Hat Yai Municipal Park is a large recreational park-cum-tourist attraction to the east of Hat Yai City in Thailand. Within the park itself, there are many points of interest.
Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj
After our breakfast, we called a grab to go to our first destination of the day – Hat Yai Municipal Park.
We asked the grab driver to drive us straight up to one of the main attractions of the park - Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj.
This is the Buddha image of Hat Yai which is built to be soul-dependent of Buddhist in hat Yai and nearby.
It seems to be the biggest Buddha statue in blessing posture in southern Thailand. It is molded with fine brass with the height of 19.90 metres (25 meters height including its brass) and 200 tons in weight.
This statue was established on the occasion of Majesty King Bhumibhol’s 6th Cycle Birthday Celebration in 1999.
With permission to have the emblem of the event attached on the basement of the Buddha statue and was bestowed the name “Phra Buddha Mongkok Maharaj”.
We reached there around 10.30am. There were already numbers of tourists, some came with the minivans, some came with the songthaew. And we came in grab car.
There is a seated Buddha at the entrance once we entered the place. The compound is huge. We can over see part of the Hat Yai view from this height of this hill.
We had the group photos before we left the place.
Hat Yai Cable Car Complex
There is a cable car complex at the side and this is also the place where you can take a short cable car ride to visit Brahma Statue (Lord Brahma Complex).
Cable car ride (return trip) is 200 Baht per passenger (foreigner), 100 Baht (Thai adult) and 50 Baht (Thai child).
This cable car system that links the Phra Buddha Mongkol Maharaj area to the the top hill Lord Brahma Shrine.
Due to the fares for 4 of us are considered expensive, thus we did not take the cable car.
We did visit the cafeteria in the cable car complex. It is a good location with its glass building which can see through the green scenery outside.
We continue our way to walk down the hill towards the Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin Shrine which is located at the lower hill.
The Walkway of Dragon Arch
On our way down through the 300 steps stairways, we saw the more statues. Here is the Jade Emperor. Jade Emperor is one of the most important gods of the Chinese Taoist pantheons that governs the cosmos and the ruler of all heavens.
Here come the Fat Laughing Buddha with his big stomach. The Buddha is believed that blessing people for happiness, health and wealth.
Then we came to a small covered place with 12 Guan Yin with the Chinese 12 Zodiacs.
There are donations even on the zodiacs itself, namely rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, roaster, dog and pig.
And there is a place where the devotes can pray and buy the chimes and wrote their wishes on it and hang it there.
Here is the double dragon sculptured stairway which is golden dragon and silver dragon.
Here is the starting of the Dragon Arch. It is painted in golden colour.
Issac was sitting on the dragon tougue!
And, here we are – out from the mouth of Dragon!
Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin Shrine
Here is the main entrance of the Guan Yin Shrine or Complex. In the complex there are many types of the Guan Yin statues with different posture.
There is a huge white jade Guan Yin statue on top of the complex which oversee the entire the hill.
On top of the complex are the Goddess of Mercy Guan Yin and flanked by Jade Maiden (玉女) and Golden Youth (金僮).
It is quite tricky to visit Hat Yai Municipal Park without our own transport. From the entrance of the park, there is a public shuttle (for a fee) that takes visitors to the Goddess of Mercy complex.
We saw the shuttle during the time we were at the complex of Goddess Mercy but we would not know what is the timing, then we just took our chance to walk down the hill.
It is too hot for us to continue to visit other points of attractions and the sun was shining bright on the sky. It would be best to go by own transport, in order to visit every point of interest at leisure.
Additional attractions include a statue of King Rama V that is enshrined at the foot of the hill near the aviary, the hill-top Brahman shrine and a Planetarium equipped with an 80-seat theatre that we were unable to visit.
Hat Yai Municipal Park is a popular recreational spot for the local residents, the park is beautifully decorated with colourful flowers. With a pavilion in the middle of the pond, an aviary, and food stalls, the park is the perfect place to spend a peaceful evening and best for picnic too.
It was around 2.00pm, we call a grab car and left to Central Festival Mall.
