Day Trips from Bangkok

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market: Southwest of Bangkok, this market provides much of the best-known pictures of Thailand. Women wearing flat bamboo hats and selling fruits and noodle soups from shaky boats welcome visitors with broad smiles and the best of the Thai cuisine.
Kanchanaburi and the Bridge over the River Kwai: Kanchanaburi hosts the main memorials in Thailand for the Second World War; the Bridge over the River Kwai and the adjacent cemetery of POW’s provide a usually overlooked angle of that period. Higher than Bangkok, its climate is a bit cooler, and its light breezes give a much needed break from the capital’s excessive heat.
Ayuthaya: A former capital of the kingdom, Ayuthaya hosts striking temples and Buddhas’ heads emerging from tree’s trunks. Surrounded by water canals and green parks, it provides the perfect setup for a picnic following a history lesson.
Pattaya: The best beach in the Bangkok area, Pattaya is an excellent resort to enjoy beautiful sunsets over the Gulf of Thailand, while – for example - waiting for visas to be prepared in Bangkok. It has some of the best Western facilities in the whole country.

Quick Tips:

Bangkok’s humidity and heat can be overwhelming at the beginning; breaking a visit with short day trips in its surroundings is a good way to enhance the experience.
Kanchanaburi is known as the mosquitos’ capital of Thailand; if travelling during the rainy season or just after it, it is recommended to take extra quantities of a lotion containing DEET.
Ayuthaya and Damnoen Saduak can get incredibly crowded, thus it is a good idea to reach them as early as possible. After seeing the main attractions, there are plenty of secondary views for the rest of the day.
Pattaya’s bad reputation is unjustified; it is no different in its culture than Bangkok, Koh Samui or Phuket. Moreover, the huge amounts of tourists there have helped to create a friendly and enjoyable environment. A mere two hours from Bangkok, give it a try and decide by yourself.
When it comes to Thai food, try everything, but with care. Be especially careful with the chilies and their sauces; try a little bit on rice before lushly pouring them over the food. Simple local dishes in the local fashion are a good way to get to know a new culture, and are available everywhere.

Best Way To Get Around:

Northern Terminal (Mo Chit): not far from the Chatuchak Market, this is the departing point to Ayuthaya. It can be reached with bus #3 (7 Baht) which passes through the closest road to the Chao Praya River, just west of the road around the temple at the west end of Khaosan Road.

Eastern Terminal (Ekamai): on the eastern side of Sukhumvit Road, Ekamai can be reached with the Skytrain and is the best departing place for Pattaya. Another option to reach it is with bus #2 (7 Baht) from the stop in front of the Lottery Building on the main road leading to the Palace, just south of Khaosan Road.

Southern Terminal (Sathaanii Sai Tai Mai): this terminal is in the city of Thonburi (across the Chao Praya River from Bangkok) at the junction of Thanon Borom Ratchonni and the Nakhon Chaisri Highway. Due to its somewhat awkward location, a taxi is recommended (100 to 200 Baht). This is the departure point for Damnoen Saduak and Kanchanaburi.

Taxis to Pattaya charge between 800 and 1000 Baht; to the other locations in this journal expect to pay a similar price, but bargain hard and agree on the price before the trip.

Ayuthaya - 86km north of Bangkok - was the Thai capital from 1350 to 1767; before that it was a Cambodia outpost. It is named after Ayodhya, the home of Rama in the Indian epic Ramayana, Sanskrit for invincible. In 1767, after the ruling of 33 Thai kings, it was conquered by the Burmese and lost its capital status. Today it is a World Heritage Site recognised by UNESCO.

The 16th to 18th century temple ruins at Ayuthaya date from Thailand’s most illustrious period and tell the story of a splendid city which was courted by English, Dutch, Portuguese, French, Japanese and Chinese merchants. By the end of the 17th century, Ayuthaya's population had reached one million and the many visiting foreigners claimed it to be the finest city they had ever seen.

The main temple in the complex is the 14th-century Wat Phra Si Sanphet, the largest in Ayuthaya in its time. It contained a 16m standing Buddha that was covered in 250kg of gold, which was melt down by the Burmese conquerors.

The 16th-century, fortress-like Wat Phra Meru escaped destruction in 1767 and boasts an impressive carved wooden ceiling, a splendid Ayuthaya-era six meters crowned sitting Buddha, and a 1300-year-old green-stone Buddha from Ceylon, posed European-style in a chair.

Wat Phra Chao Phanan Choeng was built in the early 14th century, possibly by Khmers, before Ayuthaya became the Siamese capital. It contains a highly revered nineteen meters Buddha image from which the wat derives its name.

A restored Elephant Kraal brings relief for those tired of temple-trudging. The huge wooden stockade, built from teak logs planted in the ground at 45 degree angles, was once used during the annual round-up of wild elephants. The king had a special raised pavilion built so that he could watch the thrilling event.

Look out for the tree that has completely encircled a Buddha’s head, creating a wonderful living crown.

Reaching Ayuthaya
Buses leave at all times from Mo Chit – the Northern Bus Terminal of Bangkok; all the classes are available, including air-conditioned buses. The trip longs round ninety minutes, unless it is rush-hour. Trains are slightly faster and leave from Bangkok's Hualamphong railway station.

During World War II, the Japanese used war prisoners to build a railway connecting Thailand with Myanmar. It became known as the Death Railway and a book and a movie – both named the Bridge Over the River Kwai - were made telling the story; it is estimated than 16000 POW's died here. In a great show of their versatility, the Thais have changed the name of the river passing below the famous bridge, so that it would fit the name wrongly used by Pierre Boulle while writing his book. He got right the details of the Death Railway running parallel to the River Kwai but assumed that the bridge just north of Kanchnaburi crossed over the same river; however, it was the Mae Khlung flowing below it. Once tourists began searching for the famous sight, the river was renamed and the Mae Khlung became the Kwai Yai (Big Kwai) north of the confluence with the Kwai Noi (Little Kwai). South of the rivers' junction, the river returns to its ancestral name.

There were two bridges, both built by prisoners of war - a wooden one was completed in February 1943 and was superseded a few months later by the steel bridge seen today. The steel bridge spans were brought from Java by the Japanese, and are all original apart from the two straight-sided spans which were installed after the war to replace spans destroyed by allied bombing in 1945.

On the town's side of the bridge there are a museum (the JEATH War Museum), coffee shops, souvenir shops and a couple of steam locomotives on static display. It is possible to walk across the bridge on the wooden planks and visit on the other side the market selling Burmese merchandise.

The War Cemetery is in the northern side of town and offers green lawns and colorful flowers. It has graves of British, Australian and Dutch prisoners of war, who died during the construction of the bridge. The name, nationality and unit of the soldier are written in small golden plates over every grave. Sometimes personal sentences were added.

There are three daily passenger trains from Kanchanaburi’s Railway station, close to the Allied War Cemetery, all of which call at the River Kwai Bridge station. The current terminus is at Nam Tok and after crossing the bridge, it runs along the scenic River Kwai, passing over the equally impressive Wampo Viaduct, also built by prisoners of war. There may be a special tourists train from Hualamphong, Bangkok. From Nam Tok there is a 13:00 train back to Kanchanaburi.

The bridge is about five kilometers northwest from the town center; a truck from the bus terminal costs six Baht, while from inside the terminal drivers ask for ten times that.

Buses from Bangkok are relatively slow, because they pass through Nakhon Pathom and Ban Pong; they leave at all times from the Southern Terminal and their prices vary between sixty to eighty Baht.

Eighty kilometers southwest of Bangkok, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market provides much of the better known pictures from Thailand. The canal, in which it is located, was ordered to be built by King Rama IV in 1866 to facilitate travels between Ratchaburi and Samutsakhon. It was opened to the public in 1868 and since then it provides unforgettable views of floating noodle soup stalls and Thai women wearing flat topped bamboo hats.

In the 21st Century its transport and agricultural qualities are secondary to the tourism industry. The fertile adjacent fields provide the needed products to fill up the boats clogging the main canal and to serve tasty meals to the hordes standing by the piers. The traditional Thai boats and the time-honoured garments of the sellers provide an exceptional view into the classical Thai culture. A very unusual sight is the noodle soup boats, in which the soup is prepared in a compact and smart design usually kept for spaceships. There is no better testimony to the authenticity of the sights than the fact that most visitors are Thais.

From there, there are boat trip services for sightseeing smaller canals branching off from the main one. Such a trip would enable seeing Thai wood stilt-houses emerging from the muddy waters.

It is possible to book tours there from any travel agency in Khaosan Road or to travel with any of the direct, comfortable air-conditioned buses leaving from the Southern Bus Terminal on Borommarat Chachonnani Road. The bus trip longs about two hours and it is better to arrive early in the morning, before the crowds clog the piers.

A beach located just two hours from Bangkok; Pattaya is the perfect place to cool down after a few days in steamy Bangkok. The proximity to Bangkok transforms it into the ideal resort while waiting for visas or flights.

The city’s main attraction is the promenade at Central Pattaya and the adjacent beach. From there, stunning sunsets over the Gulf of Thailand can be seen. The wide sidewalk is crowded with joggers and tourists; a low wall separates it from the narrow and sandy shore. During the days, banana-boats cater there for riders. Opposite the beach are plenty of shopping centers, coffee shops and restaurants.

Access

There are hourly buses to Pattaya from Ekamai (the Eastern Terminal) and Mo Chit (the Northern one) in Bangkok; the trip longs around two hours. Be careful not to take the buses leading to Jomtien since they collect passengers along the way and stop in every town along the way – you can use better the extra two hours of the way. Taxis from Bangkok cost around eight-hundred baht.

Bad PR

The best deals in Thailand for a vacation by the beach are hidden under a thick cover of bad PR; Pattaya became over the years a synonym for the Thai sex-industry, while reality is different.

The scene is restricted to a well-delimited area and it is hard to spot unless searching for it, in Bangkok, Pukhet and Koh Samui the situation is much worse.

In fact, Pattaya is a popular family tourism spot mainly due to its gorgeous beaches and the quality of its facilities. Western food is the norm here. Being open-minded and visiting the place before deciding where to spend the bulk of your vacation is a proven way to discover a charming location with amazing sunsets over the Gulf of Thailand.

Touring the Town

The town can be divided in four parts. Naklua is the name of the northern zone, which is mainly a residential area with few open beaches. Jomtien is the southern zone, competing hard with Central Pattaya beaches for the attention of the tourists. The last is the axis separating Naklua from Central Pattaya; there, next to the highway, are placed the two main bus terminals, and on its other end - near the beach - are most of the supermarkets in town. Jomtien has more beaches than Central, but the last offers better services and is the recommended place to stay in town. Hotels are abundant present.

Orienteering yourself in Central Pattaya is easy; there are three streets connecting the beach with the highway: North Road or Pattaya Nua, Central Road or Pattaya Klang and the South Road or Pattaya Tai. Three other streets run parallel to the beach: Pattaya 1 or the Beach Road, Pattaya 2 and Pattaya 3.

Soi is the name given in Thailand to the alleys along the main roads; usually they are numbered by order, but some of them feature also names. Soi Bua Khaow runs between Pattaya 2 and Pattaya 3, parallel to them on the stretch between Central Road and South Road; it hosts a huge, roofed, bar complex, several travel agencies, Internet cafes and restaurants. Soi Honey Inn connects Pattaya 2 with Soi Bua Khaow and features the Sawasdee Mansion and Guesthouse.

Soi Diana Inn is the next soi south of Soi Honey Inn connecting Pattaya 2 with Soi Bua Khaow. The smaller branch of Diana Inn is at the northern corner with Pattaya 2.

Shopping and Dining

Mike Shopping Mall

This mall looks more like one big department store, and occupies half a block between Pattaya One and Pattaya Two roads, next to Soi 12. The immense parking lot occupying the rest of the place fills up at night with tourists' buses bringing customers from Bangkok. At the other side of road two are the Kiss II and Diana restaurants.

Royal Plaza Garden

A bit north of the Junction between Pattaya Two Road and South Road is Royal Plaza Garden, the best shopping mall in Pattaya. The building occupies all the space between the roads and hosts the Marriott Hotel; it is recognizable by the hotel's slanted balconies and hanging gardens. An airplane is stuck in the building side facing Road Two; it advertises Ripley's Believe It or Not.

The mall itself consists of three floors. The last one is dedicated mainly to Ripley's Believe It or Not and to a humble food plaza; sadly, an ugly sign blocks the beach there. The two floors below it feature many shops; in the backside, facing road two there is a branch of the excellent Au Bon Pain and in front of it a beautiful flat fountain very similar in design to the one in Bugis Mall, Singapore. On the second floor, close to the front side there is a branch of Asia Books next to the Black Canyon Coffee. Nearby is Daidomon, which is a mukata type restaurant (mukata meals are a special type of Thai buffet) and CD Warehouse.

On the beach side of the mall is an open branch, decorated in metal, of the World of Coffee with a decent view of the sea. At the main entrance, in the middle of a round plaza there is a branch of the bagels maker Auntie Annie, and in front of it you can make a wax model of your hand. At the waterfront there are Chicken Treat, Burger King, Hägen Dazs, McDonald's and KFC.

Big C

At the northern side of Pattaya 2 Road, near the junction with Pattaya North Road, there is a big mall with a huge branch of the Big C Supermarket. It is a two floors building featuring also several restaurants. The only remarkable restaurant within it is the local Delifrance branch. A tiny third floor hosts a small cinema.

The Junction

The most important junction is the one of Pattaya North road with Naklua, Pattaya 2 and Pattaya 1. At the triangle formed by Pattaya North and Pattaya 2 there is a triangular open mall specializing on souvenirs and typical Thai products. Upwards, on Pattaya North, is a huge shopping mall specializing on jewels.

Beaches and Entertainment

Walking Street

At the promenade southern end begins Pattaya's Walking Street; the area is the center of the town's nightlife, featuring many nightclubs and restaurants. The local TV English Channel doesn't stop showing commercials of Tony's, a nightclub, and of Marlene, a tailor "by the big tree."

The Beach

Beach chairs are for rent on Pattaya's narrow strip of beach; all along it water sports are practiced and offered by agencies, including scuba diving from the nearby islands. Different water vehicles like to maneuver too close to the shore; during the day, banana-boats cater for riders.

The Promenade

The wide promenade by the beach provides clear views of the sunsets over the Gulf of Thailand; at the evenings it is crowded with joggers and tourists. The promenade ends as it reaches the small hill at the southern tip of the small bay. From there, beyond a small marina, starts the Walking Street of Pattaya, that hosts many night-clubs and restaurants.

If there are enough clouds, spectacular colors are seen during them. Few coasts in Thailand compare to the beauty of this beach, hardly any sunsets are more colorful.