Wat Sri Sunthon (Sri Sunthorn Temple)

Last Sunday we set out with a particular target in mind. Phuket is full of temples, and there are many that we have never visited. I wanted to find Wat Phra Thong, where there is a famous half buried Buddha image...We found it, but on the way, a litle south of Thalang Town (which used to the the main town in Phuket a couple of hundred years ago), we found Wat Sri Sunthorn and were very glad we did.

There were several buildings in the temple. The main Wat seemed to be closed, but on top of another building is a huge reclining Buddha. We found our way up to the roof to look more closely and say a quick prayer. Certainly worth a quick visit, and can be combined with a visit to Wat Phra Tong and also Wat Phra Nang Sang, also in Thalang, which we have not visited yet.

• See location on Google Earth - the reclining Buddha is easy to spot.

 

The temple is named after one of the two sisters, known as the Heroines of Thalang - Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Sri Sunthorn who rallied the people of Phuket to defeat invading Burmese in 1785. Actually at the time, their names were Chan and Mook, but later King Rama V gave them these honorary names.

Pretty much every visitor to Phuket will see the "Heroines Monument" which is a bit south of Thalang in the centre of a traffic circle on the main road between the airport and the southern beaches and Phuket Town. Not many tourists go to these temples. On Sunday we saw a few Thai people there. The most visited temple in Phuket is Wat Chalong, and quite a few go to Wat Phra Tong too.