This is one of the most incredible sights of Kelantan my home state and only 40 minutes' slow drive from Kota Bharu my Second hometown! Yet it is a surreal world apart! Imagine driving along a small, narrow, untarred road in a nondescript village called Kampung Balai in Bachok district only to be confronted by the stunning sight of twin dragons facing each other with the Flaming Pearl in the center!
Its Thai name is Wat Photikyan but everyone simply calls it Double Dragon Temple or Twin Dragon Temple or Standing Buddha Temple.
To think a magnificent temple of this stature is found in the outback of Kelantan which is under strict Islamic rule is this side of incredible! Of course the locals are all Buddhists but they number less than a thousand, in fact around 600! Yet they and their local monks managed to raise millions to build this homage to Buddha, Kuan Yin and the pantheon of the gods, goddesses and deities! Miraculous!
Visiting Double Dragon and other temples in Kelantan is worth a trip and you need at least 3 to 5 days to explore and enjoy the main temples which are mostly if not entirely Thai in nature though all have typical Chinese touches.
Wat Phothikyan Phutthaktham
Kampung Balai, 16300, Bachok, Kelantan, Malaysia
TEL: +60 9-778 7636
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