We finished up our Cambodian holiday and since we were connecting through Bangkok, we decided to add a short 3-day stop in Phuket, Thailand.
We had visited Phuket over 10 years ago and had fond memories of the scuba diving and the beautiful beaches. This time, we also decided to see some of the local top-side attractions.
We stayed at the Meridian Phuket which is a great resort with an onsite dive shop, plenty of restaurants, and a private sandy beach. Our room overlooked the pool area with a view of the ocean. It was a nice way to finish up our holiday.
Read more about our Phuket Scuba Diving Adventure
The resort itself is honestly its own stand-alone destination with plenty of activities and a lovely beach. Various water sports are available and there are plenty of loungers and chairs around the beach and pools.
They also have a tour desk that we used to book a tour of the city. It turned out we were alone on the excursion. No complaints about having a private tour guide and driver. It was a nice half day tour that visited many of the highlights around the city.
The Big Buddha
This huge white marble Buddha is on a hilltop and is visible from many points in the city from a distance. It is also a sense of pride for the Phuket people. Each stone tile represents a donation, and the entire cost has been paid for by individuals.
The huge Buddha measures 45m x 25m and is made of white marble. As you walk up from the parking lot you are presented with a long set of white marble stairs with huge Nagas (mythical snakes) that frame the steps up to the Big Buddha.
Our guide told us that the plan for finishing the construction has been changing and no one really knew what the next steps will be. Construction started 20 years ago and while much of the outside seemed to be completed, we could not enter the inside of the Buddha as it was roped off. We did peek inside only to see that they were working on the columns inside.
The view from the hilltop is impressive and we could see the harbor with all the boats in the distance. We also saw a few brown sea eagles from the lookout.
Just being on top of the mountain is very peaceful. This spot used to be a refuge reserved for monks but it is now open to the public. We could still see many monks on site coming to worship or perhaps they were just fellow tourists.
Be wary of the many pig-tail monkeys! While cute they can be dangerous and have been known to steal belongings hoping to find food. Monkey business indeed! Don’t let them deter you from walking around the site, however. Be sure to see Meditation Hill and the large gong.
Chalong Temple
While the white marble Big Buddha is impressive, the most active and revered Thai temple in Phuket is the older Chalong temple. This area is more of a complex made up of multiple buildings including an anointment area for monks.
The large complex has gardens, shrines, and walkways to enjoy the area. There is also a museum for a famous monk who lived 100 years ago and was said to have had magic powers.
They are also building a new larger museum in his honor, and we saw that construction was almost completed.
It was raining when we visited so we didn’t spend much time here, but we were glad to have seen it.
Khao Rang Lookout
Our driver climbed the long winding road up the hill to see another famous lookout point, Khao Rang.
This area has outstanding views of the city and we could even see the Big Buddha in the distance on a neighboring hilltop.
While this looked to be a great area for walking around and enjoying the sites, again do be on the lookout for those pig-tail monkeys looking for a snack.
Our guide told us that there were over 43,000 temples in Thailand. Wow. Perhaps like churches in Italy!
Jui Tui Shrine
Phuket’s early history had a lot of Chinese influence. Our guide explained that the Chinese had originally come for work opportunities with tin mining. The remains of the old tin mine has now been turned into an artificial lake.
There is still a large Chinese population and the Chinese temple we visited was an active shrine with many worshipers. There was a full moon and our guide said that this was a popular time for worshipers to come and pray.
She also went on to say that the Chinese had many gods as compared to the single Buddha in Buddhism. She pointed out some of the mythical gods and explained why some looked so mean and scary. It is to ward off and chase away the evil spirits she said.
Old Phuket Town
The early Chinese settlers came to Phuket, bought, and built houses in the Portuguese-style which they adorned with Chinese decorations and carvings. They call it Chino-Portuguese architecture now our guide said.
She pointed out many of the more famous or best-preserved houses along the strip and explained how proprietors had to maintain the façade in its original style but could renovate and renew it. This is to maintain the historic nature of the Old Town.
That said, there was not much to see here aside from the houses’ ornate façades. Most of them were converted to tourist nick-nack shops, cafes, or massage parlors. There were many medical marijuana outlets too, surprising for Thailand.
Conclusion
If you are coming to Phuket for the first time, we would definitely recommend some of the top attractions like boat rides to the beautiful islands, sunset cruises, and of course scuba diving. There are also many shows to watch and lots of beautiful beaches. The top-side activities listed above can easily be combined into a half day tour and can be done either in the morning or afternoon.
We used our dry day after scuba diving and before flying to get these in. It was nice to see a little more of Phuket.