Travel – Page 6

Ayutthaya, Thailand

This is the first in a five-part series about Ayutthaya, Thailand and the Ayutthaya Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This article gives an overview of the City of Ayutthaya and its history. The others will feature four of its most important sites: Wat Chaiwatthanaram; Wat Phu Khao Thong; Wat Mahathat; and Wat Yai Chai Mongkon. They should give you a taste of what this amazing place has to offer.

In August 2012, I visited Ayutthaya, the site of the former capital of Thailand (also called Siam or Krung Tai) during the Ayutthaya Kingdom period. Established in 1350, the capital at its height in 1605 ruled an area that included Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and parts of Burma (Myanmar) and China. The city was destroyed in April 1767 after a 14-month siege by Burmese invaders. Most of its buildings were reduced to rubble and its treasures looted or destroyed. The threat of a Chinese invasion at home forced the Burmese army to retreat a few months later, leaving Thailand decimated until the country reunified in December 1767 and a new capital was established in Bangkok (then-Thonburi).

In 1991, UNESCO named Ayutthaya a World Heritage Site and designated 15 sites in the city of significant historical value. These included Wat Ratchaburana; Wat Mahathat; Wat Phra Sri Sanphet; Wat Phra Ram; Wat Lokayasutha; Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit; Wat Lokayasutha; Wat Yai Chai Mongkon; Phra Chedi Suriyothai; Wat Phanan Choeng; Wat Chaiwatthanaram; Ayutthaya Historical Study Centre; Japanese Settlement; Wat Phu Khao Thong; and the Elephant Camp (Kraal). Most are located on or around an island in the city center surrounded by the Chao Phraya River.

Some sites have partially restored temple ruins, such as the gorgeous Wat Chaiwatthanaram.

Wat Mahathat, a former Buddhist monastery and one of the largest sites in Ayutthaya Historical Park, is well known for the stone Buddha’s head stuck in a banyan tree on the grounds. Experts believe that the artifact was either abandoned by thieves or fell from a statue after the temple was destroyed.

Other ancient structures such as Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, a restored temple famous for its reclining Buddha, are still in use. Ruined prang (towers) and stupa or chedi (monuments) offer glimpses of Ayutthaya’s once-glorious past.

Wat Phu Khao Thong is another monastery dating back to the Ayutthaya Kingdom period that has been renovated and is still in use today.

Ayutthaya is a two-hour drive north of Bangkok (in good traffic) via an expressway from downtown Bangkok. It’s a great daytrip for those who want to explore Thailand’s past and the Ayutthaya Kingdom’s influence on Thai culture. The city of about 60,000 inhabitants is relatively compact and easy to navigate.

With many historical structures scattered throughout the city, Ayutthaya is a wonderful place to savor Thailand while you’re driving from site to site. Check out the beautiful countryside and the shallow (and somewhat muddy) Chao Phraya River that winds its way through the city on its way to the Gulf of Thailand.

Stop in the city center for lunch. The Amporn Shopping Centre and Chao Phrom Market have a variety of dining choices ranging from Thai to western cuisine.

Browse the local markets and try some fruits or snacks. The aging Chao Phrom Market is an authentic Thai market, gritty but fascinating. The contemporary Ayodhya Floating Market on the outskirts of town is a touristy place with elephant rides and staged re-enactments of the Burmese invasion. While it may feel kitschy and commercialized, it’s a fun place to end the day with a meal and some souvenir shopping. It’s different than the Ayutthaya Klong Sa Bua Floating Market, a better-known floating market that was closed when I visited but will reopen in October 2012.

Ayutthaya’s historical sites would have been in much better condition had they not been destroyed in 1767 — consider how well preserved its peer, the Independence National Historic Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is — but many still stand as a testament to the former majesty of this ancient capital.

More About Ayutthaya, Thailand

Click here to read about Wat Chaiwatthanaram, the ruin of a former Buddhist temple

Click here to read about Wat Phu Khao Thong, a historical Buddhist monastery

Click here to read about Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon, a historical Buddhist monastery

Click here to read about Wat Mahathat, the ruin of a former Buddhist temple

Visit Ayutthaya Historical Research for more in-depth information about historic Ayutthaya.

The photo of the historical painting of Ayutthaya was used with permission from Wikipedia.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

This is the final article about the Khao Yai area in Nakhon Ratchasima, a province in northeast Thailand. The first post featured Palio Khao Yai, an Italian-themed village, and the second Farm Chokchai, home to Thailand’s largest dairy ranch. This article showcases Khao Yai National Park.

Khao Yai National Park is Thailand’s oldest and second largest national park covering 2,168 square kilometers (1,350 square miles) in the foothills of the Dong Phaya Yen Mountains. It lies two hours by car northeast of Bangkok and is a popular getaway destination.

The Royal Thai government designated Khao Yai a national park in 1962. In 1984, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations named it an ASEAN Heritage Park, and in 2005, UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site under the name Dong Phaya Yen-Khao Yai Forest Complex, noting that it “contains more than 800 fauna species, including 112 species of mammals, 392 species of birds and 200 reptiles and amphibians. It is internationally important for the conservation of globally threatened and endangered mammal, bird and reptile species that are recognised as being of outstanding universal value. This includes 1 critically endangered, 4 endangered and 19 vulnerable species.”

The name “Khao Yai” originated from a small mountain township (in Thai, tambon) incorporated in 1922 and abolished a decade later when the residents were relocated to the nearby plain.

Humans and animals continued to co-exist in the area after the national park was established. In addition to small villages along the park’s feeder roads, large-scale developments, from dairy farms and wineries to hotel resorts and residential communities, have sprung up in and around Khao Yai. This has led to debates over land use, local development, conservation, environmental sustainability, and wildlife protection.

We spent a weekend in February 2012 camping near the park. It was an odd setting for a camping trip as we stayed in tents on the grounds of Cabbages & Condoms Resort (also known as “C&C” for those who avoid mentioning its full name). Camping on manicured lawns on a terraced hillside amid uniform palm trees in the shadow of a Buddhist monastery was a far cry from the wilderness camping that I enjoyed while growing up in the western United States. Nevertheless, it was an excellent introduction to camping and “roughing it” for my young son.

During our campout, we went hiking in the park and enjoyed its scenic beauty. The trail passed through subtropical forest that reminded me I was in Southeast Asia.

I couldn’t quite forget that we were staying in a resort. Tempting as it was to use the pool, I resisted the urge to soak in the chlorinated water. If I couldn’t have an authentic camping experience, at least I did my best to rough it.

Although we didn’t see any of the big game animals — elephants, tigers, or Asiatic black bears — along the way, we encountered some monkeys, lizards, geckos, and other wildlife as well as gorgeous flora.

We also saw some not-so-wild creatures such as an ornery gaggle of geese and the biggest rooster I’ve ever seen. After he crossed the road, I tried to ask him why, but he gave me a “don’t mess with me” look. I left him alone.

Signs of humans were evident throughout Khao Yai. Small farms lined the road all the way to the park’s doorstep. Unlike the large developments built in recent years, those who had lived in the area for decades seemed to have found a way to inhabit it without leaving an intrusive footprint, as evidenced by the “school bus” truck taking students home after school.

On the last day of our camping trip, we drove through the rest of the park. Along the way we passed by villages, vineyards, homesteads, and gated communities. One moment we saw villas that reminded me of Tuscany and the next, a Buddhist temple. It was an odd mix of development that left me amused and bewildered. I wondered whether the park would survive in the long term with this kind of encroaching sprawl.

I think the area will ultimately find the right balance. Thailand has found a way to flourish organically, and Khao Yai is a heterogeneous microcosm of all there is to love about this wonderfully diverse place.

If you’re looking for a fun daytrip out of Bangkok that will give you a taste of the eclectic side of Thailand, Khao Yai is a great choice.

More About the Khao Yai Area of Thailand:

Palio Khao Yai, an Italian-themed shopping center near Khao Yai National Park.

Farm Chokchai, Thailand’s largest dairy farm with theme park-style attractions and entertainment reminiscent of the American Frontier.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

Farm Chokchai – The Old West in Thailand

This is the second of three articles about the Khao Yai area in Nakhon Ratchasima, a province in northeast Thailand. The first article focused on Palio Khao Yai, an Italian-themed village, and the next will feature Khao Yai National Park. This post is about Farm Chokchai, home to Thailand’s largest dairy ranch.

With more than 5,000 head of cattle ranging over 8,000 acres, Farm Chokchai is Thailand’s largest dairy farm and one of the largest in Asia. Established in 1957 by Thai cowboy Khun Chokchai Bulakul on 100 acres, the farm has grown during its 55 year history. It has had a colorful history experimenting with different businesses ranging from selling machinery and construction materials, raising beef cattle and exporting beef, operating steakhouses, and selling dairy products. Its current iteration is as a dairy farm. Farm Chokchai went through some setbacks during the mid-1990s Asian financial crisis but bounced back in the next decade. It is now one of Thailand’s major dairy brands with a variety of milk products, including its Umm…Milk line.

Farm Chokchai is a tourist attraction for those who want to see how a dairy farm and ranch operates. A two-hour drive from Bangkok, it gives those who have limited knowledge of western-style farms the opportunity to get away from the city and “experience” a farm with a “Wild West” flavor emphasized by its owners, the Farm Chokchai Group. The wood false-front stores reminiscent of the American West, souvenir shops with assortments of dairy products and plush farm animal toys, and carnival games give the place a theme park atmosphere. The farm offers a daily tour geared to children as well as “Farm Chokchai Camp,” a facility where visitors can stay overnight and enjoy the countryside. It seems to tap into the same nostalgia for rural life as the online game app FarmVille.

My son and I toured Farm Chokchai in May 2012. We watched a movie about the farm’s history, then joined a Thai-speaking guide who showed us equipment once used around the farm, including a John Deere tractor that is reportedly one of just two still in existence — the other sits in the company’s headquarters in Moline, Illinois. We then entered a showroom where the farm processes some of its milk products such as yogurt and ice cream. Conspicuously absent was cheese, a food that few Thais eat. The showroom demonstrated how the farm turns milk into dairy products but did not operate as a full-fledge processing plant.

We proceeded to another building where a man demonstrated how bulls are “milked” for sperm to sell to other farms. I was glad that he didn’t show the group of kids on the tour how it’s used!

After our biology lesson, we tooled around the farm in a wagon pulled by a tractor. I enjoyed the beautiful views of the Thai countryside surrounding the dairy farm. The scenery reminded me of places I’ve seen in the United States, especially Northern California and the Mid-Atlantic coastal region.

We stopped at a corral surrounded by a ring of frontier-style buildings to watch Thai cowboys demonstrate skills once needed to survive in the Wild West. The crowd watched in awe as a cowboy astride a horse rounded up a calf and took it down with a lasso. A woman showed the audience how to twirl two pistols simultaneously, and a man showed off some fancy rope work by twirling his lasso in the air. For many spectators, this would be the closest they would get to a seeing a rodeo.

The wagon brought us to an area with a stage where animals wowed the crowd with their talents. A macaw rode a miniature bicycle; another solved math problems. A goat rode a barrel. A dog bottle fed a calf while other dogs (literally) jumped through hoops. PETA wouldn’t have approved, but then again, Farm Chokchai is a large-scale commercial enterprise that puts animals to use in many other ways.

We finished our tour at a petting zoo where visitors, children and parents alike, fed the cows, goats, and Eld’s deer fawns. My son enjoyed feeding the fawns. I almost had to rescue him from the herd as they pressed in on him eager for food.

Like the nearby Italian-themed Palio Khao Yai, Farm Chokchai is a place in Thailand with an atmosphere that can make you forget you’re there. The farm did a good job of presenting the Old West and western-style farming to local audiences in an entertaining package that’s attractive to kids. I don’t recommend the tour as a daytrip for tourists visiting Thailand for the first time, but if you’re planning to stay a while, it might be a good diversion from the hustle and bustle of urban Bangkok.

Even in Farm Chokchai, you won’t be able to get away completely from reminders you’re in Asia. You’ll still see dragon fruit (pitaya) trees and spirit houses that give a distinctly Thai flavor.

More About the Khao Yai Area of Thailand:

Palio Khao Yai, an Italian-themed shopping center a few kilometers from Farm Chokchai

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.