Chanthaburi Tales - Photo Report

[Big Boy]

Part 1

Background

There was a football match in Chanthaburi that I wanted to watch, but believe me, there is NO short trip to Chanthaburi from Hua Hin – it takes about 61/2 hours each way. In all seriousness, when Ratchaburi drew Chanthaburi in the cup, I was delighted. Chanthaburi is a town that I’ve always wanted to visit, but have never actually got around to it. So that was it, I factored in an extra couple of nights to give me chance for a look around.

Journey

Nothing special. The Samut Sakhon roadworks were not a problem. In fact, the only hold up was through Chonburi – what a bottleneck that is. I think the Thai planners should start a 40 year project with the aim of alleviating the bottleneck as soon as they finish their Samut Sakhon project next year – it certainly needs it.

Because we didn’t really know what we were going to do in Chanthaburi, my wife insisted we took the wheelchair, which turned out to be a good decision because we did a fair bit of walking (at least I did the walking).

Hotel

The USABAI Riverside Boutique Hotel – it was in the back of beyond.

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A lovely setting around the back of the hotel, but I had serious doubts as I drove up to it. It did not look very friendly. In the matter of a week, I had gone from a City View hotel, which gave me fantastic views over the Chao Phraya, to a City View hotel which gave me this:

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Obviously newly refurbished to give it its Boutique status. Everything was still fresh.

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Unfortunately, the materials used seem substandard, and I don’t think the fresh new look will last long. Room size is always a key factor when I’m selecting a room – I hate needing a traffic light system inside a hotel room to go past my wife. This room was advertised as 36 sq mtr, which is pretty good, and was the deciding factor in selecting the USABAI. However, that size was correct before the refurb. They’ve knocked 12 sq mtr off the actual room size since, when making it en-suite. The fridge was a stupid cooler, not a fridge. Trying to explore the fridge settings, I cracked the encasement, with bits starting to fall off. OMG, what a stupid fridge. There was a notice on the front saying that it is not designed to cool below 12C. My wife uses insulin, which has to be kept cool, and no ice compartment for her ice-packs, which are essential together with a cold box when she is travelling.

On the bright side, reception understood, and took my wife's medical bits, and stored everything safely without any question. They even had lockable refrigerated storage to ensure it stayed safe (when we asked for the insulin the next morning, it had been stored in the beer fridge). I guess my wife isn't the first diabetic they've encountered.

A common trait amongst hotels these days (not just this hotel) is just one chair in a dual occupancy room, which I personally, as well as thinking it stupid, I find it very annoying.

First night we ate in the hotel – a usual trait as we were too tired after the travel.

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It was very good. My wife ordered 2 dishes and a bottle of water. I had 3 courses, which included beef steak together with 2 large Heinekens. Cost was 670฿ (about £15.30), which for hotel prices was excellent, even in Thailand.

Breakfast, was sat outside on the beautiful setting of the river bank terrace

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but unfortunately was one of the worst I’ve had in Thailand. Usual chilled eggs, chilled ham and plastic sausage. Absolutely no flavour whatsoever. The coffee had a strange taint to it as well. The orange juice wasn’t too bad. There were 2 persons in the kitchen area, making absolutely no effort to provide fresh, hot food. Not as bad as the Nice Hotel in Kanchanaburi, but this was definitely down there amongst the worst.

To be continued…………………………………….

[Bamboo Grove]

In the mid-90's I went to Chantaburi every now and then. Used to like it a lot. Great to see a report from there, although after 30 years, it looks very different. My wife's niece still lives there.

[Big Boy]

I don't think too much will have changed in the older parts. Out of interest, my research tells me the steeple part of the cathedral was added in 2009. Do you have any photos pre-steeple? That would be very interesting.

[Bamboo Grove]

Sorry, I didn't carry a camera in those day.

[Big Boy]

LOL, never mind, I'll search online to see if I can find one.

[Big Boy]

Part 2

Day 2

This day was planned in a rush the previous evening. Somewhere I’d always wanted to visit, but I didn’t know what I was going to do when I got there. Day 2’s theme was disappointment.

The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception

This is the main attraction of Chanthaburi. Whenever you see a photo of Chanthaburi, this seems to be it. It is recognised as the most beautiful Catholic church in Thailand.

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the fourth church built on the spot by the Catholic community in Chanthaburi. The first Catholic community followed the Siamese in exile after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. By 1901 there were 2,500 Christians living in Chanthaburi.

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The latest version started building in 1909 with the spire section added in 2009. I have searched for images of the cathedral before the steeples were added, but have not had any success. I have seen it reported that this is Thailand’s largest Catholic Cathedral, but I can’t substantiate that claim.

One thing that was apparent was despite the building being beautiful, it could do with a bit of TLC. At the very least, a coat of paint wouldn’t go amiss.

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Strangely enough, there were a couple of lovely paintings of the cathedral, one in the restaurant and one in reception. I had to look closely every time I saw them. Unfortunately, the painting in the restaurant was clearly fake, and looked much nicer than the real thing. The painting showed a lovely grass meadow leading up to the cathedral from the river, and was supposed to be olde worlde. However, with the spire sections not being added until 2009, couldn’t be real.

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This was our first disappointment of the day – the cathedral was closed because there was a funeral being held. There was even a UK style hearse at the entrance, which I’ve never seen in Thailand before.

I took my exterior photos, and will try to visit again tomorrow.

The Chanthaboon Water Community

When the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was closed, we were able to cross Niramon Bridge (a.k.a. the Immaculate Bridge) over the Chanthaburi River to this old community, which dates back to King Narai the Great (300 years ago).

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Walking through this street was truly walking through Thai history. Olde buildings of all shapes and sizes, many converted into shops and quaint little cafés these days. It felt very special walking through this street.

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I enjoyed every footstep looking at the varying architecture. There were also quite a few Chinese temples along this street. I must say, I didn’t see many traditional Thai temples in Chanthaburi as a whole. Chinese temple were in abundance throughout the town.

We did stop for a cheeky coffee as we were exploring. A riverside café, with beautiful views of the river.

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To be continued…………………………………….

[Bamboo Grove]

I may not remember correctly but I think there's a sizable Vietnamese community in Chanthaburi.

[Big Boy]

Yes, I think you are right. (not trying to be racist) They all look the same to me. Are you saying that could account for the abundance of Chinese Temples? Thinking back to my time in Vietnam, I seem to remember a lot of Chinese Temples.

[PeteC]

History

Vietnamese people have migrated to Chanthaburi in three waves:

19th century: Vietnamese refugees fled Christian persecution in Cochin China
1920s–1940s: Vietnamese people fled French Indochina
1975: Vietnamese people migrated after the communist victory in Vietnam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanthaburi_province

[Big Boy]

Part 3

Day 2

Somdet Phra Chao Taksin Shrine

Although this is called Taksin’s Shrine, I cannot find out whether this is where the great king who led his men into so many victorious battles was interned. It is quite unique in that the roof of the shrine is in the shape of King Taksin the Great’s hat.

I couldn’t persuade my wife to climb the steps to go inside, but it only seemed like statues etc.

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Interestingly, directly behind the shrine is where the old French garrison now manned by the Thai navy was located. Yes, this is where the French tried to colonize Thailand. Just as well I didn’t try to turn right into the shrine, because I’d have ended up in the Naval Base. Knowing how Thailand is funny about foreigners and their Navy, that could have been quite awkward.

Chanthaburi City Pillar

Literally across the road from Somdet Phra Chao Taksin Shrine, with the Naval Base still directly behind it.

This City Pillar Shrine has no evidence as to when it was built or who built it. It is assumed that King Taksin the Great built it when he entered Chanthaburi in 1767 to serve as a gathering place for troops and food supplies before lifting his army to save Ayutthaya.

Again, too many steps to persuade my wife to venture inside.

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Wat Phai Lom

Getting here was a bit hairy. I don’t know if it was a glitch with my satnav, or I needed to pass my motoring acrobatic course before being allowed to visit this temple (the only actual Thai Temple visited during this trip). I had just driven over one of Chanthaburi’s many bridges, and I had to do what must have been a 300+ degree left turn into a very narrow road. I managed it with a lot of toing and froing (the proverbial 9 point turn) with oncoming traffic having a considerable wait. I certainly got the impression my satnav was taking the P, and having great fun at my expense.

This temple was also described as a monastery, and my research told me, “It was established since late Ayutthaya era and served as the Buddhism school for monks for more than hundred years.”

Begun in the early 18th century, this sizeable complex features a high, ornate ordination hall with fresco decoration and another building with an enormous reclining Buddha.

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King Taksin Memorial Park

This was our second big disappointment of the day. The park is encircled by a large lake, that has several bridges on to it. Unlucky as we are, the bridges were currently closed for renovation. We had to make do with a walk around the lake, which was very wheelchair friendly. The park may also be known as Tungnachaey Recreational Park, although I can’t substantiate this.

With the island closed, this turned out to be more like our daily walk at home around Khao Tao Lake, although the lake was lined by grass, with a lot of shady trees.

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Many locals were taking advantage, and relaxing in their hammocks which they had slung between suitable trees.

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Many squirrels living here as well. Very nice, but I still prefer Khao Tao Lake.

At the far end of this lake, my wife found a street food vendor selling what she considered some of the best Thai Isaan food she had ever tasted. I had a bottle of Sprite.

What we should have seen on the island was a large monument to King Taksin the Great.

Chanthaburi Province Stadium

I said in my opening spiel that it was a football match that had brought me all of this way. My phone was warning me that thunder storms were imminent, so just one last journey to recce the stadium where the match was due to be played the following day – trying to identify a suitable car parking area. If this game was played at Ratchaburi, I doubt the crowd would reach 1,000, but a team like Ratchaburi visiting the boonies was big – car parking could be at a premium. The stadium was actually just around the corner from the lake, in fact I spotted the floodlights whilst walking.

I was actually very impressed by such a smart grandstand at a second tier Thai team. It looked brand new. More on this when I get to Day 3 and my proper visit to the stadium.

That was our touring done for the day. My wife mustn’t get wet, so it was back to the hotel for a strawberry yoghurt smoothie.

Food that night was at a restaurant almost next door to the hotel, called The Krok.

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Decent food, but only one Heineken for me this time. Cost for the 2 of us was 440฿ (£10).

To be continued…………………………………….

[Big Boy]

Part 4

Day 3

Breakfast was just as dire, although I did find the double chocolate from the swish coffee machine in the breakfast room resembled what it said on the tin, which was a lot better than what the coffee options did. The outside terrace was full this morning, so we sat inside.

Today’s weather forecast was less than good, so it was as well we broke the back of our visits yesterday.

In fact, before we’d finished breakfast, people were coming in from outside because there were already spots of rain falling.

The Cathedral of Immaculate Conception – revisited

I made this our first stop of the day, and we were allowed inside today. In fact, my timing was perfect, we arrived just ahead of 3 buses, so initially had the place to ourselves, with the hoards arriving after I’d taken most of my photos.

Inside it was as beautiful as you would expect. It was like a little bit of England.

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King Taksin the Great Shipyard

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Being a boat anorak, this was a visit I had to make. Unfortunately, the heavens opened as we approached, and the rain continued for most of the time we were there. There was a slight break in the rain to enable me to take a couple of snaps of my wife, to prove she was there.

After the fall of Ayutthaya, this is where King Taksin fell back to re-build his forces, including a fleet of ships.

One of the features of the ship yard had to be what was the longest, straightest log that I’ve ever seen (estimated at 40 metres long). Obviously there to depict the type of wood used in ship building. It was so long, it was hard to capture as a photo, although I tried.

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There were a lot of religious tributes, and another replica of King Taksin’s hat. What I wasn’t seeing in the main area was any evidence of shipbuilding, apart from the log.

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On the river front, there were a few more tributes, and a rotting naval vessel, whose name interpreted as ‘Three Trees’ (Google Translate). I wandered out towards it, but despite my anorak status, did not think it looked very safe to be onboard.

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Disappointed at the lack of ‘Shipyard’ things, I left.

As I was driving out, I saw a building containing what looked like a large boat. I stopped, and tried to get in – the door was locked, but somebody had kindly broken a window, which I was able to easily walk through.

Inside were some very old wrecks of small boats – probably dug out of the mud.

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The centrepiece was a replica boat from King Taksin’s time, which I had a look around (looking at the mural later, the boat looked like a replica of the boats built to return to Ayutthaya in – quite large from the inside).

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There were a series of wall murals depicting King Taksin the Great’s work in Chanthaburi.

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With the day seemingly having turned into a washout, we returned to the hotel, where I uploaded my photos. Our room hadn’t been made up so as we needed to leave the room again, my wife decided she needed lunch (I rarely do lunch when I’m away like this). Where? was the next question. She had her heart set on returning for more of the Isaan food she’d enjoyed the previous day at the lake. I knew it involved a long(ish) walk, but if she would eat it, the walk would most likely benefit me as well. So off we went.

To be continued…………………………………….

[Big Boy]

Sorry guys, there could be a delay in the posting of Part 5.

[Big Boy]

Part 5

Day 3

King Taksin Memorial Park – revisited

I was getting quite confident driving around Chanthaburi’s small streets by now, and took a different route around the lake in the hope of finding closer parking to the street food seller. This led me to a double bonus – the first one being, I had found a car park, half the distance to the food seller with loads of parking spaces – perfect (I even thought it might be a backup plan for the footie that evening – park there and walk).

Bonus 2 was even better. Directly across from the car park was a bridge onto the island, which I hadn’t seen the previous day; and it seemed to be open. There were steps on and off the bridge, so my wife asked me to park her under a shady tree and to go on to the island alone (alone being the operative word because when I got there, there wasn’t another soul to be seen). It was a good move because the footpaths on the island were not wheelchair friendly.

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Going across the bridge, I was looking into the lake, and there were massive catfish there swimming in a shoal. I used to be a fisherman, and these babies were all probably bigger than I’ve ever caught. They looked like small sharks waiting for somebody to fall in.

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I took the mandatory King Taksin the Great monument photos and left.

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We bought my wife’s lunch, which she thoroughly enjoyed again, and headed back to the hotel, where my lunch would be a strawberry yoghurt smoothie.

Today was matchday, so my plan was a couple of hours relaxing in the room, and down to the restaurant for a bite to eat before going off to the match. Wrong!!! My wife told them we’d be back at 5 to eat before I went off to the footie. Sorry, but the chef doesn’t work Wednesdays (it was advertised in 3 different places in the hotel, plus it was stated online – ‘Open Daily’). However, I’ve lived in Thailand long enough to understand ‘Thai Time’ and TIT (This Is Thailand).

We needed a Plan B. Any other day we’d have just gone out and found somewhere else to eat, but going to the footie was like a well-planned military operation. We thought about it, and we agreed that a return next door to The Krok, where we’d eaten the previous evening was the easiest solution. Of course, food would be 2 hours earlier, and in daylight this time. We be able to enjoy the river views as well.

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Food done, there was a special show that we weren’t expecting. A member of staff walked with a bowl of fish bits to the river railings, took a stick, and banged the railings about a dozen times. As if from nowhere, the sky was filled with birds of prey, circling overhead. I’ve since been told the birds were Brahminy Kites (a small variety of Sea Eagle).

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What a show they put on. The staff threw the many bits of fish into the river, and the birds simply dived into the river from great heights, head first, grabbing their supper. Unfortunately, my camera (or was it me) was not up to capturing this great spectacle (an afterthought was, I should have used video mode – too late now), but brilliant to watch all the same.

Chanthaburi Province Stadium – revisited

This was the main event of the trip away, whilst leaving my wife sat in the hotel watching Thai soaps.

I drove past the lake/car park on the way – there was no chance of parking in this area, the entire area was rammed with parked cars and motorcycles – not for the footie, but fitness freaks all running around the lake. I think 95% of the population of Chanthaburi must have been out, running that night.

I continued driving to the stadium. When I arrived at the road I’d driven down the previous day, the police had blocked it off to traffic. I followed the diversion. Behind the stadium goal there was a large section of tarmac, with 3, 5 a-side pitches painted, and groups of Thais playing football. I saw a small gap between pitch markings, and thought TIT – park anywhere – Thais hate confrontation anyway.

I just stopped there for a few minutes, waiting for somebody to tell me to move, but I don’t think anybody even noticed me. I then got out of the car, and moved to the stadium fence to take a couple of photos, still expecting a tap on the shoulder. After all, I was a Farang wearing a Ratchaburi shirt outside of Chanthaburi’s stadium. No tap came.

I gradually moved further and further from my car, nobody seemed to worry about it, apart from me – sorted. I kept looking over, and as games ended, nobody else started playing, and other cars then started appearing on the tarmac – phew!!! What I didn’t realise until after the game was there was a multi-storey car park on the other side of the road from the tarmac.

When I took my initial stadium photos, there was the shiny new stand on my right, which had impressed me so much the previous day, and a ramshackle stand to my left.

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Only the ramshackle stand had people in it. I later realised that despite looking shiny new, the new grandstand was still under construction.

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As visiting supporters, we were put in the crapiest part of the stadium possible (about 4 levels less than the ramshackle stand), but nothing we weren’t used to.

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At least we won our way into the last 16 of the competition, with a satisfying 3 – 2 victory.

Driving back to the hotel was a new experience, driving in the dark through Chanthaburi’s narrow streets – I actually took 3 wrong turnings, but my satnav got me home…………. eventually.

To be continued…………………………………….

[Big Boy]

Part 6

Day 4

Time to go home – a check on the date, and my dear wife was not amused when I asked if she wanted to fly home. A bit puzzled, she asked what I meant, which is when the fight started. I explained it was Halloween, and thought she might want to give her broomstick a work out.

We were up early, and went down for breakfast as soon as the breakfast room opened. Yes, the eggs were hot and the plastic sausages slightly warm (they’d have probably melted into a gooey mess if they were hot) – what a result, but who wants to go for breakfast at 7am when on holiday?

We collected my wife’s medical supplies from the hotel’s fridge and freezer, and were on our way.

The journey was uneventful until we got to Chonburi again. What a nasty bottleneck that place is. It probably needs a new road system that completely by-passes the city. That way, people could avoid the dump completely unless they had specific business there.

Dump is probably very harsh. I saw a very nice side of Chonburi when I was there for the football last year. It is just the ridiculous road system there that P’d me off. I’d hate to imagine what it is like during rush hour – I travelled both ways around midday.

I became very confused driving through Bangkok. My satnav was telling me to go left through a toll booth, but the toll booth had ‘Easy Pass’ above it – I know I have big trouble if I drive through an Easy Pass booth without the correct authority, which I didn’t have. There was a 2nd toll booth beside it where I could pay, but that toll booth took me onto a different route (it also added 15 minutes to the time I’d arrive at my destination).

No worries, my satnav wasn’t bothered, and took me through Bangkok on roads I’d never travelled on before, which was interesting. Traffic continued flowing freely, so no problem.

Then I got to the Bangkok/Samut Sakhon roadworks where I had cried last time on the way home from Ayutthaya because I needed to pee so badly. No hold ups this time, which was a huge relief (in more ways than one).

It was a long drive home, but everything was going quite smoothly…………..

Then it happened. A police road block. I’m laughing with my wife at all of the vehicles disappearing down a side road just before the road block, and trying to determine what kind of drugs they were carrying. I’m always squeaky clean, so had nothing to worry about, or did I?

The officer (BIB – Boys I Brown) threw his arm out, indicating I should stop. No problem, I stopped and put my window down. He asked for my licence, which I gave him. He then indicated I should pull into the temporary police pound – WTF!

I pulled in, got out of the car and asked what the problem was – no tax. I knew I’d renewed my tax because this was the first year I’d ever done it personally in Thailand. I’m thinking Farang scam. I was tired after quite a long drive, and I squared up toe to toe to the officer (me about 2’ taller), ready for an almighty argument (he was probably looking at my belly button) – after all, I knew my tax was in order.

My wife saw me about to explode, and quickly intervened. She explained that my tax was home in the cupboard. Fixing my new tax disc to the car windscreen is a job that has always been too difficult for a stupid Farang. My wife always insists on doing it. The story goes that this year (just before her replacement knee operation), she had been in so much agony, she had put it in the cupboard to do later – she forgot. If anything has ever taken the wind out of my sails this was it. I was totally deflated.

I’m now told to go to the naughty boys table, where a BIB would write me a ticket. I’m sat there thinking how much is this going to cost me? Farangs are often scammed by BIB in Thailand. He gave the ticket to my wife, and told her to take it to the office, where she could pay. She then asked ME for 300฿ (£6.90) to pay the fine. Luckily it had been a genuine road block (TIT and police are notorious for setting up illegal roadblocks and fleecing Farangs for stupid amounts), and my fine was correct. It was a fair cop.

The rest of the journey was without incident, thankfully.

To be continued…………………………………….

[Big Boy]

Part 7

Post Visit Thoughts

Chanthaburi is a beautiful town, the likes of which I have seen nowhere else to compare in Thailand. The small roads reminded me of a Cornish fishing village, and the vastly varying architecture dating back hundreds of years was amazing. Long may it stay that way, although there are already signs that things are changing. As an example, halfway through the Chanthaboon Water Community, it appears some rich dude has bought a huge lump of the street and built a huge mansion on one side of the street, and converted the riverside side of the street into his front garden. An abundance of flash cars were parked in the extensive car port beneath the house, and also in and overflow car park within the riverside garden. Such a shame. The guy obviously had a lot of money, and liked to show it. It did zilch for the ambience of the Chanthaboon Water Community.

Roads were all very narrow, with some strange driving rules, which took a bit of getting used to, but they weren’t busy, and I soon adapted.

An awful lot of reference to King Taksin the Great, who seems to have been very influential in the area.

Definitely not the sort of place for the Pattaya or Phuket genre of tourism. We did not see more than 3 bars all of the time we were there. And they were spread about. No pub crawls in Chanthaburi. Restaurants were plentiful, although we didn’t venture far from our hotel to eat. The small amount of alcohol that was bought was very cheap in restaurants – 80฿ (£1.84) for a large bottle of Heineken.

The area where our hotel was looked very run down/unfriendly upon first impression. Actually, the area is being re-developed as an exclusive area for hotels/restaurants – there were several being built very close to our accommodation. I would think this area will look very different in 2/3 years’ time.

Chanthaburi’s niche market is gems – not a thing I have any interest in, so didn’t even take a look, although it was quite prominent/obvious when I drove through the main area a couple of times.

Disappointments

Yes, it wasn’t all good. Firstly, with the French and Vietnamese influence on the town, I was expecting bread products to be special. The only bread that I saw being used in restaurants and coffee shops had Makro wrappers on them. Nothing special there – maybe I went into the wrong restaurants and coffee shops.

Secondly, I was hoping for a boat ride on the lazy River Chanthaburi. We failed to find anybody doing trips, and in the 4 days we were there, we did not see a single boat on the river. I had seen trips advertised on line, but I guess we were there at the lowest part of low season.

I think 2 short holidays in 2 weeks proved to be a little bit too much for my wife’s recovery from her knee operation about 6 weeks previous. She was struggling a little bit by the end of this trip, but she now has a few weeks to recover before our next adventure.

I hope to be back in December with a report on Whale Watching in the Gulf of Thailand. Watch this space.