Category Archives: Road Trips

Cathedral in Samut Songkhram

Posted on January 20, 2011 by | Comments Off
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One of the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals in Thailand is The Nativity of Our Lady Cathedral next to Bang Nok Kwaeng Riverside Market in Samut Songkhram. The cathedral has been a dominant feature of the river banks of the Maeklong River for over one hundred years. The walls are made of highly-heated clay brick coated with sugar cane molasses mixed into the lime. The colour of the exterior walls comes from a mixture containing charcoal powder.

In the year 1835, Bishop Courvesy was installed by the Holy Father in Rome as the first Bishop of Siam. He invited Friar Albrand from Singapore to help with the pastoral work at Rosary Church in Talad Noi in Bangkok. On his missionary journey, Friar Albrand passed through the Maeklong River valley. On reaching a village on the banks of Simuen Canal, he found eight Chinese Catholic families who had moved there from Rosary Church and had settled on this fertile land.

By the year 1847 there were about 200 Catholics and they built a wooden church with a thatched roof near the Raung Yao irrigation canal. In 1850, Friar Marin acquired a piece of good land near the Damnoen Saduak Canal which linked the Tajeen and Maeklong rivers. In 1890, Friar Paulo Salmon, whose statue you can see in the picture above, started the construction of the cathedral. It took six long years before they were finally able to celebrate the grand opening on 11th February 1896.

The stained glass windows were made by the Hector Co. from France. They depict stories from the Bible and of the Virgin Mary. During World War II, some parts of the church and the stained glass were damaged. The cathedral was renovated in 1994 just in time for its centenary celebrations. Today there are about 2,000 Catholics registered in the district though some of these have now moved away to work elsewhere.

You can reach the cathedral by heading north from Amphawa. Pass the Rama II Park and head towards Bang Nok Kwaeng [MAP]. The cathedral is open Wednesday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you find it locked then inquire at the nearby information center. Mass is celebrated Monday to Friday at 6:15 a.m., first Friday and Saturday of the month at 7:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m.

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Posted in Road Trips, Samut Songkram

Tha Kha Floating Market

Posted on January 18, 2011 by | 7 Comments
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The most popular floating market in Thailand for tourists is undoubtedly at Damnoen Saduak. However, if you want to avoid the bus loads of tourists on a very well worn trail then I suggest that you head out to Tha Kha Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำท่าคา). This market is a short distance away in Samut Songkhram Province [MAP]. I was using a homestay at Amphawa Floating Market as my base and it only took me about 15 minutes to drive here. It is a bit in the middle of no-where if you don’t have your own transport. But, I am told you can catch a songtaew here from the market in Samut Songkhram City.

The Tha Kha Floating Market is far more genuine than Damnoen Saduak. Just think the same but twenty years ago. It is the kind of place where the boat vendors were also selling to each other in addition to the small number of Thai tourists that turn up. For the entire time that I was there I only saw three foreign tourists and each of them had personal Thai guides. I seemed to be the only foreigner there without a guide. One thing that I don’t like about Damnoen Saduak are the rows of souvenir shops all selling the same tacky items. At Tha Kha it was mainly fruit and vegetables but also some OTOP products made by local people.

Like at Damnoen Saduak, you can also go on a boat tour of the local canals. If I remember right, at Damnoen Saduak this costs something like 400 baht if not more. However, here it costs only 20 baht each! Which is ridiculously cheap. When I first went to Damnoen Saduak most boats had people rowing, though these days they all seem to have noisy motors. At Tha Kha they will paddle you along the narrow canals in peace and quiet so that you can better appreciate your environment. I was taken to three locations. Two old houses that are more than 100 years old and also a sugar palm factory.

 

 

 

The market starts running at about 8 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. The earlier you go the better. As it is a traditional market, you will find that the main days are on the 2nd, 7th and 12th days of the waxing and waning moon. You will need a special lunar calendar to work this out. As they are trying to develop this market as a tourist destination, it is also now open at the weekends. While I was there they were constructing some wooden buildings on the opposite bank. I presume to add places for people to eat or maybe more shops. I suggest that you go here sooner rather than later before it becomes too commercialized.

The following is a map showing the location of the market and other attractions nearby.


View larger map

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Posted in Floating Markets, Road Trips, Samut Songkram

Ban Rak Amphawa Homestay

Posted on January 17, 2011 by | Comments Off
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Ban Rak Amphawa Homestay - Amphawa Home of Love

Most people go to Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram as an easy day trip from Bangkok. It is only about 90 minutes away. I have done it several times myself. However, the popularity of homestays in recent years has seen a boom in business in this once sleepy town. Now it seems that almost every other house is offering homestay. As tourists we are really spoiled for choice. Or you would think so. Four days before my trip I called half a dozen different homestays only to be told that they were already full.

The majority of homestays have websites though most of these are in Thai language only. They are catering for the Thai market. Foreigners do go, but for them it is mainly walk-in. However, if you want the best rooms and locations, you need to book at least a week in advance. Sometimes two. The problem is that Amphawa is a weekend market so the majority of people come to stay only Friday or Saturday nights. If you are a tourist, who doesn’t need to work on Mondays, then arriving Sunday is your best bet.

Many of the homestays are quite expensive. Average prices are about 1,500 baht. The problem is the rooms are usually empty for the majority of the week  and owners only make money at the weekend. I was lucky to be able to book the last room at Ban Rak Amphawa Homestay.The price wasn’t bad at 700 baht, however I didn’t have a private bathroom. On the plus side, I had a comfortable bed, air-conditioning and a television. The most expensive rooms were these two on the verandah by the river. These two are 1,400 baht each. As you can see, you only have a thin mattress on the floor. Other rooms with normal beds and bathrooms are 1,200 baht.

Ban Rak Amphawa is at the far eastern end of the market [MAP]. It is alongside the river which is important when looking for a good homestay. Although there isn’t a footpath along the river here, that was actually to our advantage as it gave us a little bit of privacy. Anyway, food vendors were going up and down the river all day and you just called out to one when you were hungry. The market itself is only a ten minute walk away. I had lunch here after I had arrived and had unpacked. And then I went to explore the market in the afternoon.

The owners of the homestay don’t really speak any English. So, you will need to get a friend to call them to book a room. You will then need to use an ATM to transfer about 500 baht as a deposit to their bank account. Keep the slip as you need to fax it to them. The homestay is down a very narrow Soi so you cannot park your car there. However, there was no problem in parking at Rong Jay (the Chinese Shrine) which is only a few minutes walk away. Another homestay here is called Ban Mae Arom Homestay [MAP]. The owner did say that she speaks English so you might find this one easier.

I enjoyed the peace and tranquillity at Ban Rak Amphawa. The owners were very kind and always did their best to please you. They have bicycles that you can use for free. Also, in the morning they will wake you up shortly after 6 a.m. if you want to make merit by giving alms to the monks. I only stayed here for one night but would have liked to have stayed longer. There is a lot to see in the area and I did enjoy the short bicycle trips that I went on around Amphawa. I also enjoyed walking through Amphawa Floating Market during the early morning when there were hardly any tourists. Most people don’t arrive until mid-afternoon.

This last photo shows Ban Rak Amphawa from the other side of the river. It was taken about an hour after the monks had finished their alms round. For more information you can visit their website www.baanrak-amphawa.com. The website for the homestay next door where they speak some English is www.banmaearom.com. I am going to be working on my own website as I think that you will find most sites about Amphawa are only in Thai. I would suggest that you bookmark www.AmphawaFloatingMarket.com as I will soon be updating it with new information and pictures from my recent trip there. I will also be working on a Map of Amphawa.

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Posted in Bangkok Day Trips, Road Trips, Samut Songkram

Return to Amphawa Floating Market

Posted on January 15, 2011 by | Comments Off
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I first went to Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram exactly five years ago. I went there for the annual Rama II Fair. This year it takes place on the weekend of 5th-6th February 2011. I have been back to Amphawa a few times since. I really like the floating market as it seems very authentic compared to the tourist trap at the nearby Damnoern Saduak. I also enjoyed the boat tour of the local river and temples.

Five years ago I didn’t see any foreigners at all and there was hardly anything about it on the Internet. Certainly not in English. Also at that time there was nothing in the guidebooks. Things have of course changed since then. Judging by chatter on the Internet there will most likely be more foreigners today. I think one of the things that many people like about it is that it is a late afternoon market. So, no need to wake up early. It is also only a weekend market.

This weekend I am going to go again, but this time I will be spending the night at a homestay by the river. I’m really looking forward to that as I have heard a lot of good things. However, I am worried that it may have become over commercialised with every other home becoming a homestay. There is certainly a lot of demand. The first four homestays that I called on Wednesday were already fully booked. I will be blogging about my weekend when I get back, but you can follow me live on Twitter @RichardBarrow.

I will be collecting new content for my Amphawa Floating Market website and also for the Samut Songkhram Map.

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Posted in Road Trips, Samut Songkram

Cave at Hup Pat Tat

Posted on November 20, 2010 by | 5 Comments
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Uthai Thani is in the Lower North of Thailand and is blessed with many forests and mountains. The most famous wildlife sanctuary here is Huai Kha Khaeng which I was lucky to visit about 15 years ago. Today it is listed as a World Heritage Site. In the same district of  Lan Sek, I recently went to visit Hup Pat Tat which is surrounded by limestone hills and lush vegetation. It is about 50 kilometres from Uthai Thani City.

A cave here was discovered by a monk called Luangpho Thongyot in 1979. From here he climbed down into a hidden valley which later turned out to have many ancient and rarely found plants. In 1984 he drilled through the cave to further open it up to give better access. Fortunately, the Department of Forestry later recognized the uniqueness and importance of the valley and declared it a conservation area. It is open to the public today but you need to walk through this cave for about 60 meters in the pitch dark.

The rewards on the other side are worth the effort. You will see a lot of Tat trees which are ancient trees similar to palm trees. There are also rarely seen plants such as Tao Rang (fish tail palm), Plao and Khatkhao Lek. From this vantage point there are steps that take us down to the floor of the valley. As it is surrounded by steep limestone cliffs on each side, light rarely penetrates this evergreen forest.

In many ways it is like stepping back in time and you could almost imagine that you were walking in a place that hadn’t changed for thousands of years. In particular this photogenic cave with its natural rock formations.  Of course, the illusion is shattered a bit by the crowds of Thai tourists with their transistor radios. For some reason, many of them don’t like silence. So, if you go to visit Hup Pa Tat then you might want to avoid public holidays.

Although I found the hidden valley in Hup Pa Tat to be very beautiful and worth a visit, I think the entrance price for foreigners at 200 baht is a bit steep for such a small attraction. Thai adults only pay 20 baht. To be honest, I have seen better national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in Australia and many were free. The Department of Forestry really do need to re-think their two price system. How can they charge the same price for a national park and also this small area?

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Posted in Road Trips, Uthai Thani