Big Buddha Phuket: how to visit

Forty-five metres of white marble. From the beach road it catches the sun and you spot it long before you get close, and after a day or two you'll find yourself using it as a compass: Buddha on the left, so Chalong must be behind that ridge.

It went up on donations, slowly, over years. The cladding still grows the same way. At the site you can buy a marble tile, write a name on it, and it goes into the statue later. Looks like a souvenir; it isn't. For Thai visitors it's merit, a small good deed with a name attached.

Monks live up here. There's a little temple at the base, a few stalls, a corner where people tie coloured ribbons. Talk quietly, don't climb the plinths, and please don't turn your back on a Buddha image for a selfie; people do notice.

And then the view, which is honestly why most of us drive up. Chalong Bay spreads out on the east side, the Kata coast on the west, both at once. Clear day? You'll see a long way out to sea.

One road, lots of bends. A taxi will take you right to the platform — just ask the driver to wait, because cars at the top for the way down are few. Twenty minutes or so from Kata or Karon. From Chalong it's shorter; from Patong longer, since you go over the pass first.

Scooter riders, a word. The climb is long and it is steep. Two people on a small bike often don't make it, and coming down is worse: the brakes get hot, and this road sees accidents regularly. First week on two wheels? Take a car. Really.

Wat Chalong is at the bottom of the hill, about fifteen minutes away, and you pass Karon Viewpoint on the coast road. Put the three together and that's your morning.

Mornings are cool and nearly empty; the light is soft. By noon the marble throws the heat back at you, there's almost no shade, and the car park is full of coaches. Sunset looks great from here — but dark falls fast in the tropics, and those switchbacks at night are no fun.

In beachwear they'll send you back down. Sarongs are handed out at the entrance, though in high season the pile runs out, so a light scarf in the bag saves the trip. Shoes only come off at the inner temple; on the platform your sandals are fine.