This blog post covers Days 2 and 3 of our Thailand trip: our visit to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo, and Ancient Siam, all found in Bangkok's neighboring provinces.
(Click here for our Bangkok trip flashback, Day 0 and Day 1)
Day 2: The Floating Market and Crocodile Farm & Elephant Theme Show in the neighboring provinces of Bangkok in Central Thailand
On this day, we would be travelling outside Bangkok to visit two of its neighboring provinces. We went off to Ratchaburi for the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. But before that, we stopped by a nearby coconut sugar-making demonstration where there were souvenir shops and an orchid farm. Ms. Phon was surprised to see no other vans in the wide parking area. I think there were only two or three vehicles when we got there. The only other tourists we were with were a Hispanic couple. The socio-political turmoil in Bangkok surely did hurt Thailand’s tourism industry. If that was the case, I was sure that the floating market would also not have many tourists.
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| Coconut sugar-making demonstration |
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| Souvenirs |
We got back to our Hi-Ace and had a short ride to the boat terminal. Again, the parking lot was empty and there was no usual overly long queue of tourists for the boat ride. We took the motorized boat and we passed by floating houses on our way to the Floating Market.
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From left: motorized boat to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market,
a floating house along the way |
We finally got to the Floating Market and got off the motorized boat. When we got there, the canal was not as congested with vendors and tourists on paddle boats as how it would be in travel photos and shows. I could count the vendors’ rowing boats on my fingers, and I only saw one paddle boat with tourists in it. But the pavements at both sides of the canal had more shops other than fruits and vegetables. We had coconut ice cream from one of the stores, and bought home decors and t-shirts from surrounding souvenir shops.
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| Damnoen Saduak Floating Market |
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| Coconut ice cream! |
We did not opt to ride a paddle boat anymore because my mom is scared of the water.
Because of the uncongested situation of the floating market, we were able to finish our walking tour around the area early. We did not have to take anymore a motorized boat back to where our van was parked. The van was already there! And so we learned that we could have just reached the floating market by car in the first place. But the long-cut boat ride was great, so no regrets!
Before we left Ratchaburi province, we stopped by RTC or Royal Thai-Handicraft Center. We learned from Ms. Phon that most of the wood handicrafts from there were made-to-order and were being exported to various clients worldwide. The products of RTC were indeed very impressive and really required hard work and great skill. We were allowed to take photos of the working craftsmen and inside the store.
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| RTC (Royal Thai-Handicraft Center) |
It was almost lunchtime so we bid Ratchaburi goodbye and rode off to Nakhon Pathom province for the elephant show and crocodile wrestling at Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo. Just like the Floating Market we visited, there were hardly any tourists so their buffet restaurant was closed on that day. Unfortunately, the buffet lunch was actually included in our package. But the zoo had a food court where we could still have lunch, and it was the substitute to our supposed buffet lunch. We had pho and some rice meals.
It was time for the elephant show but before that there was a magic show. Eventually, more tourists arrived before the start of the elephant show. They must have had eaten lunch somewhere else.
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| Magic show |
The elephant show finally started and I enjoyed it! The show demonstrated scenes of historical relevance like the elephants’ main role in the logging industry and during the royal wars. And then the elephants later demonstrated stunts and played football! I had never seen an elephant doing a headstand! I don’t have a photo of it because I recorded it on video.
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| The Elephant Show, clockwise from top left: elephants welcoming the audience, an elephant swinging its trunk around, elephants warming up for the football game, reenactment of the Thai-Burmese war |
After the show, the audience could interact with the elephants by feeding them bananas and sugar canes at only 10 baht per bunch. I was amazed when a local audience gave the elephant a 20 baht bill and the elephant grabbed it with its trunk and handed it to its caretaker!
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| Close encounter with the elephants! |
When we walked our way to the crocodile show, Ms. Phon was already sitting at the best audience spot she reserved for us. The show was in Thai language but we were able to laugh along because of the funny acting being done by the comedic crocodile wrestlers. Yes, I felt fear because the crocodiles snapped closed their mouths from time to time while the guys did their stunts. I didn't have a photo of the guys sliding on the plank towards kissing the crocodile's snout, but I took a video.
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| The comedic crocodile wrestling show |
After the show, we walked around the zoo and found many other animals and more crocodiles. There were raw chicken parts for sale if you wanted to feed the crocodiles. A local caretaker just said the word “ma” several times, which meant “come”, and the crocodiles swam towards the direction of the caretaker’s voice. The crocodiles knew that there was food for them.
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| Some of the many informative exhibits around the zoo |
We could have done more activities in the zoo like elephant ride, taking a water bike, and photo op with tigers but the tigers were not available at that time and the elephant ride was 500 baht per person. We had gone tired because of the summer heat so we got on our van and went back to our beloved Charlie House Pin Klao.
We still had free time when we got to Charlie House late in the afternoon, so we decided to check out Tesco Lotus, a nearby mall. We rode our golf cart to the corner of our alley and Borommarat Chachonnani Road, and crossed an overpass towards the entrance of Tesco Lotus. We went grocery shopping for grapes and mangosteens because they’re relatively cheaper than in Manila. We also bought Thai-flavored chicken meals from KFC for take-away. When we ate them at home, they were so spicy! Good thing we upsized our Pepsi.
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| Grocery shopping at Tesco Lotus, Borommarat Chachonnani Road |
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| Our spicy KFC meals |
That night was supposed to be a spectacular night for us by watching the famous Thai stage production, Siam Niramit. It showcases Siam’s history and festivities through colorful acts and special effects with over 100 professional performers. This attraction is not included in our 5d/4n package, and required separate booking. I did not have to book online anymore because my full online payment for our 5d/4n package was enough to guarantee my booking with Alex Holiday, so we could just avail the Siam Niramit package from Alex Holiday upon our arrival in Bangkok. But because there was no show that night due to the 8 pm curfew during the socio-political tension in the city, we missed this great award-winning spectacle. Alex Holiday offers Siam Niramit packages for ticket with buffet dinner plus transfer, ticket plus transfer only, and ticket only.
Day 3: The Ancient City tour
Our agenda for the day was a very comprehensive tour of the most important landmarks of the entire Thailand, by visiting Ancient Siam in Samut Prakan province. It is a huge outdoor museum consisting of over 100 replicas of important Thai structures around the country, as well as reconstructed ruins and creative architectures. Interestingly, the park is shaped like how Thailand is in the world map. Ancient Siam is a famous field trip destination for Thai locals, especially students, because of the park’s historical and cultural relevance that would educate future generations of Thai people about their heritage. There are also activities one can do like having picnics and holding banquets. One can tour around the whole park by tram, bicycle or personal vehicle, and I doubt anyone could finish touring the whole park just by foot. It’s a vast “city”!
Our Ancient Siam tour was a separate package I booked with Alex Holiday. This package included transportation and admission tickets. I was choosing between Ayutthaya tour and this one, and chose the latter because Ancient Siam showcases not just the structures of Ayutthaya but of the whole Thailand. I also searched for reviews of this park and it was highly recommended by foreign tourists who had been there.
The drive from Bangkok to Samut Prakan took about an hour. Along the way, we passed by Erawan Museum, where a huge statue of a three-headed elephant is displayed.
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| Three-headed elephant at the Erawan Museum |
We arrived in Ancient Siam just in time for the first guided tram tour. The guide in the tram spoke only Thai but Ms. Phon translated in English for us. Our tram traveled by region, similar to the regions of Thailand: North, Central, South, East, and Northeast. There was one special region of the park called Re-Creation, which we visited last.
Because each region of the park is very huge with over twenty structures each, the tram would only stop at major featured landmarks for that day. While the tram just passed by other structures, I managed to take photos of them despite the moving vehicle we were in.
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| Tram at Ancient Siam |
For our trip to the North, we stopped by the park’s re-creation of a traditional floating market, and walked around other nearby structures.
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| Reconstructed image of a traditional floating market |
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| Replica of the Bench of Public Appeals, Sukhothai |
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| The Garden of the Gods |
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From left: The Grand Hall of Wat Maha That, Sukhothai;
The Main Chedi of Wat Maha That, Sukhothai |
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Clockwise from top left: The Prang of Wat Chulamanee, Phitsanulok;
The Sukhothai Wihan; Ho Kham, Lampang; The Wihan at Wat Phumin, Nan |
The featured structures in our Central trip were the reconstructed Sanphet Prasat Palace of ancient Ayutthaya, and the scaled down replica of Dusit Maha Prasat or Grand Palace of Bangkok. We were able to have a glimpse inside these palaces.
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| Reconstructed replica of Sanphet Prasat Palace, Ayutthaya |
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Replicas of some Ayutthaya ruins, from top: The Chom Thong Palace Hall,
The Wihan at Wat Phra Sri Sanphet |
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| Scaled down replica of Dusit Maha Prasat Palace (The Grand Palace) |
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Clockwise, from left: The Courage of the people of Bang Rachan;
Prang Sam Yod, Lop Buri; The Wihan of Wat Pho Kao Ton, Sing Buri |
Our stop at the South was a reconstruction of an old market town, which aimed to portray the atmosphere of an ancient Thai community. Among many vendors there selling souvenirs, there was a lady vendor selling soda popsicles for 5 baht each and I bought two for myself.
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| Reconstructed image of an old market town |
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Clockwise from left: The Stupa of Phra Maha That, Nakhon Si Thammarat;
The Scripture Repository; The Bell Tower; The Manohra Garden |
We didn’t have any stop in the East when we passed by a few of its structures. I found out from the souvenir map that there were only seven structures in this region yet.
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From top: The Garden of Sacred Stupa;
The Garden of Phra Aphaimani, Rayong; The Ancient Theatrical Pavilion |
In the Northeast region, we stopped by the scaled down replica of Prasat Phra Wihan (now called Prasat Preah Vihear upon ownership by Cambodia). Prasat Preah Vihear is a Hindu temple situated on a hill at the Thai-Cambodian border, where its national ownership was disputed, and eventually awarded to Cambodia by the International Court of Justice in the 1960s. Its replica in Ancient Siam is probably a manifestation of how it was more accessible to the Thais of Si Sa Ket province than to Cambodians in Preah Vihear during the ancient times. Also like the original, the replica was constructed as well to be situated on an artificial hill, where we had to climb a number of steps that my mom opted not to come with us anymore to the top. Our tiring climb however paid off because of the magnificent view of the rest of Ancient Siam.
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Scaled down replica of Prasat Phra Wihan, Si Sa Ket
(now Prasat Preah Vihear, Preah Vihear, Cambodia) |
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| View of the rest of Ancient Siam from the replica ofPrasat Phra Wihan (Prasat Preah Vihear) |
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Clockwise from top left: The Garden of Pha Daeng-Nang Ai; Phra That Ya Khu, Kalasin;
The Octagonal Sala; The Garden of the Prince of the Golden Conch |
The end of our tram tour dropped us off at the traditional floating market in the South region near the park’s entrance, where we could start exploring the park by ourselves. We could have rented bicycles for us to revisit the sites that we wanted to rediscover but the past three straight days of our Thailand trip in extremely hot summer weather got us very exhausted. We then decided to go back to our beloved Charlie House and have lunch anywhere near our inn.
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| Passing through Rama VIII bridge on our way back to Bangkok |
We were dropped off by our van at Esso in Borommarat Chachonnani road, and from there we would just have to use the phone in that station to dial Charlie House’s number and ask for the golf cart to fetch us. That was our last day of fun with Ms. Phon. We really enjoyed her company because aside from being very informative and responsive to all our questions, she also has a good sense of humor similar to us Filipinos. We had gotten to know things about her as a freelance tour guide and as a Thai citizen. We will surely come back to Bangkok because we had missed so much of the nightlife while the curfew imposed by then Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was in implementation. We would definitely avail tour packages from Alex Holiday again and request for Ms. Phon to be our guide!
Had there been no curfew, our supposed activity for this evening in Bangkok would have been a Chao Phraya Princess dinner cruise, a separate package also offered by Alex Holiday. The cruise includes Thai and International buffet dinner, as well as live jazz musicians for entertainment. This is the third fun night that we had missed. My mom could have enjoyed the luxurious feeling of this one.
(Click here for our Bangkok trip flashback, Day 4)
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