Cultural traditions and wildlife await, just a few hours' drive from Bangkok
The scent of rice fields and scenic river views provide an ideal setting for city dwellers craving escape. Once in a while, urbanites need to find a place to stay next to a river, enjoy a river cruise, visit centuries-old temples and eat orchard fruit plucked fresh from a tree, just to feel human again.
All of these activities can be conducted over a weekend in Chai Nat, some 200km north of Bangkok.
The low-profile province is not a major stop for tourists. Most travellers bypass it or only make a half-day visit to its well-known bird park, built in 1983 on a 248-rai (40-hectare) plot of land.
"Chai Nat is a quiet province in which historical places and old culture have been well preserved," said Pranee Channopparat, deputy director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Suphan Buri, Ang Thong and Chai Nat office.
The ancient sites are mostly temples, such as Wat Mahathat and Wat Phra Kaew in Sankhaburi district. Both temples have stupas built before the Ayutthaya period.
The museum of Wat Phra Barommathat in Chai Nat town also houses one of the most beautiful Buddha images in the country as well as old Buddhist amulets and earthenware that date back to the 12th century.
The province is also home to the Lao Khrang who migrated from Laos more than 200 years ago, during the early Rattanakosin period. The community lives in Nhong Mamoang district and they still wear their traditional red silk sarong.
Chai Nat is also majorly farmland, said Deputy Governor Pannee Ngamkum. About 80% of the land is devoted to farming rice as well as sugar cane, and there are also pomelo orchards.
Three rivers - the Chao Phraya, the Thacheen and the Noi - irrigate the province's farmlands. "Our farmers can grow rice up to three times a year compared to one or two harvests a year in other provinces thanks to our abundant water resources," Pannee said.
Chai Nat also has a rice research centre which collects many types of rice grains, develops new types and enhances the quality of rice plants.
"When the country was hit by floods last year, a large part of the rice donated to farmers nationwide came from Chai Nat," she said.
Another significant product of Chai Nat is khao taengkwa pomelo. There is about 2,300 rai of pomelo orchards, which produces about 2,700 tonnes of the citrus fruit a year.
"The khao taengkwa variety was offered to King Rama V when he paid a royal visit to Chai Nat," said the deputy governor, adding that the monarch told the people to preserve this type of fruit because it was "very tasty", she noted.
The province also holds its yearly pomelo fair to promote the fruit and encourage farmers to take good care of their produce.
"As the majority of us are farmers, we live an easy and peaceful life. This is our charm which we want visitors to experience," said the deputy governor.
The ride from Bangkok takes only a few hours and the road is in a good condition. So if you are looking for a scenic place, do not forget to mark Chai Nat on your travel map.
The big seated Buddha is displayed in Wat Khao Phlong, in the city of Chai Nat. The temple has two entrance gates. The first one is on Highway 1 after passing the Bird Park. Piles of fallen leaves could indicate that this part of the temple has welcomed a few visitors recently, but it has a landmark as the century-old Buddha relics is kept in its old stupa.
The second entrance gate of the temple is on top of Khao Phlong, or Phlong Hill. This entrance is a bit farther north of the Bird Park; look for the local road No.1002. When you are there, you will have a panoramic city view of Chai Nat. The temple also houses another set of Buddha relics in its golden stupa (shown in the picture). Both parts of the temple are linked with the 565 stairs. Feel free to try your strength and stamina.
Located on the banks of the Noi River, Wat Mahathat in Sankhaburi district is unique for the architecture of its stupa and ruins, which were believed to be built before the Ayutthaya period. The third stupa from left in the big picture Wat Mahathat1.jpg was listed as a national antique by the Fine Arts Department in 1935. Archaeologists believed the stupa was built around the 13th century AD, or during the end of the U Thong period, which governed the central region before the Ayutthaya era. This stupa shows the arts of Lop Buri, which was influenced by the arts of the Northern Sukhothai, Srivijaya of the South, and Khmer styles.
Meanwhile, golden bells that hang on a line supported by two poles, in which two children are seen hitting, line the front of the ruins. This temple is believed to have been renovated during the Ayutthaya period. There are still some big seated Buddha images made of sandstone on display in the temple.
Phra Khru Rattana Wisutthitham, the abbot of Wat Phra Kaew in Sankhaburi district, is willing to take visitors on a tour around the temple, which was built during the 15th century AD. The highlight of this temple is the old 37-metre-tall stupa that is pictured behind him Wat Phra Kaew1.jpg. The stupa, which features a mix of Dvaravati architectural style, is located at the back of the temple. The original structure had been made from sandstone and stood against time for 600-700 years, according to the abbot, who also noted that Thailand's most prominent artist the late Prayoon Uruchada (Nor Na Paknam), named the stupa the ''most beautiful and perfect stupa ever found in Thailand'' when it was discovered a century ago. The old picture of the stupa before the renovation work is displayed in the viharn.
And in this viharn, there is an unseen attraction. The main seated Buddha image _ Luang Por Chai _ was made with a piece of Khmer art lintel attached to his back, which depicted the Hindu god Indra riding on Erawan, the three-headed elephant. But the lintel was in the upside down position which the abbot explained might have been the intention of the ancestors to show their intellect and have people discuss its meaning.
Monks are seen wrapping the base of an old white pagoda with a long saffron robe after Buddhists carried it and walked around the pagoda three times in a robe procession ceremony to honour Lord Buddha, his teachings, as well as his followers. This pagoda is believed to have been built at the same time as the famous pagoda of Wat Phra Mahathat in Nakhon Si Thammarat in the South, or about 1,000 years ago. It was built from sandstone, but was renovated with a cover layer of white concrete in 2007.
Also located within the temple area is the Chai Nat Muni National Museum, which showcases various ornaments and Buddha images of the Dvaravati period. One of the main highlights is the seated Buddha in Maravijaya style. The image is made of bronze with a mix of Lanna and Sukhothai art. The museum guides are very proud of this sculpture, who all agree that the image is the most beautiful bronze sculpture because it has great detail of the hands and feet, and the shape is pretty much like a human.
A local farmer is applying chemical fertiliser to his green rice paddy fields while Black-winged Stilts are looking for food in another field across the road. About 90% of farmers in Chai Nat still grow rice with the help of chemical products while the remaining 10% are organic farmers, according to Chai Nat Rice Research Centre. Although there is an attempt to promote chemical-free rice fields, its popularity is still low as many farmers are afraid they cannot produce the same amount of rice with bio-fertilisers. To add to this long-time misconception, the local government agencies give away insecticide to the famers in order to kill aphids. So who should be blamed?
Sunanta Tinwong (left) and her friend are dressed in the full traditional costume of the Lao Khrang, an immigrant Lao ethnic group believed to be the descendants of Luang Phrabang. They have opened their community in Nhong Mamoang district to public visits in order to educate visitors about their culture. Village head Niwattanakorn Sripromma said that the people in the community have preserved the traditional way of life, including the food, speaking in their original language, and weaving clothes with the old dying designs and technique.
''We are keen on feeding lac insects [Laccifer lacca, or khrang in Thai] and use stick lac for dying our yarns,'' said the village head. The red-colour dying technique the group utilises has led people to call them Lao Khrang or Tai Khrang.
At present, about 20 women, mostly housewives, have joined forces to form a group for cloth weaving. Their fabric is made of silk or cotton. Song Jobsri, 81, is one of the weavers who has passed on her skills and shared her knowledge to the younger generations. Song has been working on this weaving machine for more than 60 years and she was recently awarded the provincial weaving artist of Chai Nat.
In addition to weaving and selling cloth, some houses have opened their front yards to sell handmade products, such as coconut leaf hats, bamboo baskets, and threshing baskets. Bussakorn Chaochalad, 70, opens her house to offer herbal home remedies in which she plants various herbs like kariyat, boraphet (Tinospora crispa) and curcuma. In her hand is dried pandanus leaves. Bussakorn also makes herbal drinks. ''My house is also a Thai herb learning centre for school children,'' she added.
Chatchai Thabthong, 54, the owner of Chokchai Pomelo Orchard, shows the famous khao taengkwa variety. As the name suggests, the eatable segment of the fruit is pale yellow, while its texture is juicy with a sweet and sour taste. The fruit is one of the highlight products of Chai Nat and it is also registered as a Thai Geographical Indicator of the province.
Each year, about 100 tonnes of pomelo are harvested from Chokchai Pomelo Orchard, of which 20% is packed for export, such as to Hong Kong.
''The pomelo orchard has changed our lives,'' said Tassanee, his wife, who is touring visitors in a paddle boat. They have planted pomelo trees here for eight years now, after they stopped growing rice on their farm in tambon Nang Leu in the city of Chai Nat.
''We used to earn only 30,000 baht a year when we grew rice, but once we changed to pomelo, we now earn almost a million baht a year,'' she said, adding that at present, they have about 28-rai (4.48-hectare) of land for growing fruit and another 50-rai (8-hectare) for growing lemons. The orchard's owner, Mr Chatchai, is always a guest speaker at various functions to educate other farmers on how to successfully grow pomelo in the province.
On a quiet 40-rai (6.4-hectare) plot of land in Hankha district stands the centre of a joint-venture community enterprise. It was founded in 2000 by Petty Officer 1st Class Sombat Wisutpan, who wanted to promote a farming model under the concept of sufficiency economy. Currently, the centre has 670 registered farmers and employs 30 people to promote the environmentally-friendly method of farming, including how to produce bio-fertiliser, bio-insecticide, bio-gas for cooking, fancy charcoal, and how to pump water to water the plants. The centre also organises 1- to 4-day training courses to those interested.
Opposite Wat Pak Khlong Makham Thao and on the banks of the Tha Chin River is the new market called Talad Ton Nam Tha Chin, which opened last year. This small market features rows of thatched-roof booths for locals to sell various products, such as colourful bags, dried fish, hot meals, and pomelo juice. The students donned in colourful costumes were part of the performances to entertain the visitors.
Many visitors enjoy spending their time of rest at the annual Straw Bird Fair, which has been held since 1986, during the month of February at the provincial City Hall. The highlight of the event is the straw bird contest in which each bird often stands three metres tall. The event is always organised in conjunction with the Red Cross fair, which offers local handicrafts, Otop products, and various food items.
Credit: Bangkok Post (www.bangkokpost.com)
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