Here we are - with the 3rd part of the Phuket Trip series. On the third day, we spent some time going around Phuket Town itself (aka the town centre of the island), and also made a planned trip to Wat Chalong, a very famous Buddhist monastery in Phuket.
Phuket itself has around 29 Buddhist monasteries, and each of them are unique in their own ways. In fact, Buddhism is predominant in Thailand, and as a Buddhist, I love going into monasteries as they are calming, therapeutic and seem to have lots of positive energy about them. Wat Chalong itself is one of the most elaborate monasteries - and it was built in 1837. It is also known as Wat Chai Thararam, but most people just call it Wat Chalong.
Here we are - entering the gates of Wat Chalong. The moment I stepped into the compound, I felt a sense of peace and happiness. I felt like singing Karen Carpenter's "Top of the World"...although we weren't really at the top of the world...
The building with the tall "tower" is the main building for the whole Wat Chalong. This was really prominent and we went in after walking around for a bit.
Other beautiful, but smaller buildings as we walked in. We could hear firecrackers being set off - and this was apparently a tradition in Wat Chalong.
Rain clouds were starting to come in, and so we went towards the main building. The tall "tower" is the whole compound's trademark, and we can actually climb up it!
Managed a picture of the exterior before going in.
On the first floor of the building, we saw LOTS of gorgeous Buddha statues! Some were sitting, others were either reclining or standing. But I felt an immense sense of peace as I walked in, stronger than what I felt when I first entered the compound. Was it psychological? I don't think so. I believe that Buddhist temples are just naturally therapeutic, and hence I love entering them.
Anyway I hung around this floor before going upstairs...
Where there were more Buddha statues and a gorgeous one in the centre!! I love this place!
The steps were steep, but the handrails were ornately designed. Most of them had a dragon's head on the bottom and of course, the dragon's body extends throughout the whole handrail.
After climbing up, we ended up in this area - and this is actually the "tower" we see from afar. Of course, it was beautifully decorated and we had fantastic views of the whole compound....
Here I am, trying to get pictures of it from as many angles I could think about, as possible :) Time wasn't on my side, so I had to act really fast.
The equally ornate railings that surrounded the balcony. I wonder how it's like at night here.
We also caught a glimpse of the Big Buddha statue in the distance. The Big Buddha sits on Nakkerd Hills, and is 45 metres high. It is a major landmark, and can be seen from a few places, including Wat Chalong! It is about 6 kilometres away from the city centre, but very easily accessible. I heard that views from the top are especially gorgeous! And of course, the hill is extremely peaceful and quiet.
Unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating with us, so we couldn't go to Big Buddha. I badly wanted to go, but the rain clouds looked really discouraging. So ah well! I took out my telephoto lens and took pictures of Big Buddha from the top floor of Wat Chalong.
There were a number of golden stupas scattered around the balcony, and if I'm not wrong, these represented nirvana - Buddha's complete absorption into the highest state of mind.
View from the balcony, near one of the stupas. Climb up the stairs to the highest point of Wat Chalong and the view gets even better!
Walking down the ornate stairs back to the second floor, where I couldn't resist taking more pictures. This time I focused more on the gorgeous wall paintings. It was still very cloudy outside, and it had just rained a little.
But then again, who could ever resist these gorgeous statues? I didn't even feel like leaving the compound! So I went to the first and second floors and took as many pics as I could.
And out we went, to the main entrance! There were miniature gold Buddha statues decorating the outside, and each window was intricately designed and carved.
The gates leading into this building were also very intricately carved and painted mostly red and gold.
And of course, I took one last picture of the "tower" just as we left.
And I took one picture of Big Buddha just as ominous, dark clouds started coming in. Oh Big Buddha, I should really visit you one day!!
Big Buddha looks really beautiful against the backdrop of clouds.
In our next part, I'll focus on old colonial buildings, a Buddhist association headquarters within Phuket Town, and the Seashell Museum in Patong (a famous tourist-y area located in southwest Phuket). Do stay tuned!