Tumpat
A District On The Thai Border Where Malaysia'S Most Religiously Conservative State Holds Some Of The Largest Buddhist Statues In Southeast Asia · Tumpat, Kelantan
KELANTAN IS THE MOST RELIGIOUSLY CONSERVATIVE STATE IN MALAYSIA. IT ALSO CONTAINS SOME OF THE LARGEST BUDDHIST STATUES IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, AND BOTH THINGS ARE TRUE AT ONCE. TUMPAT SITS ON THE THAI BORDER and has a SIAMESE-DESCENDED COMMUNITY that has been here for generations, with WAT after WAT scattered through the paddy fields. WAT PHOTHIVIHAN HOLDS A RECLINING BUDDHA OF SOME FORTY METRES, one of the largest anywhere in the region; WAT MACHIMMARAM HAS AN ENORMOUS SEATED BUDDHA; WAT MAI SURIYARAM HAS THE PAINTINGS. They are gaudy, enormous, immaculately kept, and stand a few fields away from villages where the call to prayer is the loudest sound. NOBODY MAKES ANYTHING OF THE CONTRAST, which is the most interesting thing about it. IT IS HALF AN HOUR FROM KOTA BHARU and almost no foreign visitor goes. Get a driver who knows the wats, because they are scattered across paddy country with no circuit and no signage, and avoid the monsoon months when the delta floods and roads close.
Tumpat, Kelantan, Tumpat, Kelantan, Malaysia
TUMPAT IS ABOUT THIRTY TO FORTY MINUTES BY ROAD FROM KOTA BHARU, and THE WATS ARE SCATTERED ACROSS THE DISTRICT IN PADDY COUNTRY - a car or a driver is essential and there is no sensible circuit on public transport. THEY ARE OPEN DURING THE DAY AND ARE FREE, maintained by their communities, with donation boxes. MODEST DRESS AND SHOES OFF IN THE PRAYER HALLS, as at any wat. REMEMBER THAT KELANTAN'S WEEKEND IS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, which affects shops and transport rather than the temples themselves. THE RANTAU PANJANG BORDER MARKET is nearby and keeps its own hours. THIS IS FLOOD COUNTRY - the Kelantan delta floods in the monsoon, roughly November to January, sometimes severely, and roads close. It is hot and shadeless between the wats; go early.