A SIX-DAY FAIR especially to promote Phuket's Big Buddha opened at the public park at Saphan Hin in Phuket City on February 19 and will run until February 25.
The fair includes a photo exhibition, a large-screen history of the project, and the opportunity to enjoy plenty of food stalls and shopping.
Many people in the provincial capital and the north of the island have yet to visit the giant image now being constructed on Nakkerd Hill, even though it is visible from all points to the south of the island.
The fair, to run from 10am-11pm, will enable people who visit to donate tiles of white Burmese jade that will eventually cover the entire 45-metre structure.
Tourists who visit the fair will be invited to try local food and buy Thai souvenirs and clothing.
The tiles cost 100 baht for a simple rectangle and range up to 500,000 baht for the entire topknot that will be finished in gold when the Big Buddha is complete next year.
Special significance will be attached to the fair, the first of its kind, on February 21, marking Makha Bucha Day, when the Lord Buddha first spread his message to 1250 monks.
At sunset on the Big Buddha on that day, monks will walk around the structure carrying ceremonial candles. Visitors are welcome.
The Big Buddha is already attracting busloads of tourists to see the workers, mostly from Burma, clamber across the scaffolding high above the ground.
It will be Thailand's biggest sitting buddha and is considerably taller than Hong Kong's famous sitting buddha, which measures only 34 metres.
''We want people to share our joy at having a Buddhist icon on Phuket,'' the head of the Praputtamingmongkol Foundation, Suporn Vanichkul, told Phuketwan.
The foundation is responsible for raising the funds and constructing the buddha.
Khun Suporn said the support had been universal from Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and others. He was delighted that so many people were already making their way up the hill to visit.
From the base of the Big Buddha, the views out over both sides of the island are breathtaking.
Monks are already living at the top of the 380-metre hill and pray with Buddhist visitors every day.
The Big Buddha will soon be on everyone's list of must-see items on Phuket and probably become a tourist attraction rivalled only by the island's beaches.
The fair includes a photo exhibition, a large-screen history of the project, and the opportunity to enjoy plenty of food stalls and shopping.
Many people in the provincial capital and the north of the island have yet to visit the giant image now being constructed on Nakkerd Hill, even though it is visible from all points to the south of the island.
The fair, to run from 10am-11pm, will enable people who visit to donate tiles of white Burmese jade that will eventually cover the entire 45-metre structure.
Tourists who visit the fair will be invited to try local food and buy Thai souvenirs and clothing.
The tiles cost 100 baht for a simple rectangle and range up to 500,000 baht for the entire topknot that will be finished in gold when the Big Buddha is complete next year.
Special significance will be attached to the fair, the first of its kind, on February 21, marking Makha Bucha Day, when the Lord Buddha first spread his message to 1250 monks.
At sunset on the Big Buddha on that day, monks will walk around the structure carrying ceremonial candles. Visitors are welcome.
The Big Buddha is already attracting busloads of tourists to see the workers, mostly from Burma, clamber across the scaffolding high above the ground.
It will be Thailand's biggest sitting buddha and is considerably taller than Hong Kong's famous sitting buddha, which measures only 34 metres.
''We want people to share our joy at having a Buddhist icon on Phuket,'' the head of the Praputtamingmongkol Foundation, Suporn Vanichkul, told Phuketwan.
The foundation is responsible for raising the funds and constructing the buddha.
Khun Suporn said the support had been universal from Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and others. He was delighted that so many people were already making their way up the hill to visit.
From the base of the Big Buddha, the views out over both sides of the island are breathtaking.
Monks are already living at the top of the 380-metre hill and pray with Buddhist visitors every day.
The Big Buddha will soon be on everyone's list of must-see items on Phuket and probably become a tourist attraction rivalled only by the island's beaches.
