Wat Phuket
Wat Phuket is located in Woranakorn Subdistrict, Pua District, Nan Province. When you hear the name, you might be a little surprised that the temple should be in Phuket Province. In fact, Wat Phuket was named after a village called Mu Ban Ket, but since the temple is located on a hill, which is called “Doi” or “Phu” in the north, it was named “Wat Phuket”, meaning Wat Ban Ket on a hill or Doi. Wat Phuket is a temple with beautiful landscapes and views. The highlight of the temple is the terrace with a view behind the temple, next to a wide rice field with the backdrop of the mountains of Doi Phukha Forest Park. In the morning, it is another beautiful place to watch the sunrise.
Below the temple, there is a river flowing through, which is water that seeps from underground. It flows together into a stream for fish and aquatic animals to live in. The temple has made it a sanctuary for tourists. They can feed the fish from the terrace above through a pipe and see the fish clearly below. There is a Lanna-style chapel with 3D murals and it is the place where the sacred “Luang Pho Saen Pua or Luang Pho Phutta Metta” is enshrined, facing east.
In addition, inside the temple, there is a temple stay called Phuket Santhaya Temple Stay, which is a building for those who come to practice meditation or interested tourists to stay. The building is located at a viewpoint where you can see the green rice fields from the rooms. It is a 4-storey building with 8 bedrooms. On the 4th floor is a meditation room built at the foot of the hill below the church, making the church grounds the roof of the temple stay. The reason it is called a Dharma hotel is because the rooms are arranged in a hotel-like manner. Those who come to stay will have the opportunity to practice meditation with the temple. The Dharma hotel of Phuket Temple is considered the first in Thailand. It is not a temple hall that people can go in and sleep in and then call it a hotel. At Phuket Temple, there are buildings and rooms that are similar to a general hotel, approximately a 3-star hotel. However, those who come to stay here to practice meditation do not have to pay for accommodation. This approach can be further developed by various temples because it is considered another approach that will help people come to the temple to practice meditation more. It also allows those who stay there to have the opportunity to study the way of life of the people living around the temple.