Ma Doo Bua Café — Giant Lily Pad Lake
A pond covered in Victoria Amazonica water lilies — the largest species on earth — surrounded by traditional Thai wooden houses and a long pier over the water: Ma Doo Bua is the most photographed café in Phuket, and it absolutely lives up to the hype.
The Giant Lily Pad Experience
Ma Doo Bua (มา ดู บัว — 'come see lotus' in Thai) is a café and restaurant in Bang Tao built around a pond covered with giant Victoria Amazonica water lilies. The circular floating leaves can grow over 3 metres wide and support up to 50 kg, which is why you can actually stand on them for a photo.
Add traditional Thai wooden houses with red pointed roofs, a long wooden pier over the water, and a long-tail boat as a photo prop, and you get what has become the most photographed café in Phuket, with 46,000+ Facebook followers and a constant stream of visitors from TikTok and Instagram.
The Photo Experiences
Two ticketed photo sessions are available at the counter on arrival. The standing-on-a-lily-pad session costs 350 THB (weight limit 60 kg) — staff position you on the leaf, hand you a parasol, and shoot from the perfect angle. The drone photo-and-video package runs 1,100 THB per person and captures you lying in the long-tail boat surrounded by lily pads from above.
Slots are first-come, first-served. On busy mornings, visitors queue from 8 am even though the first photo slot opens at 9:30 am — arrive early or accept the wait.
Practical Notes
The café is located at 310/51 Moo 1, Baandon-Cherngtalay Road, Thalang district — on the inland side of Bang Tao, not walking distance from the beach, so you'll need a taxi or scooter. From Phuket Airport it's just 20 minutes, making it a smart first or last stop on your trip.
The drinks and Thai snacks served at the café are decent but secondary to the scenery. Come for the lily pads, stay for an iced Thai tea on the wooden pier.
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