Wat Phra Yai occupies a rocky islet joined to the north-east coast of Koh Samui by a short causeway, which means the temple is surrounded by water on three sides and visible from a long way off. Its colossal gilded Buddha, seated in the earth-touching posture, faces the sea from the top of a broad stair flanked by nagas, and has become the island's defining image, familiar to anyone arriving by ferry or by air. The film shows the temple as more than a photograph: the shrine buildings around the base, the monks who live and teach there, the visitors who make offerings, ring the bells and tie ribbons, and the changing light on the gilding from dawn to dusk. Aerial photography sets the figure against the Gulf of Thailand. An accessible, visually generous title for travel, sacred-sites and island-portrait strands.
