Wat Plai Laem, Koh Samui
Wat Plai Laem stands a short distance around the coast from the Big Buddha, on Samui's north-east shore. Its buildings sit on platforms in an artificial lake, so the whole complex is approached across bridges and reflected in the water - which is what makes it photograph so well.
The centrepiece is a large white figure of Guanyin, the Chinese goddess of mercy, shown with eighteen arms. A laughing Budai sits opposite her across the water. The ordination hall between them carries dense modern murals of the Buddha's life. The mix of Chinese and Thai iconography is deliberate and reflects the island's Chinese-Thai community.
The temple is working and free to enter; a donation buys a bag of feed for the fish in the lake. Covered shoulders and knees are expected, as at any Thai temple.
Related Routes
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- 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 Khunaram, Koh Samui — The temple that displays the preserved body of the monk Luang Pho Daeng, seated in meditation.


