Sights in Thailand
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Night Bazaar
This extensive market sprawls along several blocks. Roofed concession areas, regular shops and street vendors offer a huge variety of Thai goods at bargain prices. Designer goods - real and fake - are also on offer. The Night Bazaar attracts foreign importers, impressed by the discounts given to bulk purchases.
Good buys include Phrae-style sêua mâw hâwm (blue cotton farmer's shirt), northern- and northeastern-Thai hand-woven fabrics, yâam (shoulder bags), hill-tribe crafts (many tribespeople set up their own stalls here; the Akha wander around on foot), opium scales, hats, silver jewellery, lacquerware, woodcarvings, iron and bronze Buddhas, as well as many other item…
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Jim Thompson’s House
In 1959, 12 years after he discovered the fine silks being woven across the klorng in Baan Krua and single-handedly turned Thai silk into a hugely successful export business, American Jim Thompson bought this piece of land on Khlong Saen Saeb and built himself a house. It wasn’t, however, any old house. Thompson’s love of all things Thai saw him buy six traditional wooden homes and reconstruct them in this jungle-like garden. Some of the homes were brought from the old royal capital of Ayuthaya; others were pulled down and floated across the klorng from Baan Krua –including the first building you enter on the tour. Beware well-dressed touts in soi near the Thompson ho…
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Phra Ratchaniwet Mrigadayavan
With a breezy seaside location 10km north of Hua Hin, this summer palace was built during the reign of Rama VI (King Vajiravudh) in 1923 as a health-promoting retreat for the king who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. The court's Italian architect built the palace to maximise air circulation and admire the sea. The result is a series of interlinked teak houses with tall shuttered windows and patterned fretwork built upon stilts forming a shaded ground-level boardwalk. It is functional and elegant without excessive opulence. Surrounding the palace is a beautiful garden with statuesque trees, some nearing a century old. A traditional Thai orchestra helps transport visitor…
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Tham Phraya Nakhon
Tham Phraya Nakhon is probably the most photographed cave in Thailand and can be reached by boat or foot. The boat trip takes about 30 minutes there and back, while it's 30 minutes each way by foot along a steep, rocky 430m trail from Hat Laem Sala. The cave is made up of two large sinkholes, and when the sun shines through in the early morning the effect is truly mystical. In one cave there's a royal săh·lah (often spelt sala; an 'open room' with a roof but no walls).
It was built for King Chulalongkorn, who would stop off here when travelling back and forth between Bangkok and Nakhon Si Thammarat. Check out 'Pagoda Rock', covered with colourful talismans, and 'Crocodi…
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Ao Phang-Nga National Marine Park
This sheltered pocket of the Andaman Sea is blessed with verdant limestone cliffs, odd rock formations, submerged karst caves and quaint fishing villages. Around the coast, turquoise waters and scenic islands await the swooshing of your paddles. Hire a canoe, kayak or private boat from the visitors' centre or join a tour organised through an agency in town.
Tours usually include a stop at a Muslim fishing village and James Bond Island (the island rock in The Man with the Golden Gun) within Ao Phang-Nga National Marine Park. The tours take from two to three hours and can be arranged through tour agencies at the Phang-Nga bus station.
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Kaeng Khut Khu
The gorgeous rapids at Kaeng Khut Khu is about 5km downstream. It’s most beautiful in the dry, hot season, but worth the trip anytime. The surrounding park has a bevy of vendors selling Isan food into the early evening. The local speciality is coconut candy (má·prów gàaw), and you will also find gûng đên (dancing shrimp), little bowls of live shrimp meant for slurping down just as they come, on the menu. Sŏrng·tăa·ou rarely come out here, so take a túk-túk (50B), or better yet, hire a bike.
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Phuket Fantasea
This is a US$60 million 'cultural theme park' located just east of Hat Kamala. Despite the billing, there aren't any rides, but there is a show that takes the colour and pageantry of Thai dance and combines this with state-of-the-art light-and-sound techniques that rival anything found in Las Vegas (think 30 elephants). All of this takes place on a stage dominated by a full-scale replica of a Khmer temple. Kids especially will be captivated by the spectacle but it is over-the-top cheesy, and cameras are forbidden.
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Ko Rang
By far the best diving in the region is in and around Ko Rang. Protected from fishing by its marine park status, this place has some of the most pristine coral in Thailand. Visibility is much better than Ko Chang and averages between 10m and 20m.
Ko Yak and Ko Laun are both shallow dives perfect for both beginners and advanced divers. These two small rocky islands can be circumnavigated and have loads of coral, schooling fish, rays, morays, barracuda, puffer fish and the occasional turtle.
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Hat Bang Ben
The most accessible beach in the park is Hat Bang Ben, where the park headquarters are. This long, sandy beach, backed by shady casuarinas, is said to be safe for swimming year-round. From Hat Bang Ben you can see several islands, including the nearby Ko Kam Yai, Ko Kam Noi, Mu Ko Yipun, Ko Khang Khao and, to the north, Ko Phayam. The park staff can arrange boat trips out to any of these islands. During low tide you can walk to an island just a couple of hundred metres from Hat Bang Ben.
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Baan Krua
Baan Krua literally means ‘Muslim Family Village’ and is one of Bangkok’s oldest communities. It dates to the turbulent years at the end of the 18th century, when Cham Muslims from Cambodia and Vietnam fought on the side of the new Thai king and were rewarded with this plot of land east of the new capital. The immigrants brought their silk-weaving traditions with them, and the community grew when the residents built Khlong Saen Saeb to better connect them to the Chao Phraya river.
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FAE’s Elephant Hospital
Near the TECC but not affiliated with, is the FAE’s Elephant Hospital, which claims to be the first of its kind in the world. Although visitors are appreciated and provided for, keep in mind that this is a functioning medical facility, and there are no guided tours and certainly no elephant art. Donations are greatly appreciated. In June 2008 the centre reached another first when it successfully provided an elephant with a prosthetic leg.
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Laem Son National Park
The Leam Son National Park covers 315 sq km of land shared by Ranong and Phang-Nga Provinces, it also includes around 100km of Andaman Sea coastline –the longest protected shore in the country –as well as over 20 idyllic islets. Much of the coast here is covered with mangrove swamps, home to various species of birds, fish, deer and monkeys (including crab-eating macaques), often seen while you’re driving along the road to the park headquarters.
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Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park
A Unesco World Heritage Site, this park features the ruins of structures dating back to the 14th century, roughly the same time as the better-known kingdom of Sukhothai. Kamphaeng Phet's Buddhist monuments continued to be built until the Ayuthaya period, nearly 200 years later, and thus possess elements of both Sukhothai and Ayuthaya styles, resulting in a school of Buddhist art quite unlike anywhere else in Thailand.
The park has two distinct parts; an inclusive ticket (150B) allows entry to both areas. The old city is surrounded by a wall (the 'Diamond Gate' of the city's name) and was formerly inhabited by monks of the gamavasi ('living in the community') sect. This are…
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Oasis Sea World
The jagged peninsula of Laem Singh is a picturesque beach option and home to the region's most popular tourist destination, Oasis Sea World. Dolphins are the main attraction and the price of admission includes the opportunity to get in the water with the lovable creatures and assist the trainers with tricks and feeding. Visits can be arranged by most tour operators between Pattaya and Ko Chang.
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Wat Pho
You'll find (slightly) fewer tourists here than at Wat Phra Kaew, but Wat Pho is our personal fave among Bangkok's biggest temples. In fact, the compound incorporates a host of superlatives: the largest reclining Buddha, the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand and the country's earliest centre for public education.
Almost too big for its shelter, the genuinely impressive Reclining Buddha, 46m long and 15m high, illustrates the passing of the Buddha into nirvana (ie the Buddha's death). The figure is modelled out of plaster around a brick core and finished in gold leaf. Mother-of-pearl inlay ornaments the feet, displaying 108 different auspicious lák·sà·nà …
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Shrine of the Serene Light
A handful of Chinese temples inject some added colour into the area but the Shrine of the Serene Light, tucked away at the end of a 50m alley near the Bangkok Bank of Commerce on Th Phang-Nga, is a cut above the rest. You'll see Taoist etchings on the walls, the vaulted ceiling stained from incense plumes, and the altar is always alive with fresh flowers and burning candles. The shrine is said to have been built by a local family in the mid-1880s.
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Wat Pho Ban Nontan
Just off the lake, this peaceful tree-filled temple pre-dates the city and has a săh·lah like no other in Thailand. The ground floor is covered with ingeniously sculpted trees, animals and village scenes of people acting out old Isan proverbs.
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Mini Siam
Mini Siam is - you guessed it - a scaled-down set of replicas of Thailand's ancient and famous sights. It's about 1.5km east of town.
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Nam Tok Khiri Phet
This small waterfall, 2km from Ban Salak Phet, is a 15-minute walk from the road and rewards you with a small, deep plunge pool. It's usually quieter than many of the larger falls and is easily reached if you're in the neighbourhood of Ao Salak Phet.
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Ban Salak Phet
In the southeast pocket of the island is Ban Salak Phet, a surprisingly bustling Thai community of fisherfolk and merchants plus lots of bike-riding kids and yawning dogs. This is what most of Ko Chang looked like less than a generation ago. Just beyond the commercial heart of the village is Ao Salak Phet, a beautiful blue bay serenely guarded by humpbacked islands. Most visitors come for the seafood restaurants or to cruise the lonely byways for a secluded beach.
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Death Railway Bridge
This little railway bridge is not nearly as impressive in person as the dramatic story that made it famous. The materials for the bridge were brought from Java by the Imperial Japanese Army during its 1942-43 occupation of Thailand. The first version of the bridge, completed in February 1943, was all wood. In April of the same year a second bridge of steel was constructed.
In 1945 the bridge was bombed several times Allied planes and was only rebuilt after the war - the curved portions of the bridge are original.
The bridge spans Mae Nam Khwae Yai, which is 2.5km from the centre of Kanchanaburi. The most enjoyable way to get to the bridge from town is to rent a bicycle or …
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Phra Narai Ratchaniwet
Start your tour of Lopburi at this former royal palace. Inside the palace grounds is the Lopburi Museum (officially called Somdet Phra Narai National Museum), which houses displays of local history. The museum is divided into three separate buildings. In Phiman Mongkut Pavilion there are sculptures and art from the Lopburi, Khmer, Dvaravati, U Thong and Ayuthaya periods. The Chantara Phisan Throne Hall contains paintings and artefacts in memory of King Narai, while the European-style Phra Pratiab Building has a small display of traditional handicraft and hunting tools.
Built between 1665 and 1677, with help from French and Italian engineers, the palace was used to welcome …
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Wat Phanan Choeng
One of the major Ayuthaya highlights, the busy and modern-looking Wat Phanan Choeng is a popular pilgrimage destination for weekenders from Bangkok. Although the original temple allegedly pre-dates the Ayuthaya era, many Thai-Chinese regard this temple with special reverence because of its later benefactor Sam Po Kong (Zheng He), a Chinese explorer who visited Ayuthaya in 1407.
As an emissary of the Chinese imperial court, Sam Po established diplomatic and trading relations all along his sea voyage, which extended as far west as Africa. For many local worshippers, the famous Buddha image (Luang Por Phanan Choeng or Phra Phanan Choeng) is often directly associated with the…
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Ao Phang-Nga National Park
Established in 1981 and covering an area of 400 sq km, Ao Phang-Nga National Park is noted for its classic karst scenery created by fault movements on the mainland that pushed massive limestone blocks into geometric patterns. As these blocks extend southwards into Ao Phang-Nga, they form over 40 islands with huge vertical cliffs.
The bay itself is composed of large and small tidal channels that originally connected with the mainland fluvial system. The main tidal channels - Khlong Ko Phanyi, Khlong Phang-Nga, Khlong Bang Toi and Khlong Bo Saen - run through vast mangroves in a north-south direction and today are used by fisherfolk and island inhabitants as aquatic highway…
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