Wat Chalong
Wat
Chalong is Phuket’s most important Buddhist temple and is
the biggest and most ornate of Phuket’s 29 Buddhist monasteries.
The architecture is typical of wats found throughout Thailand. Wat Chalong is associated with the revered monks, Luang Pho Chaem
and Luang Pho Chuang, both of whom were famous for there work
in herbal medicine and tending to the injured. During the tin
miners’ rebellion of 1876 they mobilized aid for the injured
on both sides. They also mediated in the rebellion, bringing the
warring parties together to resolve their dispute. Statues honoring
them stand in the sermon hall (viharn). Many Thais come here to
be blessed by the monks and receive a good luck charm in the form
of a string tied around the wrist, which they believe protects
them from injury and illness.
Many local Thais and Asian tourists will set
off fire crackers and ask for the lucky lottery numbers, and have
their fortune told. Just inside the main hall on the floor before
the image are two cans of what looks like shaved bamboo chopsticks.
Pick one up and shake the can back and forth rhythmically until
one of the sticks works its way to the top and falls to the floor.
Read the number, then walk around the corner to the right where
there is a wooden cabinet on the wall. Open the drawer with the
corresponding number and take one of the slips of paper inside.
Get someone to translate it for you or hold onto it until you
get back to your hotel where the desk clerk can translate it.
Also on the floor are several pairs of red wooden blocks made
from bamboo roots and shaped like twin halves of a mango. These
help you make decisions. Pose a question that requires a ‘yes’
or ‘no’ answer. Toss the a pair blocks in the air and
watch how they land on the floor. If both land with the same side
up the answer is ‘no’; if they land, one up and one
down, the answer is ‘yes’. Whichever form of divination
you choose, be sure to leave a donation at the alter. It will
go towards the upkeep of the shrine.
From the Chalong traffic circle take bypass road
Why 4021 3km (2 miles) and Wat Chalong is on the right.
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