Ko Pha-ngan - TourismThailand.org

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of Lord Buddha’s footprint and a mondop. It is a scenic spot that overlooks
the landscape of Ban Tai beach and Samui island (Ko Samui).
On the shoulder of the hill at the back of the temple, lies a stone
shed, a peaceful corner for an isolated meditator.
The meditation class began for the first time in 1962 (B.E. 2505)
when Master Pradoem Komalo from Wat Soi Thong, Bangkok, and
other three monks travelled to Pha-ngan and found this place
suitable for practicing dharma and teaching about cogitation. They,
hence, decided to reside at this sanctuary even though it was then
only a house of monks. Since then, the house has by degrees gained
the status of a temple.
Among the monks who followed Master Pradoem Komalo to
practice the dharma in Pha-ngan, there is a Jewish-born American
Zen monk, Emanuel Sherman. Though he had a chance to live in
Pha-ngan for a very short period of time before he passed away of
influenza, this artist monk has left behind a number of paintings
that illustrate quandaries of religious percepts. Today, these
paintings are exhibited at the Spiritual Theater, Suan Mokkhaphalaram,
Wat Tan Nam Lai, Chaiya district, Surat Thani province.
Apart from Ban Tai that has a long history, Ban Khai, a sub-district nearby also bears
numerous fascinating legends. It started off in 1857 (B.E. 2400) when a villager found a
lump of gold while panning for minerals in the island. He told Chaiya city governor that
there were golds in Ko Pha-ngan, and the governor levied a troop of workers to camp in
this area for gold digging. The excavation went on for months, yet they found very little
gold and had to give up eventually. The sub-district where the workers camped then
adopted the name Ban Khai (camping village) since.
Today, the Ban Tai - Ban Khai community has become a large town with beaches
connecting and stretching out on the seashore for no less than 7 kilometers from Thong
Sala, Bang Charu beach, to Ban Tai and Ban Khai beaches. All the beaches face the south
overlooking Ko Samui which is located not far away from the coast, creating a sublime
scenery and attracting tourist accommodations - from boutique resorts to economy
bungalows - which have quickly mushroomed along the shoreline. The high season of
this area is the summer time from December to May. From June to November, there are
strong gusts that blow from south-west to north-east direction bringing storms from the
sea to the land; nonetheless, the good point is that the water level decrease and increase
rather dramatically, hence visitors will get to see the local people coming out to find rock
oysters when the tides go down and conducting shoreline fishing when the tides rise.
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