A Complete Look at Big Buddha Phuket - Part One

Welcome back to Lovin' it on Phuket. This is the first video in a 3 video series about Big Buddha Phuket.
In this video we are going to take a look at Big Buddha Phuket, also known as Great Buddha of Phuket and officially titled Phra Phutta Ming Mongkol Akenakiri or Ming Mongkol Buddha.
Big Buddha Phuket is a monument of epic proportions. It sits atop Knackered Hill near Chalong
had an elevation of 540 meters or 1772 feet. Big Buddha or the Great Buddha of Phuket is a white marble sitting Buddha statue. At its base it is 25 meters wide or just under 148 feet.
The monuments height is an impressive 45 meters or 148 feet from base to top. If all that wasn't
enough to make this Buddha big, it sits on top of a small mountain outside Chalong at an elevation of 540 meters or approximately 1772 feet high.
Big Buddha Phuket is so large and so high it is visible from places like Karon Beach and Nai Harn.
Every year thousands of tourists and Thai nationals travel to see Big Buddha Phuket. They come for various reasons. For most Big Buddha is on their must-see list when visiting the island, for others it's a religious pilgrimage.
Construction of the Big Buddha Phuket monument began in 2002 and the main monument was set to be completed in 2014. In September 2019, the rear gardens were closed while a crane was used to bring in some heavy stone sculptures. The Buddha's on the rear of the monument have not changed in two years. The serpent railings of the stairs and other various parts of the grounds are still in need of a lot of work but the main monuments exterior is considered complete.
Getting to the monument is one of the simplest tasks and one of the more difficult journeys you will find in Phuket. There are tour and vans available, taxis will take you, or you can do as I prefer and drive a motorbike yourself. If you do decide to drive up there yourself be sure you have GPS. The monument is not hard to find visually but getting on the right road can be a bit tricky. Because of the grade of the road it is not recommended to drive up there if it is raining or the roads are wet.
The road up to the monument is anything but smooth. It's filled with potholes from materials and equipment being brought up for the construction. On the way up you will pass several restaurants, perfect for stopping out on your way back down.
You will also see several elephant tour camps, and there's many tourists on ATVs for the ATV adventure tours that travel around on the mountain. Even in low season when there's not a lot of tourists, roads are still pretty crowded.
After you park at Big Buddha Phuket you come in at the lower level behind Big Buddha. The lower level contains a variety of things including a structure full of idols, snack and souvenir shops and of course the famous Big Buddha viewpoint.
The first thing that you're going to see when you start to come into the back of Big Buddha is a giant billboard with a photograph at the current King.
Past the billboard of the king you will notice on your right-hand side was a sitting area made out of what looks to be petrified wood. To your left will be a shack style building filled with various religious idols of various religious figures that are carved from stone wood and other materials.
Some are brightly decorated and are some of the most beautiful statues that you'll find around the monument. It's definitely worth the time to walk through the small building and check out some of the carvings and sculptures. The most notable carvings on the lower level are the staircase banisters of the serpent god Naga.
For many people, visiting the monument and seeing the large statue of Buddha is only half the draw. At a half a kilometre high the viewpoint overlooking the city of Chalong and out into the bay of the ocean is absolutely breathtaking. It's a perfect location for watching a storm come in and engulf the island from out in the ocean.
From the sides of viewpoint you can get a unique perspective of the forest covered hills. Looking south you can see as far down as Windmill Viewpoint and Promthep Cape Point. No matter what time of year it is, no matter what time of day it is, no matter what the weather is like you can always get a unique perspective of Southern Phuket from the Big Buddha Phuket viewpoint.
When you are ready to see more of Big Buddha Phuket here are the other 2 parts in the series.
Big Buddha Part Two: • A Complete Look at Big...
Big Buddha Part Three: • A Complete Look at Big...
A full review of Big Buddha Phuket: vocal.media/wander/big-buddha...
Big Buddha Phuket on Google Maps: g.page/BigBuddhaPhuket?share
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