⭐ Highlight
Wat Plai Laem
A colourful lakeside temple with an 18-armed Guanyin, blending Thai and Chinese art and design.
Typical duration
45 min
Price
Free; donation welcome
From port
21 km / 13 mi
Transfer time
40 min
Indoor / Outdoor
outdoor
Queue risk
low
🕐 Best time to visit
Morning light; combine with Big Buddha
Just along the cape from the Big Buddha, Wat Plai Laem is a vivid modern temple set around a lake, blending Thai and Chinese Buddhist styles. Its centrepiece is a towering white statue of the 18-armed Guanyin, goddess of mercy, beside a laughing Budai and a hall of bright murals. You can buy food to feed the lake's fish, and the complex is photogenic and far quieter than the Big Buddha next door.
Getting there from the port
Beside the Big Buddha on the northeast cape; taxi or songthaew from Nathon