Sankampang Hot Spring. Chiang Mai is one of the destinations for the tourists who plan to visit to Thailand. Chiang Mai has many tourist attractions as well as many activities to do. However if you …
Continue readingSankampang Hot Spring.
Tag: Chiang Mai to Bangkok
Rai Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park.
Rai Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park. Visiting to Chiang Rai is one of the places where you could add to your plan while visiting in the northern part of Thailand. Chiang Rai is …
Continue readingChatuchak Weekend Market : JJ Market
Chatuchak Weekend Market : JJ Market Shopping!!! Most people love shopping. If you are one of the shopper, let’s put Chatuchak Market on your list! Chatuchak Market or known by the local people in Thailand …
Continue readingRiver cruise around Ayutthaya historical island.
River cruise around Ayutthaya historical island
Bangkok is Thailand’s current capital city. But, for those who have done a bit of research or are interested in Thai history they will know that there are a few other former capitals throughout the country’s timeline, and Ayutthaya is one of those. This kingdom started to rise around the 14th century and fell because of the Burmese troop’s invasion eventually, part of that was because of the weaknesses of the monarchy at the time. There was altogether 35 kings ruled Ayutthaya kingdom.
It is conveniently located in north of Bangkok and is about 80 km far. Nowadays, it has become a main attraction for those who are interested in history. There is the historical park declared by UNESCO as the World Heritage Site in 1991 where many ruins, numerous temples, old city walls, and other architectures well preserved.
There are different ways to explore the historical site; both by cars and boats. They both give different feelings. It is more relaxed to take the boat tour; total distance is around 30 km. And, with boat tour it is possible to do it within an hour or two for those who don’t have a lot of time. Or, taking the full day tour with lunch on the boat included for those who want to take the slower time in order to enjoy and learn more in depth. There are also both tour operators who can arrange everything for those who don’t have time to plan the trip, or for more budget travelers it is also possible to come up with his/ her own plan by doing some researches to make the trip happen.
The boat tour usually starts at the main pier in the north eastern part of the historical park. They type of boat used is the long-tailed that can carry up to 8, maximum 10 passengers. It passes the stilted houses with balconies facing the river. Some locals come down to the river back to do their chores whereas children enjoy jumping into the water and swim happily. Some of the people living there including monks, row their small wooden boats up or down the river. Some sit at the riverside with their hands holding the fishing rods, or some use the nets to catch fish. There are also some lizards living in the water too.
Not just only the way of life of the people, but the main highlight of doing the boat trip is to stop at a few temples. Many temples are seen from the river when taking the tour. But, there are those that visitors should not miss such as Wat Panan Cheng which is one of the oldest Buddhist temples built in the 14th century where the impressive 19-meter-tall Buddha image is kept. Another famous temple is Wat Chaiwattanaram which was built in the 17th century with Khmer (ancient Cambodia) architecture. There is another old Catholic church called St. Joseph’s church with western style architecture contrasting inside this historical park.
This fun, relaxed and educational boat tour is another activity worth doing when traveling to Thailand.
Maeklong railway market (Talaad Rom Hup) and salt farming (Na glua)
Maeklong railway market (Talaad Rom Hup) and salt farming (Na glua)
The fun activities close to Bangkok with something very unique about ‘Thainess’ to see is the market along the sides of the railway tracks called Rom Hup market (romhup means folding the umbrellas), one of the famous markets in Samut Songkhram province. Since it is not far so it is possible to just spend a bit more money, pay the taxi to bring you to there with reasonable price. Or, the easiest way is to join ‘day-trip’ using one of the many tours, combining a few other interesting places in the same area. But, if you do have enough time to spare for the whole day for this place so that you can see it slowly and experience enough it might be a good idea to go there by the local way. To get there from downtown Bangkok is actually quite easy. Simply take BTS to Wonwian Yai BTS station and then walk to Wongwian Yai railway station. You better check out the train schedule at least a day before leaving on this trip so that it would help to plan. Get the ticket for Mahachai station, there are a few leaving in the morning (it is only about 33km and takes around an hour). Once arrive at Mahachai, cross the river by the local ferry (3 baht per person) to Thachalom town on the other side. From that side take another train leaving to Maeklong station where the market is located. This leg is also only 30km and takes another hour to arrive there. It would feel a little bit strange to arrive there by train because there would be quite a lot of people both locals and tourists waiting for the arrival of the bright-colored-train. The tourists would raise their cameras to take photos so you would feel like you were one of the celebrities (actually the tourists take photos of the train, not of you).
Even though tourists like to go there but the products sold in the market are aimed mainly to the locals who want to buy fresh meat, vegetables, various types of tropical fruits, and some ready-cooked food. The market itself is not very different from other fresh markets in the whole Thailand but the uniqueness of Rom Hub is about the sellers who have shops along the 2 sides of the railway tracks putting their goods very close to the tracks, have to fold/ close their umbrellas and the plastic sheets when the trains are reaching to make enough space for trains to pass.
If you still have enough energy after exploring the market, it is worth visiting one of the nearby several picturesque sea salt farms that not just produce the salt but also open to visitors for snapshots opportunity as well. The technique is simple but interesting. The salt farmers pump the sea water into the fields where the water slowly evaporates until the salt grains are visible. At this stage they start to pile the salt up and then put in the bags. Salt farming is done only during the dry season, between November and May of the next year (June to October is too wet, too much rain).