{"id":1306,"date":"2014-09-11T18:57:33","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T18:57:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mangosteen-phuket.com\/?page_id=1306"},"modified":"2021-11-24T18:45:25","modified_gmt":"2021-11-24T11:45:25","slug":"phuket-big-buddha-chalong-temple","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mangosteen-phuket.com\/phuket-big-buddha-chalong-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Phuket Big Buddha & Chalong Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"
As time went on, and as the friends discussed it again and again, the idea evolved. The place in the hills, they soon agreed, would be perfect not just as a viewpoint, but as the site for something much more ambitious and, to Buddhists at least, much more significant: a giant image of the Lord Buddha<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The project had its hiccups, not least of which was battling through a mountain of red tape required to get permits to build in virgin forest at a height above the usual building limit.<\/p>\n Funds for the massive structure came and still come entirely from donations. \u201cThis project is huge and requires a lot of money. But so far, we are managing just fine. I\u2019m amazed at the amount of help we have received from everyone who knows about this project. It seems they all want to be a part of it,\u201d explained Suporn Wanichkul, president of the Mingmongkol Faith 45 foundation, which was formed to build the Giant Buddha.<\/p>\n There are, in fact, two Buddha images. A smaller one, 12 meters high, is made of 22 tons of brass and cost eight million baht.<\/p>\n It is dwarfed by the giant Buddha image facing eastward toward Chalong Bay and Phang Nga Bay beyond. The Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri Buddha \u2013 to give it its official name \u2013 is 45 meters high and 25 meters across at the base.<\/p>\n It cost about 30 million baht to complete the giant image. Khun Suporn says \u201cThe money has come from everywhere, from locals, from Thais in other provinces and from foreign tourists. With our website and the help, we have had from the press, we have even received donations from overseas.\u201d<\/p>\n The Big Buddha of Phuket is easily visible from Mangosteen Ayurveda & Wellness Resort.<\/p>\n Mangosteen Resort guests may book a taxi at the reception and combine a visit to the Big Buddha with a Chalong Temple tour.<\/span><\/strong>[\/az_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][az_blank_divider][az_single_image image=”1200″ image_mode=”img-full-responsive” image_alignment=”aligncenter”][az_blank_divider][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][az_column_text animation_loading=”yes” animation_loading_effects=”scale_up”]\n