Wat Phra Thong lies about 20 km north of Phuket Town, and many visitors come for its story of a half-buried golden Buddha. Only the head and shoulders of the image can be seen.
Legend says that the image rose out of the ground and that anyone who tried to dig it out fell ill. With several buildings and a museum, it is well worth a visit.
The story of the golden Buddha
Legend has it that many years ago a boy was grazing his buffalo in a field when he saw an object sticking out of the ground like a post. He tied his buffalo’s rope to it. Soon afterwards the boy fell ill and died, and so did his buffalo, which made his father curious. When the father went to look at the post, he discovered that it was the top of a buried Buddha image.
Villagers began digging to free the statue, but, the story goes, the diggers were attacked by swarms of hornets that came out of the ground, and many fell ill and died.
Later, believing that the image had come from China, Burmese soldiers tried to dig it out to take it away. They too were driven off by stinging swarms, and many fell ill and died. So the image remained exposed only at the head and shoulders.
In about 1750 a monk persuaded the villagers to build a temple around the Buddha image. The head was later covered with a new image for religious purposes, which is why it looks in such good condition. It was named Luangpho Phra Phut, meaning a Buddha that rises from the ground.
Today the grounds of Wat Phra Thong hold several buildings, and the temple is an important spiritual centre for local communities.
There is also an interesting museum full of historical items found at the temple.