Wat Plai Laem

Just a few hundred metres from The Big Buddha statue lies the impressive Wat Plai Laem, a relatively new temple built in traditional Chinese styles, which the whole family - especially the kids - will enjoy visiting. Built in 2004, it is a colourful temple featuring two enormous traditional Chinese statues set in the centre of a large man-made lake which also contains a beautiful Ubosot (Ordination Hall.) One statue represents Guanyin, Goddess of Mercy, with 18 arms, who is said to be the protector of women and children, the sick and the poor. The second is a statue of the fat Chinese Buddha, representing wealth and prosperity, and stands 30 meters high, painted in red, white and gold. The Ubosot is the main prayer building and ordination hall, and it contains a seated Buddha Image and some beautiful mural paintings portraying scenes from the life of Buddha. There are several other buildings in the temple complex, as well as more Buddha statues and images. Much less commercial than its nearby neighbour (Big Buddha), you will only find a handful of vendors selling snacks and drinks. You can keep the kids amused by letting them feed the large fish in the lake at 10B a bag of food. It's located on the north-eastern tip of the island on road 4171, between the Bang Rak Beach and Choeng Mon beach, very close to the airport. Open during daylight hours, and admission is free. The temple gets very busy on Sundays and especially during Chinese festivals.