Congratulations to Sudsai Pairung, a Thai culinary student who has just returned from Australia, — our winner this month. “Poo,” as her family and friends fondly call her, shared with us her experience in Suphan Buri, for which she wins a voucher entitling her for a one-night’s stay at the Hilton Hua Hin, our sponsor for thiss issue!
At about this time last year, we visited Suphan Buri, one of the central provinces of Thailand located just two hours away from Bangkok. While the province is not as popular among foreign tourists as other central provinces like Kanchanaburi or Ayutthaya are, it actually attracts a lot of domestic travelers. The province is home to several tourist attractions. The number of temples alone in the historical province, which was founded in the 7th century, is awesome and it’s a pity really that we cannot visit them all.
But we made it to Wat Phai Rong Wua, which houses around mock-up venues important to the Lord Buddha, not to mention the world’s largest cement Buddha image and the world’s largest bronze multi-spired building known as ‘Phra Wihan Roi Yot’ and the Dharmmacakra (‘Wheel of the Doctrine),” among other things. What we found most exciting though is the “Hell Garden,” where thousands of statues depict sinners are supposed to suffer after life. It can give the creeps, but quite interesting.
Another exciting stop was the Celestial Dragon Chinese Village, also known as Wat Mangkon, famous for the giant dragon that suggests the province’s Chinese affinity. The village also houses a museum showcasing the history of the first Chinese settlers in Thailand.
The Old Sam Chuk Market is also interesting. This hundred-year-old market along the Tha-Chin River takes us back in time with its wooden shop houses in the Thai original style. And if that’s not enough, one can take a river cruise and witness a surrounding that seems to have been caught in a time warp.
The photos I took are probably not representative of the entire tourism wonders of Suphanburi, but I hope they will encourage more people to visit the province, and enjoy it, as I did — as soon as possible!
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