In an effort to maintain my tradition of visiting a cemetery in every country I explore; I went to three today. All are unique and distinctively different from one another. I ventured out and found a Muslim one, a Catholic one and a very small Thai one. Here are photographs of three unique cemeteries in Phuket.
Muslim Ya Mia Cemetery
The first place I found on my adventure was this Muslim cemetery. I was the only person there, besides one male caretaker. The space is hidden behind commercial stores on a busy street and is accessed through a humble gate.
Inside, the area is very arid with dusty and dry leaves crackling under your feet. The space looks completely unmanicured and forlorn. There are some tall shade trees, but nothing else. As is custom with many Muslim cemeteries, there are no headstones, merely a marker of sorts at the head and foot of the grave.
The feeling inside this space is desolate and unwelcoming.
Phuket Catholic Cemetery
Walking another 30 minutes or so and I reached the Catholic cemetery. This one has a distinctive main gate and is in a rural area with no other businesses or residences around. The space is vast with hardly a grave to fill it.
At the centre is a plain pagoda surrounded by long grasses and low plants. Surrounding the cemetery is a large cement block wall. All of the graves that are here, are placed right up against this wall.
At one end is a crumbling statue of Jesus with angels on either side. To the left is a series of cubicles or vaults for ashes, with only two being used.
The feeling inside this cemetery is abandonment and sadness.
Rang Hill
Walking up to the top of the hill to find the viewpoint, I passed a very small cemetery off to the right and down an embankment. It was obvious that it had not seen any care or upkeep in quite some time.
Towards the top was an area where small random statutes have been placed, but peering behind, I could see multiple others that had been pushed over and were laying discarded on the ground in a heap.
At the bottom of the space were a few large Buddhist graves, very similar to the ones at a cemetery I visited in Vietnam. These were full of vegetation and debris and it was difficult to get a closer look at them.
Besides being afraid of being bitten by spiders and snakes, the feeling on this site was much more restful and peaceful that the first two cemeteries.
I have been happy to find these three cemeteries within relatively close proximity to where I am staying in Old Town Phuket. I would like to find another Thai Buddhist cemetery, so will keep looking and searching for what I think is out there.
