Wat Khunaram, Koh Samui
The temple that displays the preserved body of the monk Luang Pho Daeng, seated in meditation.
Wat Khunaram, Koh Samui
Wat Khunaram, on the southern ring road, is known for one thing: the body of Luang Pho Daeng, a monk who died in meditation in 1973 and whose remains are displayed in a glass case, still seated upright. He asked that his body be shown rather than cremated if it did not decay, as an object lesson in impermanence, and it is presented in exactly that spirit. Sunglasses were added later, and are the detail everyone remembers.
The rest of the temple is an ordinary working wat serving the surrounding village. Entry is free.
This is a religious site and a human body, not a curiosity: photography is generally tolerated but is worth asking about, and the usual covered shoulders and knees apply.
- Big Buddha (Wat Phra Yai), Koh Samui — The twelve-metre golden Buddha on the islet of Koh Faan, and the most recognisable landmark on Koh Samui.
- Secret Buddha Garden (Magic Garden), Koh Samui — A hillside garden of stone figures in the island's interior, built by a Samui fruit farmer from 1976.
- Ang Thong National Marine Park — An archipelago of forty-two limestone islands west of Koh Samui, reached as a day trip by boat.
- Fisherman's Village, Bophut — The old Chinese-Thai shophouse street on Samui's north coast, and the island's Friday night walking market.
- Na Muang Waterfalls, Koh Samui — Two waterfalls in the island's forested interior - one reachable from the car park, one at the end of a steep climb.
- Wat Plai Laem, Koh Samui — A temple complex built out over a lake, best known for its eighteen-armed white statue of Guanyin.
