One of the reasons we decided to spend some time in Cha Am is because we wanted to visit Puek Tian Beach and its statues. The statues were inspired by a 48,700-line epic poem called Phra Aphai Mani by the legendary Thai poet Sunthorn Phu.

The main statue is what most Thai people come to see. It’s of a giant woman in the sea. When the tide is out you can walk up to the statue, but when the tide is in is when I think it looks its best. Many people find the statue frightening, but I think this is something to do with the legend attached to it rather than the statue itself.

Next to the main statue, there are also smaller statues on either side. These are also accessible when the tide is out.

There are many places to eat and drink in front of the statue, including one place that looks brand new, but what you will notice most if you visit is that the whole place as a kind of dilapidated look. My wife told me that it was an incredibly popular place 20 years ago but it looks like some time later it was probably abandoned.

At the moment it looks like some effort is being put in to bring the resort up to date and attract new visitors. We went to visit late one morning and only saw two other visitors there. There is a brand new restaurant that was open and also an open-air local Thai restaurant. All the other places were shut.

We saw one large building that looked like it was a semi-abandoned hotel. There was also a larger resort next to it that seemed t be totally abandoned and well as some spaces where buildings had been knocked down. But among all that there were definite signs of improvements. Some buildings were being renovated and it looked like they were expected more visitors.

We also saw a small stage that looked like maybe they put on some sort of show to explain the story behind the statues. It looked more like it had closed down though than still being operational. It was difficult to tell.

The general feeling I got was of a semi-abandoned place that hasn’t quite died. In many ways that adds to the appeal of seeing the weird statues in the sea.  It would be a great place to check out Cha am Homes.

How To Get To Puek Tian Beach

Puek Tian Beach is about 20 km north of Cha Am Beach, and the only way I know how to get there is by car or motorbike. You can hire both in Cha Am. It’s also possible that your hotel can arrange a trip there if you want to see it.