Pattaya Day 3: Wat Phra Yai (Big Buddha) and the Eiffel Tower Inside Terminal 21

Hi friends! Today we are visiting Wat Phra Yai, known as Pattaya's Big Buddha temple. This was also our last day in Pattaya, so we wanted to close the city off nicely.

Our route had two main stops: first the hilltop temple, then Pattaya's most unusual shopping mall, Terminal 21. Honestly, the surprise of the day turned out to be the second stop.

Wat Phra Yai: Pattaya's Big Buddha

Wat Phra Yai sits on top of a hill in Pattaya and is considered one of the city's landmarks. Once you climb up, you get to explore the temple and look out over the city from above at the same time.

To be honest, after the impressive Buddha statue we saw in Bangkok, this one felt a little small to us. If you arrive with high expectations, you may feel the same way. If you have already visited the giant statues in Bangkok, this place will seem more modest in scale.

But that does not mean the temple is not worth visiting. On the contrary, what caught our attention was not the statue itself but the details surrounding it.

Yaksha Statues: Mythological Guardians

We really liked the Yaksha statues at the temple. These statues are built as mythological guardians and they protect the entrance of the temple.

According to belief, these statues are powerful enough to frighten away evil and keep it at a distance. With their facial expressions, postures and size, they genuinely look like they were made to serve that purpose. You can find similar ones at many temples across Thailand, but the ones here were quite striking in terms of detail and color.

My advice is not to rush while visiting the temple. Instead of seeing the Buddha statue and immediately heading back, take a look at the guardian statues, the row of bells and the smaller details around the grounds. That is where the real character is.

Terminal 21 Pattaya: An Eiffel Tower Inside a Mall?

After spending some time at the temple, we headed to our next stop, Terminal 21. And this was a genuinely unexpected experience.

Do not be sad if your Paris visa did not come through! Even though it is roughly one tenth the size of the real thing, you can see an Eiffel Tower here that has not lost much of its impact. Coming across a structure like this inside a mall is honestly surprising at first.

And the mall is not just about the Eiffel Tower. Almost every floor represents a different country and city. As you move from one floor to another, the theme changes completely: the decoration, the signage, even the seating areas are designed to match that particular city.

We had a lot of fun exploring Terminal 21. Normally, visiting a mall would not be a priority on my travel plan, but this place feels much more like a destination than a regular shopping center. There are also plenty of spots for anyone who wants to take photos.

One small tip: set aside time to walk through the floors one by one, not just to shop. If you rush through, you miss the whole idea of the place.

Closing the Day With a Sea View

After leaving the mall, we finished our last day in Pattaya by watching a beautiful sea view. After a full day of sightseeing, sitting by the shore and looking out at the sea was a pretty good way to say goodbye to the city.

In three days, we got to see Pattaya from many different angles: its temple, its island, its nightlife and its malls. That is the nice thing about this city — you can have very different experiences in a short amount of time.

Pattaya Day 3 Route Summary

• Wat Phra Yai: The hilltop Big Buddha temple, more modest in scale than Bangkok's
• Yaksha statues: Mythological guardians believed to drive away evil
• Terminal 21 Pattaya: A themed mall where each floor represents a different country
• Eiffel Tower: The most eye-catching structure inside the mall
• The beach: A calm closing to say goodbye to Pattaya

Locations

Here are the Google Maps links for the places I mentioned:

• Big Buddha (Wat Phra Yai): Google Maps location
• Terminal 21 Pattaya: Google Maps location

Final Thoughts

Our last day in Pattaya was calm but enjoyable. Wat Phra Yai felt smaller than we expected, but the Yaksha statues more than made up for it. Terminal 21 was the surprise of the day; I honestly did not expect a shopping mall to be this entertaining.

If you are coming to Pattaya, I would recommend putting these two stops on the same day. One takes you into history and belief, the other into a completely different atmosphere.

I have left the locations of the places I mentioned above. Take good care of yourselves, and see you in the next post! 🌴