A Visit to Khao Luang Caves, Had Chao Samran, and Amphawa Floating Market
Now that the rainy season is over it means that our Sunday family day out can actually involve going somewhere other than a Bangkok department store. Yesterday we decided to travel south. I heard about Khao Luang Caves in Phethaburi a while ago and I’ve been itching to go there since. I got my wife and son to agree to the trip with a promise of a visit to the beach and the Amphawa floating market on the way back.
On Sunday morning I got up early to plan my route using Google maps; I optimistically judged that the trip would take just over two hours. We were in the car by nine and soon travelling along the Bangkok motorways. I missed the turn off for Rama II and had almost reached Bang Bua Thong before I realised my mistake; I ended up wasting a full hour. The traffic was heavy but eventually we were able to make our way back to Rama II so we could continue our journey south.
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Khao Luang Caves in Phethaburi
My wife and son were fairly fed up by the time we reached Khao Luang Caves (ถ้ำเขาหลวง); it had taken us over three hours instead of the two I’d promised. I can drive all day so long as I’ve got some good music, but the rest of the family gets antsy after about an hour. The mood in the back seat lifted though when my wife spotted the sign for the caves.
There were monkeys everywhere on the road up to Khao Luang Caves. This sight would have amazed me a few years ago, but since then I’ve lived in Lopburi; I’d see wild monkeys every day on my way to work. When we arrived at the cave car park we were pounced on by locals trying to sell us things; they weren’t too pushy though. I paid 10 THB for parking and they stuck a dirty toy dinosaur on the windshield; presumably to indicate that I’d paid. There were plenty of monkeys here as well and the parking attendant supplied my wife with a stick to fend them off if they decided to attack (the monkeys not the vendors).
I had seen pictures of the caves on the web but the real thing was actually far more impressive. We descended down into a huge cavern and everywhere was covered in Buddha statues. It wasn’t too crowded with other visitors and we were able to have a good look around. There were other caves off the main cavern and each of these had statues on display; some of them quite unusual like a couple of Rue-Si (hermits). Apparently the caves were once a Royal picnic site and it is easy to understand why they would want to keep on visiting these caves. Everywhere I looked there was something interesting to see; it is times like this that I wish that my photography skills were more advanced. In fact the camera I’d brought with me was playing up and I had to use the camera on my mobile phone instead. Khao Luang is definitely somewhere I’d visit again.
buy isotretinoin in singapore Had Chao Samran and Ampawa Floating Market
After the caves it was time to find the beach. I got lost again and we had to stop and ask for directions three times but eventually we found Had Chao Samran. It is a nice little beach area and we had our lunch in a local restaurant. My son had been talking about going swimming all morning but when we actually made it to the beach he decided that he was afraid of the waves; he played in the sand instead.
In the afternoon it was time to turn back towards Bangkok. We had decided to visit Amphawa floating market on the way; it is located in Samut Songkhram. This time I didn’t get lost but when we found the turn off for the market we hit a slow moving traffic jam. I eventually managed to park the car in somebody’s driveway; they charged me 50 THB for the privilege.
Amphawa floating market starts at 3pm and continues until late. I’ve only ever been to the floating market in Bang Phii (it’s small and not very memorable) so I was impressed by Amphawa. Most of the visitors seemed to be middle class Thais and the shops mostly sold arty stuff and gifts. It is a lovely market though and it was nice to walk around it. There was nothing there that I really wanted to buy, but that’s probably a good thing.
Map to Khao Luang
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I am useless finding my way around BKK, I rely far too heavily on the missus and luckily she knows where she’s going most of the time… The caves look like my cup of tea… as you say pictures can never quite capture the atmos, I will no doubt be taking the family here one day so thanks for the post.
Hi Ben, my wife is even worse with directions than I am. The caves are impressive and I plan to go again too. There are a few other attractions nearby to make the visit even more worthwhile. I would say though to get the most out of it you would need to stay the night.
Paul the caves look beautiful! I like caves, they always make for a cool, scenic retreat. There are some northish from here I’d like to check out during the coming year. The markets also, I’ve only ever visited one which was over priced and geared up for tourists. I’d love to visit a more authentic type…but alas, I don’t think there are any in this neck of the woods.
Even though you took the long road, I’m sure your wife is nowhere near as bad as I am, when it comes to back seat driving 😉
My wife isn’t a big fan of long journeys but she is very patient. At least we have a car now. A few years back we would go hundreds of kilometres on the motorbike; that was before my son was born.