My Thailand Blog by Richard Barrow

Not many foreign tourists have been to this temple despite the fact that in the distance you can easily see the skyscrapers of Bangkok. Due to land erosion, Wat Khun Samut in Samut Prakan is now surrounded by the sea. I have been here many times. The best part of the journey is always this ride in the local taxi boat.

The ride on the boat lasts about 15 minutes. We were then dropped off at this shrimp farm. There are no roads in this area. The only way to get around is either on foot or by boat. From this point we had about a thirty minute walk to reach the temple.

This is Ban Khun Samut Chin community. Some people have moved their houses further inland 4 or 5 times within the last few generations. The school alone is in its third location. They thought it would be safe now, but at high tide the playground is often under water. We come to this school about twice a year to teach the students English.

This is now the only way to reach Wat Khun Samut as it is surrounded by the sea. The concrete walkway is a new addition. When I first came it was a wooden walkway which you had to be very careful as you walked along it.

The poles you can see in the distance in this shot are electricity and telegraph poles. There used to be a road out there and also a large community. The only evidence left today are these poles and the concrete water tanks which you can see at low tide.

This is Wat Khun Samut. Thanks to donations, they were able to build a stone wall all around the temple compound. This means that water doesn’t come in so much now during high tide. However, you still need the elevated walkways to get around. Before, you had to jump from one large jar to another to reach this temple.

This is a closer look at the temple. You should be able to see where they have raised the floor to halfway up the window. When I first came to this temple, several years ago, there was no brick sea wall and the waves were crashing against this temple. I have done a website for this temple that can be found at www.KhunSamut.com. You will find detailed instructions there on how to find this place. Worth going if you like some adventure. More places to visit in Samut Prakan that aren’t in any guidebooks can be found in our www.paknam.com website.

- Posted from my iPhone

A short video clip of a crazy taxi boat ride along the klongs on the way to Ban Khun Samut Chin in Samut Prakan. There are no roads in this area at all and the only way around are by these taxis boats. If this was a regular taxi going around a corner we would have been on two wheels for sure! More pictures and stories about this area can be found at our website www.KhunSamut.com

- Posted from my iPhone

The Phra Chulalchomklao Fortress in Samut Prakan is a great place to spend an afternoon. We went there to explore the fortress and then the ship. Afterwards we had a great meal alongside the river before going on this mangrove walk.

I have been here quite a few times but I was pleased to see that they had extended the boardwalk so that you no longer have to double back the same way. This is a great way to see a mangrove forest up close without damaging the environment. There were also plenty of nipa palm trees.

There was also a lot of wildlife. In addition to the usual lung fish skimming across the surface, there were also a dozen or so monkeys. Some were swimming in the water. I saw one with his hand down a muddy hole. Probably looking for crabs.

Near the mangrove walk there is this open air gun museum where there are dozens of guns of many different kinds. Probably enough to keep a gun enthusiast occupied for a while. Visit our www.paknam.com website for detailed instructions and maps on how to find this place.

- Posted from my iPhone

At Phra Chulalchomklao Fortress in Samut Prakan, there is also this navy ship called H.T.M.S. Maeklong. The warship was commissioned from the Japanese shipyards, pre-World War II. The ship was in service for 60 years, including duty as a royal ship for King Rama IX.

It is free to explore this ship. You can visit most areas including the ships galley and the bridge.

This is the view from the bridge looking out towards the Gulf of Thailand. This is probably a great place for kids to come and explore.

Visit our www.paknam.com website for detailed instructions and maps on how to find this place.

- Posted from my iPhone

The city Samut Prakan can be translated as meaning “sea wall” or more likely “ocean fortress”. Samut Prakan was actually built to act as the first line of defense against any invaders who may try to go up the Chao Phraya River towards Bangkok.

The best preserved of these fortresses is Phra Chulachomklao Fort at the river mouth in Samut Prakan. It was built by King Rama V in 1893. This is a statue commemorating the King. Below it there is an interesting museum though unfortunately it is not open very often.

The fort was completed just in time for a skirmish between Thai forces and two French warships. At that time, the colonial powers of France and England were flexing their muscles and Thailand was stuck between the two. The pilot ship was hit by the guns but the two French ships made it all the way up to Bangkok.

The fortress is armed with seven Armstrong guns which were very advanced for their time. They are nicknamed “crouching tiger” as they would stay in the pit to be loaded and aimed. Then, when it was time to fire, the guns were elevated up. The force of the explosion then pushed them back down into the pit. So, they were hardly seen by the enemy.

It doesn’t cost any money to visit this fortress. However, it is not that easy to get there. It is more known by Thai people than foreign tourists as you won’t find this place in any guidebooks. Visit our www.paknam.com website for detailed instructions and maps on how to find this place.

- Posted from my iPhone

In Samut Songkhram, there is a market which takes place literally on the train tracks. I first went there about four years ago. I have been back a few times since. Today was the first time for a whole. I was surprised to see so many foreigners there. I never saw any on my previous trips. I guess word has got out now.

The first time I went to the market I went by train. That was an adventure in itself. You can read about that day trip here. However, to really appreciate what happens, it is best to be actually in the market when the train arrives. As you can see from this picture, for most of the time, there is no room for a train to pass.

However, as soon as the market vendors hear the signal for the train, they start to push back their stalls, which are on wheels, and also pull back the canopy. It takes less than a minute.

Here comes the train now. See how much room they have to make for it to pass safely.

The train here is passing one of the stalls that are on special wheels.

Seconds after the train had passed everyone started to push back the stalls and carried on trading as if nothing had happened. If I remember right, there are only about four trains passing through here per day. The terminal station is at the far end of this picture.  These are pictures of the train arriving in the afternoon at 2.30 p.m. It then left for the return journey for the last time at 3.30 p.m.

- Posted from my iPhone

Nong Grace keeps asking me to take her on one of my day trips. Most of the time I don’t need the extra hassle of dragging a 6 year old kid around. Doing day trips is not always fun and easy. It is sometimes hard work looking for new and interesting tourist destinations. However, I gave in and decided to take her to a place that I first discovered last year.

There are quite a few places around Bangkok where you can go and see monkeys in the wild. One of the best is in the small community of Khlong Khon along the coastline in Samut Songkhram. This area is starting to be discovered by Thai tourists but not so many independent foreign tourists yet. They have quite a few homestay operations here and of course the main attraction are the monkeys.

We drove to Wat Khlong Khon where we managed to find a local fisherman who was willing to take us out in his boat. He said he only wanted 4-500 baht which wasn’t too bad. If you don’t have a car, you can come here by songtaew from Samut Songkhram City. We had bought bananas in advanced before we left home. But I guess you could also buy in Samut Songkhram.

We visited a number of different spots where the monkeys came out to see us. First one or two monkeys, then quickly dozens. Some were a bit timid and stayed on the shoreline. Others swam out to greet us on the boat. One even jumped down onto the boat from an overhanging branch that we were passing under. Luckily they weren’t really aggressive. But be careful of bags!

They certainly loved the bananas. We tried to throw some as far as we could to the younger ones who stayed on the bank. It looked like the ones getting most of the bananas were the dominant males. We had four big bunches of bananas but maybe we should have brought more! We got through them quite quickly.

Nong Grace really enjoyed herself feeding the monkeys and taking pictures and video. I will link to some of her pictures later. I have already uploaded a video about the swimming monkeys. Click here to read my report on my visit to this place last year and instructions on how to find the place. Really worth the effort.

- Posted from my iPhone

The video shows the Thai Cultural Trip to Ko Kret in Nonthaburi that I joined recently. It was sponsored by the TAT for foreign teachers working in and around Bangkok. I didn’t actually shoot this video on my iPhone.

On Saturday, I joined a Thai Cultural trip, sponsored by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), to the island of Ko Kret. The purpose of the trip was to teach Thai culture and traditions to foreign teachers who live in the Bangkok area.

Ko Kret is an artificial island in the Chao Phraya river in Nonthaburi, just north of Bangkok. The island dates back to 1722 when a shortcut canal was built near a loop in the river. Click here to see the location marked on a map.

Most of the people who live on the island are Mon, an ethnic group from Burma. Like the Thai people, they are Buddhists but have their own traditions and culture.

The island is not really that big and would take about 90 minutes or so to walk around the circumference. There are no paved roads or cars. People get around by walking or by motorcycles on elevated concrete walkways. At the northern side of the island there are a large number of market stalls.

One of the main industries of the island is pottery. There are many shops selling pottery. There are a few places where you can go and watch potters at work.

The best way to get around the island is by bicycle. You can rent these locally or bring your own on the ferry boat.

During the culture trip we were entertained with traditional Thai dancing and also were fed typical Thai food and desserts.  We even visited a shop where we watched Thai desserts being made.

You can go to Ko Kret as an easy daytrip from Bangkok. You can join a tour at the weekend with the express boats. Or you can go by yourself. Boats will take you up as far as Nonthaburi where you can then take local transport to the nearby ferry at Pakkret. Then it is only a few baht to cross the river.

- Posted from my iPhone

I shot this video while on a dinner cruise on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok. They are quite a few different boats to choose from but they all offer much the same services. This one lasted two hours. Prices seem to vary from 800-1,500 baht and often include hotel pick-up. I didn’t actually shoot this video on my iPhone.