The Big Buddha, Phuket

This guide to The Big Buddha in Phuket traces how a forty-five-metre marble statue on Nakkerd Hill was built with no government money, just donations from locals and passing visitors starting in 2004. You'll hear the ceremonial name behind the hill's guardian-serpent tradition, and how Thailand's Supreme Patriarch came to call it a national treasure. Look closely at the marble tiles as you listen -- each one carries a stranger's name.