Phetchaburi - a temple or two!

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Phetchaburi was always on our list for this trip, and a few days there got us back on schedule just in time to head back to the capital and get ready to leave Thailand! Thanks to the likes of bucketlistblog we had an idea what the town had to offer. Have to say though, we were very impressed and glad we decided to stay for three nights. This is the sort of place that backpackers would have been seeking out years ago but right now foreign visitors are few and far between. It's a real shame as it does dampen the atmosphere somewhat, but we still had a great time.

We stayed at the Bosston Hotel which, when we first arrived, seemed to be so far out of town we were a bit disappointed. It's a bit of a square concrete block from the outside but the rooms are spacious and comfortable with lots of rock and roll memorabilia all over the place. We were in the Michael Jackson room. You can't Beat It! Some reviews were critical of the language barrier but isn't that part of the fun of travel? We didn't find it insurmountable at all and all the staff thought we were mad because we walked everywhere.

We arrived in plenty of time to walk into the centre for the afternoon, stopping for lunch at a streetside restaurant where we had to point at pictures and use Google Translate to make sure we were ordering what we wanted. We were nearly right! The fried chicken was literally fried chicken (think KFC) and the rice was hard and sticky rather than steamed. It was tasty though and we are pleased we stopped there instead of somewhere more used to dealing with foreigners. In town we headed straight to the impressive Wat Mahathat Worawhihan with its gleaming white towers. Well, they were gleaming before the birds started doing their business. A new layer of whitewash is in order! Inside the courtyard is an impressive collection of golden Buddhas lined up along each internal wall surrounding the white towers. The inside of the main temple is equally impressive with partially restored frescoes on the walls. It was a very peaceful place. From there we walked through the busy town centre looking for Wat Yai Suwannaram. This temple is made from teak and we enjoyed wandering around the complex. Some of the buildings are built on stilts presumably to protect them from potential flooding. Returning to the town we bought some fresh fruit for breakfast the following day, and made our way to MonDee Restaurant which we had seen earlier in the day. The food was perfect and the location overlooking the river was lovely. There was even some live music which was surprisingly good. Form there we managed to get a Grab taxi back to the hotel. A good job too as we were shattered!

The next day we astonished the reception staff with our plans for the day then put them into action. We had to walk alongside the busy main road for a mile or so to the base of the funicular, or cable car as they call it. At the base we had our first encounter of the day with monkeys. They were not bothersome, but one of the nearby refreshment stalls lost a bottle of beer and one of the cheeky monkeys was about to get tipsy! The funicular was short but sweet, taking us up to Phra Nakhon Khiri, a hilltop palace built by King Rama IV. There was a strict dress code to enter the palace and we had to remove our shoes. A bit much for wandering around something like a National Trust property, but you have to play the game. Surprisingly no such clothing restrictions existed at any of the temples looking out over the town. The huge white stupa was very impressive but you do have to mind your head when climbing up inside it! The nearby red pagoda was nice too, but the undulating paths to get there were slippery with moss in places. We decided to walk down to the foot of the hill rather than take the funicular again. We were rewarded with crowds of monkeys in family groups and not another soul around. That led us to the small park where the City Pillar Shrine sits, close to a very regal statue of King Mongkut (1804-1868), also known as Rama IV who built the palace on the hill. In need of refreshment, we thought we had found a cafe where an iced coffee would have been nice, but instead they served only bubble tea. Well, in for a penny and all that, but nice as it was, it was not our cup of tea! We then walked round to the market near the Lotus's supermarket and ate some lovely Thai food for about 60p before getting a taxi back to the hotel for some rest.

Finding a good restaurant to celebrate our wedding anniversary was not easy, but we found a couple of options just a 15 minute walk away. The walk was past the power station as dusk was approaching and what must have been a hundred thousand mynah birds were roosting on the cables. It was an impressive sight and I wish I had taken a video as it was not just the sight but the sound that was unbelievable. When we got to the Baanrimnam Restaurant we were blown away by the quality of the food. We had a table overlooking the river and the service was fabulous. As the only Western visitors of the day we were something of a curiosity but it was a wonderful place to celebrate our special day.

More temples awaited us on our final day but first we visited an old palace on a military base. Pha Ram Ratchaniwet was a royal palace with some very German look thanks to its architect who hailed from Germany. We had expected to surrender some ID on entering the base but the soldier on guard just smiled nicely and gave us security passes without knowing anything about us whatsoever. The palace was stunning, but not all of it was in good taste in our opinion, especially the jade green staircase with rather large cherubs (described as dolls) on the balustrade as you climb. Other than a coach party of Thai tourists, we had the place to ourselves.

On the other side of the river we went looking for Wat Ko. It looks like it was once on the tourist trail but has fallen into a bit of disrepair in recent years. Once we found the main temple the door was locked but a nearby workman opened it and turned on the lights. Wow! The frescos inside were staggering. It was like stepping back in time. We were well and truly blown away by this one. After soaking up the ancient atmosphere we went back outside and were greeted by a pack of not-too-friendly local dogs who escorted us off the site with snarling teeth!!

A bit of a walk out of town took us to the railway line and from there it was easy to locate Wat Kamphaeng Laeng. This is in the Cambodian Khmer style and the towering remains were lovely, but we had expected them to be isolated rather than surrounded by a modern temple complex. From there it was a short stroll along a newly tarmacked and still sticky road to Wat Phai Lom which is something of a restoration project. By then we were getting a bit "templed out" anyway, but it didn't take away from the disappointment. Close by was the fantastic Brother and Sister cafe where the only complaint was the strength of the air conditioning. We should have taken our jackets!! We returned to the MonDee for a bit of lunch before resting up at the hotel. Once more we ventured out past the birds roosting on the power station cables and made our way back to the riverside where we dined at Krua Kun Lek restaurant, just beyond the Baanrimnan. It was excellent and had more of a wooden bar feel to it. All was well until the singer arrived and "entertained" us less than the worst karaoke in Thailand had done on Ko Samui! Sadly it was a relief to get out of there without bleeding ears.

The next day we arranged a private transfer to Bangkok. It was a bit more expensive than we had planned, but it did enable us to make a bit of a diversion along the way which could not have been done on a bus. More about that soon, but a shout out for Thailand Taxi Transfer Services who we highly recommend.

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Monkey's are mean
It always amazes me how fast they are.... and mean. You have to watch them every second.