, the statue was looking great. There was also a big car park available now with no vehicles allowed to park near the temple. I am glad to see there is no entry fee, but there are a lot of donation boxes and Buddha related items for sale. With the donations, sales and people writing on marble, the money is surely pouring in. But the work seems to be slowing down. I have seen plans for building a park all around the statue with ornate steps and landscaping. The photo below was taken in November 2011, nearly 2 years ago.



(above) Looking Good - Big Buddha in November 2011

When we first went up the hill, when construction was just starting, there was one small restaurant not far from the top, and it's still there, but now the road on the way up has half a dozen restaurants or bars. I'm pretty sure at least some of them must be illegally built, but to be honest they are not really a blot on the landscape. I stopped one time last year for a sunset beer at the little bar shown below, great sunset and views across Karon beach and the ocean.



(above) Sunset from a small bar on the way up to the Big Buddha

So, how have things progressed in the last couple of years? We were up there again on July 20th 2013 with some of my wife's family. Certainly the car park seems bigger, and some (very nice, very clean) toilets have been built by the car park, which is below the main statue. You walk to the site now about 100 - 150m to reach the temple, which is still tin-roofed, I am not sure if there is a plan to build a nicer temple or not. When we arrived, Monks were saying prayers.



(above) Monks saying prayers at the temple below the Big Buddha statue

And then wander up the stairs from the temple to the top of the hill and "The Buddha" ... So, the photo below is from July 2013. Compare to the photo from November 2011. What's going on here? Has anything been done?



(above) Big Buddha, July 2013

Maybe some work has been done around the statue, and I saw that some work was underway building some steps lower down the hill. A Buddhism museum or something has been mentioned to be built inside the base of the statue. Nothing seems to have happened there in the last 2 years. But for sure the donations have been pouring in more than ever. Why is there scaffolding around the statue when it was not there in 2011? It's getting a little frustrating. Why / How is this project not complete? Well, at least Buddha looks calm as ever.



And the views are just as good. From up here I think you can see that Phuket is still very green. Much of the island is hilly. Sure there are areas of huge development, but if you look north from the Buddha, well, it's still one of my favourite views.



(above) View from the Big Buddha. The "radar hill" is the highest hill on the left. Phuket Town is in the distance looking very small.

I'm hoping to see some good progress at the Buddha in the next year. The statue is meant to be a "Symbol of Phuket", something to be proud of. And sure, with the main statue complete and covered in white marble, as it has been for years already, it's visible from miles away and looks out over Phuket I think as a reminder to be calm. If the project can get a move on and finish, people here can certainly feel proud. The longer it takes, more people start to wonder what's going on ..... :)

Related Blog Posts on the Phuket Blog

The Big Buddhas of Phuket (yes, there are others!)
Phuket Temples and Shrines
Phuket Hills and Viewpoints

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Phuket Bird Park

The Phuket Bird Park is a new attraction, just opened in 2013 like the nearby Phuket Botanic Garden which has the same owner. We visited the botanic garden recently, and my family had already seen the bird park (they went when I was working, how dare they!) - their feedback was positive, and I have been pushing them to visit again for a few weeks, but it's hard to find time, as the kids do extra classes at the weekend and music and recently they have become big fans of the Phuket Wake Park, which I will update on the blog soon. So last Saturday we decided to go to the Phuket Bird Park in the morning before music class. The bird park, aside from lots of birds to look at, has a "bird show" 3 times per day at 10:30am, 1:30pm and 3:30pm, so we aimed for the 10:30am show. I find with many tourist attractions, if you go early in the day, or late in the day then things are much quieter. And it's low season anyway, plus the bird park is new, so I think a lot of people don't know about it. We got our tickets (entry is 500 Baht for adults and 300 for kids - that's the tourist price, we pay a helluva lot less as locals), and went direct to the bird show which was almost ready to begin with just a handful of visitors.



(above) An impressive location for the bird show and space for a couple of hundred people, but for this show, by the time it started, there were about 25 people. And almost all were Thai. I'm guessing the later shows would be much busier. The "bird show" started with some parrots who raced bikes ... the parrots later also did some maths, showed their environmental awareness by putting beer cans in the garbage and guessed the age of a volunteer from the audience. Actually I think they were macaws, not that I am an ornithologist!



(above) the Tour de Phuket (for birds)

The tiny crowd made it easy for our son to volunteer in the show. Who wants to hold this enormous bird?

Yes, please!



I believe that's a Wreathed Hornbill. Well, that's what Google told me. And the boy was not finished yet. Who wants an eagle to swoop down and take a hat off their head? The fearless boy says yes again. Good show!





Hard to get a photo of an eagle flying just a few meters away! It swoops down from the rear of the viewing stand to grab it's target. Quite impressive to see that up close with your only boy as bait :)

Well, the show was extra nice with one of our kids jumping up on stage, a good reason to go early with less crowds. So, with the show lasting about 25 minutes, we then set off to explore the rest of the bird park. We had to rush a bit, as the kid's music class starts at midday. Might have to revisit the bird park sometime soon. After the show we exited the arena from the top. The bird park is built at the bottom of a hill, so there are some ups and downs... and it was a hot day. Fortunately there are also a couple of cafes on the way round, and like the botanic garden, they don't charge too much (20 Baht for soft drinks for example). There are plenty of bird cages next to a wide walkway, lots to see actually. I was kind of expecting just the show and a few cages of parrots!



A shame we did have to rush, I tried to snap photos of a few pretty birds on the way downhill to the exit ...



(above) Some parroty kind of birds.



(above) Another kind of hornbill.



(above) De Niro Parrot. Are you talking to me? I did not stop to look at all the birds - we were there for an hour and a half and that was not really enough. You can tell that it's a new place - the gardens are neat and tidy, not getting jungly yet!



And there are some bigger birds too. Several ostrich had a sizeable enclosure to themselves. I kept warning my kids to not lean over the barriers, as ostrich have long necks and big beaks! They are impressive birds.





Time to go! A slightly rushed visit, enjoyed by all - especially my son the "bird man". Phuket keeps growing new attractions. I think this bird park and the botanic garden are worth a look for sure.


Phuket Bird Park - Location Map


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Sunset Cruise from Chalong with MV Sai Mai

It's been mentioned quite a few times on the blog - we have some friends with a travel company called Easy Day Thailand who can help with pretty much any tour you may need in Phuket. For some tours and attractions they are a booking agent, and some tours they run themselves. We got invited out onto the MV Sai Mai a couple of weeks ago for a sunset trip starting at Chalong Bay, a new idea they have had .. so we along with a couple of other people were guinea pigs for the sunset cruise :) The Sai Mai is a boat that can be chartered for small groups, either for the day or for multi day trips. It has 3 cabins, so can comfortably sleep 6 guests. On a day trip or sunset cruise, you can squeeze in up to about 10 people without feeling crowded. I've known the boat for years and it can also be booked for dive charters, which we sell at Sunrise Divers. We met everyone at Chalong Pier for the evening trip. Chalong Bay is used by many boats on all kind of trips. Most visitors to Phuket are likely to end up here sometime for some trip or other!



We headed out a bit after 5pm. On a "regular" trip the guests can get picked up from hotels around 4 - 4:30pm. The idea was to head to Koh Kaew Yai, which is a very interesting little island just off Phromthep Cape. The afternoon had been a bit windy, the sea just a bit too bouncy, so we headed instead to Coral Island (Koh He) which is always very sheltered. Aside from the breeze, it was a very pleasant evening, slightly cloudy but still some sun.



(above) We sat and chatted on the front deck of the Sai Mai, a comfy place to sit with a cold beer and enjoy the ocean breeze. Now, this is NOT a booze cruise, but the regular price of 3500 Baht per person does include beers. Kids are cheaper (2000 Baht up to age 11) - no beers for them and tiny kids up to 4 years old are free. Families with 2 or more kids get one kid free. Or you can charter the boat for the evening for 21,000 Baht for up to 10 adults. I hope to get out again sometime on a nice calm day so I can get to Koh Kaew Yai.

We dropped anchor at Coral Island. Some people (including my boy - see below) went off for some snorkeling ...



Coral Island is pretty decent for snorkeling, the water is not crystal clear, but then again I am spoiled! I remember years ago doing a couple of dives here with an English diver who had only ever dived in England. After the first dive, he was so excited ... we did see quite a lot on the dive, but still I was thinking "yeh, that was OK" .. but compared to what he'd seen before, it was amazing! Actually in the shallow water at Coral Island, the snorkeling is quite good. All snorkel gear and life vests provided on these trips. In the middle of the day the place is packed with daytrippers, but after 5pm on a sunset trip, it's your island! Great! I jumped into the dinghy with my daughter and we did a few loops around the Sai Mai while I tried to get a perfect photo ...



(above) The Sai Mai. Sunset at Coral Island.

Yeh, not a bad place, right? There was quite a bit of cloud towards the horizon, but just around sunset the sun found a way to peep through. I don't know about you, but sunset is my favourite time of day. Preferably with a beer in hand! And then after sunset - dinner time! This is a sunset, sightseeing, snorkeling and dinner cruise. Food was served about 7pm. The captain moved the boat to the most sheltered spot (flat calm) and we could dig in! Food was good. I am told that (if you book ahead) food requests can be taken, and the dishes do vary from day to day. Want spicy? Ask! I like spicy :)

We had 4 different dishes for dinner - fried whole fish, fried mixed vegetables, breaded shrimp and chicken, and tom yum soup. And plenty of rice! A couple of photos of the food below.





Fried fish, when it's done just right ... I can eat that all night (washed down with a few beers)! We started back towards Chalong Bay after 7:30pm, getting back around 8pm. A very nice evening for all the family and not back too late (it was a Sunday so the kids had school next day). There are a few more photos on my Flickr page : MV Sai Mai Sunset Tour. Anyone wants to book a sunset trip like this or any other tour or boat trip ... ask Easy Day Thailand :)

Sunset Tour - Map


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Holidays in Khao Lak

Khao Lak seems to still be relatively unknown. Everyone has heard of Phuket, but Khao Lak still remains very quiet and I am surprised how often visitors to Phuket have not heard of it. Khao Lak was hardly there 15 years ago and was really just getting to be an important destination in 2004 when the tsunami caused massive damage in the area. Many think of Khao Lak as an extension to Phuket as the main entry point is Phuket airport, but Khao Lak is actually in Phang Nga province and over the years has tried to find it's own identity with nice beaches and a mix of resorts and smaller lower budget bungalow operations, stretched out along about 20km of coastline with the southern end of Khao Lak being about 70-75km from Phuket airport. From our house near Phuket Town, it's less than 2 hours easy drive up the main road, past the airport, over the bridge and about another 60km from there directly North. I had always thought of Khao Lak as having little interest and had not really thought of staying there until earlier this year. There were a few trips we wanted to do and places to visit in the Khao Lak area so we booked a couple of nights, plus a night at Khao Sok National Park, which is about an hours drive from Khao Lak. A week later we had another 2 nights and we've been again recently.




First thing to sort out .... a hotel! I normally use and recommend Agoda (see link above) and I spent some time looking at hotels in Khao Lak, identified a few at the right price, then contacted a friend who lives in Khao Lak to get a local opinion. He then recommended a totally different hotel that can't be booked on the major online booking sites - Nangthong Bay Resort - we called them, cheekily asked for low season rate although it was still April. They agreed, so we booked - a family room with 2 bedrooms at 1500 Baht per night. And when we arrived, we liked it right away. Took the kids just a few minutes to find the pool ...



We were into relaxation mode in no time at all! This hotel, like many in Khao Lak, is right by the beach. And even those not right by the beach are normally maximum 10 minutes walk away. Khao Lak is essentially a series of small built-up areas along the main road, with side roads down to the beach. In the past we have drive through and thought "is that it?" .. and in a way that is true - there's not much in Khao Lak save for hotels, restaurants (and not an enormous choice of them, especially in low season), dive shops (which also mostly close down in low season since the main destination, the Similan Islands, is closed), tour agents and shops. It's quiet, and that's nice for a couple of days! We ended up heading back the next week for another couple of nights.



(above) The beach close to Nangthong Bay Resort - kids playing and I am taking photos from my seat at the bar :)

So, what did we get up to during our little holidays in Khao Lak? Apart from just splashing in the pool, walking on the beach, hunting for shells and enjoying sunset beers at the hotel - is there time for other things?! Yes, of course and I have actually blogged about what we have done already, but this blog post ties it all together into a mini Khao Lak guide, though I admit that I don't know Khao Lak so well! One of the reasons we planned a couple of nights there was to visit Koh Tachai Island. I knew the island for diving, and have been there maybe 40 times, but never set foot on the beach, only dived there. Over the last couple of years Tachai has been more visited by day trippers, especially Thai tourists, as an alternative to the better known Similan islands. So we booked up a day trip through my friends at Easy Day Thailand.



(above) Koh Tachai - Kids loved it! More about this day on the blog : Day Trip to Koh Tachai.

Another reason for stopping in Khao Lak was to take a step back in time. My son is now 8 1/2 years old. He was born 2 weeks after "the" tsunami. I won't dwell on my thoughts on this page, but have written about it before (see Tsunami Memories). Khao Lak was hit much harder than Phuket. While about 300 people died in Phuket, the tsunami killed at least 3,000 people in the Khao Lak area including tourists, many locals, a grandson of the King too. The area just north of Khao Lak at a village called Ban Nam Khem was especially bad. A tsunami memorial has been built here which I wanted to visit, and we also wanted to stop at the police boat - it was carried more than 1km inland and has been kept there as a memorial - and now a larger memorial and museum is under construction around it. Well, we wanted to stop and pay our respects.



(above) Tsunami memorial. The wall is embedded with names, and some photos too. People who died. Our kids know about the tsunami. I think this place made them think for a while. More information on the blog : Khao Lak Tsunami Memorials.



(above) The police patrol boat that was carried inland by the tsunami

Restaurants - Well, we tried a few different places. There are quite a lot of restaurants up on the main road, but Khao Lak is so spread out, it's good to have transport to check out different eateries. We had cheap Thai food and noodles a few times at a place on the main road. We have been twice to a pizzeria called La Piccola Maria - good pizza. It was closed on our most recent low season visit in July. And we at a couple of times at the hotel (Nangthong Bay Resort) - breakfasts were OK and Thai food for dinner decent too. Also went to a place which as I recall was called Jumbo Steak, which was good (on the main road in the Bang Niang area of Khao Lak).



(above) Cheap local place to eat in Khao Lak on the main road in the Nangthong area



(above) View from the Nangthong Bay Resort restaurant. When the weather was still good at the end of high season we could eat there right by the sea. In low season when wind and waves can be an issue, this part of the restaurant is not open. Great spot for a few sunset beers! The beach at this point (Nangthong Beach) is a bit rocky) - further north at Bang Niang it's not rocky. Myself, I like it this way - and the kids liked to go looking in rock pools and looking for shells.



(above) The kids checking rockpools at Nangthong Beach

So, yeh, some of our time there was spent relaxing, by the beach, preferably with a cold beer in hand. But we did other stuff too! In the Khao Lak area there are several waterfalls, some we have not seen yet. The most impressive was at Ton Prai Waterfall, especially on our visit in July after some rain had fallen. Ton Prai is about 30km south of Khao Lak so we stopped on the way home to Phuket. There's a parking area and a 700m walk through the jungle to the waterfall.



(above) Ton Prai Waterfall

About 1 hour drive North of Khao Lak is a National Park that seems to get few visitors - Sri Phang Nga National Park is jungle, rivers and waterfalls. We had been before, and have been twice this year as a little trip from Khao Lak. Still need to go again, as the park has several waterfalls and I want to see more of them. The best waterfall is called Tamnang, about a 500m walk from a small car park. There's a pool of water full of fish under the waterfall. You can feed them or swim with them. And there's a good, cheap Thai restaurant at the park headquarters.



(above) Tamnang Waterfall - more information on the blog - see Sri Phang Nga National Park.

Now, all of the above can also be done as trips from Phuket, though some of them are long trips! Khao Lak is (I think) worth a few days mixed in with a stay in Phuket. You can also do trips from Khao Lak to Phang Nga Bay and Khao Lak is easily close enough for a day trip to Khao Sok National Park, which we have visited a number of times. On our visit to Khao Lak at the end of April, we had 2 nights at Khao Lak, and 1 night at the Cliff and River Resort in Khao Sok.



(above) Double rainbow as seen from our room at the Cliff and River in Khao Sok. Very relaxing place to stay.

And there's another place I recommend visiting. North of Khao Lak is the town of Takua Pa, and a few km from the main town is the old town of Takua Pa (also called Sri Takua Pa). Can be a place to stop between Khao Lak and Khao Sok. It looks like the old part of Phuket Town, but it's really quiet. Old shophouses built around the turn of the 20th century, just like old Phuket. The similarity is because there were tin mines here just like in Phuket. Interesting place....



(above) Hardware shop owner in Old Takua Pa

I think we'll have some more short Khao Lak trips! Not a long drive from Phuket, a place we can go and relax for a couple of days. I'm not saying that Phuket is stressful, but you know, we have a "normal life" in Phuket with work and a home to look after and school .. so a couple of days of pool, beach, waterfalls is sometimes needed ... Let's go kids, dinner time!



Khao Lak - More Information

Khao Lak Hotels at Agoda.com
Dive Trips to the Similan Islands
Tour Booking - Easy Day Thailand

Khao Lak Area - Location Map


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Phuket Botanic Garden

The Phuket Botanic Garden opened just last year (2012) and we had thought about going for a while, though I am often reluctant to visit obvious tourist attractions (call me a cynic) and I mean .. we have plenty of plants in our garden and we don't have to pay to see them! I was not sure the botanic garden would be that great and I normally only have 1 day off work every week, so there's limited time to explore, and some days we just like to be lazy or I stay home and take care of my own garden! However, our daughter went on a school trip and enjoyed it, plus I got the thumbs up from a couple of friends, so we added it to our to-do list. Saturday is normally the one day I can spend with the family, but often the kids have things to do like some extra school or their music class or Taekwondo. Last Saturday we finally decided to drag ourselves out of the house on a hot afternoon and visit the botanic garden. I was not expecting Kew Gardens, in fact I was prepared to be disappointed, but actually I was impressed. Read on!

The Phuket Botanic Garden is in the Chalong area of Phuket not far from Chalong Temple and covers a big area, bigger than I was expecting! It's open daily except Wednesday. Map at the end of this page. The entry fee for non-locals is 500 Baht for adults and 300 Baht for kids. The Thai rate is considerably less. At most attractions I can also pay the Thai price by showing a local driving licence. It's much appreciated, as we live here and are likely to be return visitors. The entrance is quite grand, but we came here to see interesting plants. Fun and hopefully educational.

One of the first plants we saw inside (after a display of pretty flowers) was a pitcher plant ...



This was followed by (I think) a herb garden with various herbal and medicinal plants. One of them caught my eye. I recalled the plant name from my studies in forensic science ... Erythroxylum coca? Surely not legal! I've not seen this since traveling years ago in South America and drinking coca tea to lessen the effects of altitude :)



Next was a rice paddy and a bamboo house with an attached garden, meant to show how the poor farmers live. My wife liked the house. I said we could build one in our garden :) Yes, sometimes simple is good. You could probably get Wifi installed too.



After we'd been there about 20 minutes my daughter read off the list of zones/gardens from the map we were given at the entrance. A long list! We'd only seen a fraction so far. The next in line was an orchid garden with a very nice lily pond outside. I like water lilies.



And I like orchids. There were many varieties on display in the orchid garden. Here's just two of them ...





The botanic garden is very well signposted and also very well kept. We saw numerous gardeners at work during our visit - more gardeners than visitors it seemed. It can be hard to convince sun-seeking tourists to get off the beach, but really, come on ... Phuket has so much more, SO much more! That's what this blog is all about!





There was a fair sized pond in the middle of the gardens, with what must be the owners house on one side. Fish food = 20 Baht per packet and of course our kids wanted to feed the fish.



Moving on! Next stop was a cactus garden, covered with a roof to keep the rain off. I like cacti .. or cactuses. They are tough and have a rough beauty. I seem to recall my parents kept cacti around our house when I was young.



And after the cactus garden, the opposite .. a rainforest garden which includes a waterfall. The entrance is along a walkway with aerial roots (is that what they are? botanists?) hanging down in your face...



And inside ... it's all green and the waterfall is much needed by kids on a hot day! Dad was tempted to join, but .. yeh, I am too sensible sometimes, plus I was carrying a camera. My son enjoyed it so much .... see this video.



How many gentle flowers grow in an English country garden? Well, the climate is wrong, but they have an 'English Garden' here. Did not seem to English except I was convinced this statue on a bench was meant to be Christopher Robin. My daughter read his book with him.



See? This place is big. Not finished yet! We passed by an impressive palm garden, did not stop to look closely, we were getting hot and thirsty! But anyway, it looked good ...



Then, hurrah! A cafe, very nice place actually with lots of shady seating and another pond full of fish, some of them were big Koi Carp. Another chance for fish feeding after a nice cold coke. We'd been there already about an hour and a half when we left the cafe.



Next was an indoor, air-conditioned garden. Yes! They called it the Winter Garden, which I have read houses plants from north Thailand. The air-con was most welcome. I am used to the hot weather after so many years, but if the average temperature in Phuket was a few degrees lower I would not complain :)





It's not over until the fat lady sings. See above. Nearly over. The winter garden is attached to a small butterfly garden, that did have some butterflies but is no competition to the actual Phuket Butterfly Garden!

And right before the souvenir shop was a lady with some tropical birds, a promotion for the newly opened Phuket Bird Park. Me and the kids played with the birds. She had a sign "Take Photo With Birds 150 Baht" .. well we didn't pay anything, but took photos and fed the birds and she chatted with the kids. Nice birdies! One of them climbed on me and (it was a hot afternoon) hopped on my shoulder and licked the sweat off my cheek! I have a photo of that, but it's not pretty.



We were there for nearly 2 hours and could have spent longer. So I am happy to say the Phuket Botanic Garden is worth a visit, certainly if you are at all interested in plants or want to do something different. We might well go again sometime. The new Bird Park will have to be investigated soon, kids will love that I am sure (so will Mum and Dad).

Related Phuket Blog Posts

• Phuket Aquarium
• Phuket Butterfly Garden
• Kayaks in the Mangroves
• Phuket Waterfalls
• Things to do in Phuket


Phuket Botanic Garden - Location Map


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