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A Thousand-Year-Old Ancient City
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Steve, my close friend, called me two weeks ago. He told me eagerly about the campaign of "Visit Prachin Buri Year 2010" and the discount promotion of many hotels in the province. He was planning a three-day trip to Prachin Buri for a whitewater rafting and a visit to some archeological sites there. He wondered if I would like to join him for the experience. Wow! I had never run a raft through rapids which would be quite a challenge for me. However, visiting historical sites with Steve would be quite fascinating as I knew full well that Steve was fairly knowledgeable with the stories behind these ruins. So I agreed to go with him readily.
Prachin Buri is located about 135 kilometers northeast of Bangkok, with a land area of 4,762 square kilometers. This land with civilization from the Dvaravati period dating back to the 5th - 11th century. The ruins of an ancient city, Sri Maho-sot, still can be seen around Sri Maho-sot District and the ancient community of the same period around Sri Mahapo District. Amid these ancient ruins are remnants like places for worship with antiques like Buddha statues, earthenware, potteries, and bronze-ware scattered around.
Most of the area in the northern part of the province is in Khao Yai National Park. Therefore, Prachin Buri is endowed with ample natural resources and dotting with various outdoor attractions, especially waterfalls. In addition, the province is renowned for whitewater rafting sites of which Kaeng Hin Phoeng is the most popular due to its clean water, safety measures, and the relatively short distance from Bangkok.
Steve picked me up early in the morning. We took Phahonyothin Highway from Bangkok to Rangsit and then turned to Highway # 305. After passing through Ongkarak we headed for Nakhon Nayok and then turned to Highway # 33 for Kabin Buri. When we reached Ban Sadu, we took a left turn toward Sadu-Saphan Hin and continued to reach the 9th Khao Yai National Park Ranger Unit. It took us about three hours for a distance of 170 kilometers. We had booked for our stay at a resort which also arranged for our whitewater rafting trip.
Nadi District
Kaeng Hin Phoeng
This large beautiful and challenging whitewater is in the Sai Yai River at Nadi District inside Khao Yai National Park. The rafting trip takes two hours with some 45 minutes to run through the rapids of four and half kilometers. The best time for this adventure is the rainy season between July and October when the "high flow" of water and the "washed-out" of obstructions become apparent upon cascading downstream. After the rainy season, Kaeng Hin Phoeng becomes a large rock terrace.
From the parking area, we strolled through a beautiful path of some two kilometers to reach the rafting point. We started out with the Kaeng Hin Phoeng section, which was the most difficult one. I was a bit scared at the beginning but with the experienced operator on hand and Steve who was a skillful whitewater rafter at my side, I mustered up my courage and took the plunge. It was quite thrilling but also fun for me with water splashing all over my face.
After that we got to Wang Nam Lom which was the widest and slowest section of the rapids. We then passed through Wang Khon which was a narrower section to reach Wang Look Sua. Here we gathered our breath and took a rest. Some rafters chose to leave their rafts here and enjoyed a leisure swim at Wang Yao where the current flowed slowly. After revitalizing ourselves, we moved on to the fast and exciting section of the rapids, Wang Sai, before we arrived at our destination at Kaeng Ngu Hao where the tour operator picked us up for the return trip to the resort.
(Note: Overnight camping is also available by arranging with the National Park Ranger Unit there. Alternatively you can opt for staying in one of the Nadi resorts.)
The next morning we went to Thap Lan National Park, also in Nadi District.
Thap Lan National Park
This is the second largest national park in Thailand covering an area of 2,240 square kilometers. It is also the last natural palm forest of the country. These natural palms are trees from the primeval period. Whenever a palm blossoms with yellow flowers (about 60 years of age), the old tree will die and young offshoots will take over.
The national park is well-preserved and is a source of several creeks which turn into the Moon River and Bangpakong River supplying water for the northeastern and eastern parts of the country. It is high in biodiversity both flora and fauna, with a number of interesting trails for trekking including several waterfalls like Huay Yai Falls, Heo-Nok-Kok Falls, and Huay Kamin Falls. Thap Lan Reservoir, surrounded by mountains with a cool climate, is a wonderful place for recreation.
We then returned to Muang District where we stopped to visit a number of attractions.
Muang District
National Museum of Prachin Buri
Just two hundred meters behind the city hall is the National Museum of Prachin Buri which is an archeological museum. On display inside are artifacts from the Dvaravati Period, e.g. Buddha statues, Hindu god statues, Siva Linga, lintel, bronze-wares, and exhibits of Thailand's fine arts in different periods from pre-history to King Rama V of the present Chakri Dynasty. Opening hours are 9 am to 4 pm Wednesday until Saturday, and the place is closed on Monday and Tuesday. Information is available at telephone # 66-37-021-1586.
 Yu-sook Suwan Museum
This museum is about 6 kilometers from Prachin Buri city with collections of various kinds like pressure lanterns, both imported and locally made; and everyday objects from the past like banknotes, coins, lottery tickets, teakwood cabinets, dressing tables, kerosene-powered refrigerators and fans, mechanical-winding clocks, wood radio receivers, bicycles and scales. After seeing the exhibits you can relax in the museum garden with the pleasant natural surroundings. The museum's opening hours are from 9 am. to 5 pm. Information is available at phone # 66-37-746-5300, 66-37-465-333.
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Wat Kaew Phichit
This temple is on the east of the Bangpakong River, about two kilometers from the eastern outskirt of the city. It was built in 1879 by a well-to-do native lady, Pramoon-poka. A chapel was added later by Chao Phraya Abhaibhubate in 1913, making the temple a blend of Thai, Dvaravati, and European architecture and decorative motifs. The outer wall of the chapel is a mural depicting the Ramayana Epic. Inside the chapel there are paintings on canvas by the royal painter from King Rama VI representing scenes of Buddhist history.
Wat Boat
This temple is in the west of Prachin Buri city on the Bangpakong River. There are three Buddha statues positioned along the waterfront with the first one in a walking posture, the second in a sitting posture, and the last in a reclining posture. The area around the temple is shady, peaceful, and ideal for meditation.
Chao Phraya Abhaibhubate Mansion
This two-storied European mansion in Baroque architecture, built by Chao Phraya Abhaibhubate more than a century ago as the royal seat for King Rama V's visit to Prachin Buri, is inside Chao Phraya Abhaibhubate Hospital, about 2.5 kilometers from the provincial town. The mansion, a National Historical Site houses a traditional Thai medical museum with a collection of literature on Thai medical herbs and traditional Thai medicine. The hospital has been the pioneer in herbal therapy; using massage, steam, hot press, and acupuncture. Herbal medical products and cosmetics are also available for sale at reasonable prices. (Telephone: 66-372-110-088)
After visiting the attractions, we called it a day and stayed at one of the city hotels. The next morning we headed to a waterfall.
Shrine of King Naresuan the Great
At the Nern-hom Junction, about 9 kilometers north of Prachin Buri city along Highway # 320, this shrine circle commemorates King Naresuan the Great – who defeated the Burmese to regain the sovereignty for the Ayutthaya Kingdom - on the occasion of his military campaign from Ayutthaya to suppress the ruler of La-wak who frequently disturbed the Ayutthaya Kingdom during the wartime period with Burma. The great king had encamped here on the way to conquer La-wak. This shrine is deeply revered by the local people and those nearby.
Heo Narok Waterfall
This is the largest waterfall in Khao Yai National Park with steep cliffs and hence the name, Heo Narok, which means "hell abyss" in Thai. It is located on the Prachin Buri - Khao Yai highway. It consists of three falls, each with a large plunge pool. However, only the top fall is open for public visits with a dedicated walkway. From here, you can see the stream plunge violently over the gorge-like valley into the abyss below, which is very spectacular during the rainy season. The other two lower-level falls are considered too dangerous and therefore off-limit to the visitors.
The walkway leading to Heo Narok Waterfall is just one kilometer from the parking area with relatively friendly sloped access, passing thru a dense rain-forest. There is a line of concrete columns barricaded the entrance to the waterfall to prevent wild elephants from accidentally wandering into the fall and plunging to death which happened tragically quite often in the past.
On the third day, we headed for Sri Maho-sot District to visit the ancient city.
Sri Maho-sot District
Sri Maho-sot Archeological Site
This is a large oval-shaped ancient town from the Dvaravati Period with an area of some 280 acres. The ancient city has a moat and an earthen city wall surrounding the ditch. Inside the city you will find hundreds of archaeological sites, reservoirs, and ponds scattered all over the place. The remnants are mostly related to Brahmanism and Hinduism, e.g. places of worship, god images, and Shiva Lingas. Important archaeological sites in Sri Maho-sot District are mid-town historic sites with an age around the 13th century and consisted of temples and places for worship with laterite foundation, sun-dried brick laid on top, and laterite water reservoir. The artifacts are different kinds of god image, broken ceramic from the Lop Buri, Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, and Rattanakosin periods.
Sa Morakot Archeological Site
The site on Wat Sa-Morakot was built in several periods, one after another, on top of the old ones from the 9th to the 13th century. The structure was built of brick and laterite, which is a residual product of rock decay that is red in color and has a high content of the oxides of iron and hydroxide of aluminum.
Only the foundations of the structure remain today. During the excavation process, a pair of Buddha's footprints were found engraved on the laterite, with the Wheel of Dharma embossed on both sides of the BuddhaÕs Footprints. It was estimated to be built initially around the Dvaravati Period and Lop Buri Period. These are the largest and oldest Buddha's footprints in Thailand. Nearby is a sacred reservoir where a number of Buddha statues and artifacts were found.
Sa Morakot, or the Emerald Pond, is a rectangular pond with a width of 115 meters, a length of 214 meters, and a depth of 3.5 meters. This reservoir was built for water utilization with the laterite used for architectural construction.
Sri Maha Bodhi Tree
This Bodhi Tree inside Wat Sri Maha Bodhi is regarded as the largest and oldest one in Thailand and is believed to be a shoot taken from the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Buddha Gaya in India, where the Lord Buddha had attained enlightenment. The Bodhi Tree has a height of 30 meters and a diameter of 25 meters with an estimated age of some 2,000 years. It is the symbol of Prachin Buri Province.
After these three days of adventurous and enriching experience, we were a bit tired but at the same time rejuvenated by the fresh air and the beautiful nature. Steve and I shared the feeling that we were ready for our life in the fast lane in the big city and looking forward to our next getaway.
• For more information, please contact TAT Central Office Region 8 on tel. 0 3731 2282, 0 3731 2284.
• Special thanks to TAT Central Office Region 8 for arranging a trip to Prachin Buri.
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