Wat Phra Thong, Phuket is where only the upper half of a large Buddha statue emerges from the ground.  Legend has it that during the invasion of Thalang town in 2328 B.E. (circa 1785) , the Burmese tried in vain to excavate the statue to take to back. Each time they dug into the ground , swarms of hornets would swoop on them and they had to give up. Later , the visible part of the statue was covered with gold by the villagers and has remained as such until today.  It is about 20 kilometres from Phuket town past the Thalang district office.