Tumpat is small district situated on the north-west of Kota Bahru. It has many buddhist temples distributed all over Tumpat. Tumpat is the place in Kelantan where Thai language is very popular. This is because Tumpat has many Malaysian of Thai decendents who mostly speak Thai. However, they can speak Bahasa Malaysia too. There are many schools here that teaches Thai language. Even the buddhist temples have schools that teaches Thai.

Wat Phothivihan is one of the most popular buddhist temple in Kelantan which has reclining buddha statue that is believed to be the longest in South East Asia, measuring 40 m long, 11 m high and 9 m wide. It was built in 1973 and completed in 1979 with fund from the local Thai community and donations.

Inside the main shelter / building where the reclining buddha statue is located is very much like the Wat Chaiyamangalaram in Penang. It has statue of sitting buddha with various actions representing the chinese zodiac years and a few standing buddhas. Below and behind the platform where the statue lies are urns that keep the ashes of the dead.

Wat Phothivihan is situated in a Malaysian of Thai decendents village called Kampung Jambu. Thai festival such as Songkran Festival, Loy Kratong Festival and Ketik Pasir Festival are celebrated annually in this temple.

Unless you have your own transport or go in a tour group, it is very difficult to go there. I had to take a bus from Kota Bahru to Simpang Empat (number 27 and 19 will pass here). From Simpat Empat, I had to walk about 4 km after turning left. You can see large fields for crops before reaching the temple. It took me about 40 minutes to reach there.

Wat Machimmaran is another popular buddhist temple in Tumpat, Kelantan. It has a very large sitting buddha statue measuring 30 m high and 18 m wide. It was built in about 1990 and completed in 2000.

Inside the main building of Wat Machimmaran where the sitting buddha is located has 108 statues of sitting buddha. The front side of the building has 18 Arhats or Lohans as in Chin Swees Temple in Genting Highlands.

Outside this main temple are statues of Door-Guards Gods, the Black Face and the White Face. It also has other buildings dedicated to other gods.

This temple is very much easier to reach. Any tourist can just take a bus (number 27 definitely and maybe 19) from Kota Bahru and they will pass in front of the temple which is in JuBakar Village. It is advisable that you confirm with the driver.

Wat Mai Suwankhiri is also a popular buddhist temple in Tumpat, Kelantan. The original temple is believe to be built in the 16th century. This Wat has a big buddha statue standing on top of its main building but this is not the main attraction of this temple.

Inside the main building of Wat Mai Suwankhiri where the standing buddha is located has one main sitting buddha statue with a model of Than Di on its right side. This Than Di model looks really like a real person. On the left of the main building is another building where a 'corpse' of a monk is placed.

The important structure in Wat Mai Suwankhiri is the Dragon Boat / Ketik Perahu Naga which has a shrine with a few buddha statues inside. On the right side of this dragon boat temple is the entrance into a small 'cave temple'. It also has a small cemetery area.

This temple is also easier to reach. Any tourist can just take a bus (number 43) from Kota Bahru and it will pass in front of the temple which is in Kampung Dalam (if I remember correct). Frequency of the bus is about 1 bus in 1 hour.

Wat Pikulthong is another buddhist temple situated in Kampung Terbak, about 3 km from Wat Mai Suwankhiri going toward the Pengkalan Kubor / Pantai Seri Tujuh Area. Tourist can take a bus from Kota Bahru (number 19 if remember correctly) which will pass in front of Wat Pikulthong. Sometimes the driver did not give ticket even after I had paid and some will give ticket or Fast Pass that did not state the bus number.

Wat Pikulthong has 3 standing buddha statues facing one of its entrance. The biggest statue has a height of 49 feet 9 inches. It was built in 1986 and officiated in 1996. This temple is not so popular because it does not have much to see.

Wat Pikulthong has a graveyard area the one side which has an 'elephant' shed and a school which teaches the local thai community on another side. The school children other language which I do not understand so I guess it must be thai language.

There is another temple called Wat Cheng very near Wat Pikulthong. It is mainly a chinese temple with a big statue of Tua Pek Kong and a big statue of Thai Sung Lau Kun, kampung house and a small cemetery area near its entrance.

I was told by the bus driver that there are many wats in Tumpat. However, these 5 are the ones that I managed to visit with most of my time wasted travelling in buses, waiting for buses or walking to the temple ground. Lastly, kindly help keep Kelantan clean by throwing your rubbish into proper places.