Place of worship
Wat Laem Suwannaram
Lakeside temple crowned by a towering eighteen-armed Guanyin and a giant laughing Buddha statue.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Wat Laem Suwannaram in Koh Samui asks why a Buddhist temple centers on a Chinese goddess with eighteen arms rather than the Buddha himself. It moves from her lakeside statue to a second towering figure across the water, and into the older wooden hall that gives the temple its name. Along the way it traces the Hindu shrines tucked into the grounds and the votive boats left for the monk who founded the place. Stand at the water's edge before the crowds arrive, and look up.
This audio guide was created using AI.