Visit to Big Buddha

Transportation here is... aggravating. I wish I could go back to the world of 24 hour songthaews. I really don't get the system here, but from what I can understand, there are 'buses' that run set routes, and only during certain hours, and then there are various styles of taxis. There are three bus routes around town, and then a few that go to the various beaches. And the long distance buses from the bus station. I've seen things that look like songthaews but they don't stop when I try to flag them down so maybe they're for tours or something. I did get to ride in a car last night though, a real one with windows and doors and everything. Pretty exciting since its so rare!

Yesterday, I took one of the buses to Wat Chalong which is South of Phuket Town. While I was waiting I met a Thai woman who was headed the same way. The buses don't run on any kind of schedule and we had to wait quite a while for ours to come. She was great and showed me around the temple complex and then helped me find a motorbike taxi to take me to my other destinations.

Big Buddha

There were several buildings in the temple complex.  This one had three floors of Buddhas.

As we were walking around we heard firecrackers that they were setting off in this oven structure.  I thought my friend said something about the lottery but I didn't quite understand.  Maybe it's for good luck?

I went to see the Big Buddha statue and I have to agree with my guide, it's just not that pretty up close. The site is still under construction and there is stuff blocking the statue so you can't see it all from the ground. And even if there weren't, I don't think you'd really be able to see it all from so close anyway. Oh well.  I do like that you can see it from all over the island.

In order to get up to the Buddha you walk through a gift
shop type area, the proceeds go towards finishing the statue.
There are also donation boxes and Buddha statues.

Next to the Big Buddha is a smaller one made from brass.  The large one is dedicated to the king and the small one to the queen.

Inside Buddha

Nice view!

Next the motorbike took my to Phrom Thep cape which is all the way at the South of Phuket and is known for its sunsets. It was really beautiful. There's a lighthouse and a statue surrounded by hundreds of elephants. If you got towards the water there's a path that leads down to the sea. When you get near the end you find stacks of rocks and a Buddha statue.

Elephants on top of the lighthouse

After the sunset I started walking to Rawai beach to pick up a taxi and a nice woman was kind enough to pick me up and drop me by the end of the beach. It took me a while to find a taxi that wasn't going to overcharge me (more than the usual) and I was surprised when I finally found someone to take me and he walked over to a small new SUV, pretty fancy!