Nakhon Pathom (3 of 3): Through Rose Garden Colored Glasses

wish we had more time at the Rose Garden. This HUGE property is BEAUTIFUL!!!

manicured lawns, beautiful landscapes  and gorgeous greenery surround the Rose Garden

Lingering an extra hour at the Samphran Elephant Grounds reduced our allotted time at the Rose Garden Riverside (see website here). This eco cultural destination has been recommended in nearly all the guidebooks and article I've seen.

the place is well maintained, clean and handsomely put together

The Rose Garden isn't just a huge garden filled with flowers. This 70 acre property houses a 160 room 4 star hotel, thai houses, a spa, 4 restaurants, a lake, an organic farm and a Thai Cultural Village centre.

the shrubbery tunnel as you enter the  Rose Garden compound

Entrance fee is 500 baht per person. Kids (or at least our 3 feet and 6 inches kid) came in for free.

A Thai Cultural  show is highly recommended. Here's the schedule:

Showtimes:
Thai Village Cultural Show, daily 2 shows: 13.30 and 14.45
Elephant Demonstration, daily 14.30 and 15.30

We had about an hour to go before the Cultural Centre would close at 4 pm. This is how we spent the hour:

Sawadee--fy your pictures by getting your pics taken with some of the cast from the Thai Cultural Show. No need to decide whether to tip them or not. The lady on my right told us right after the photo-op to tip em :P

Watching the Thai cultural show halfway through wasn't so bad. It was interesting to note that some of the Thai dances were identical to some of our Filipino folk dances, like the tinikling (bamboo poles dance). Quite entertaining, they also encouraged audience participation where the tourists were taught basic steps. 

After the cultural show, an elephant demonstration was held in a different venue. As we had just come from an elephant show, we decided to check out the place and take pictures. I also did a bit of shopping here:

hand painted designs on these clothes 

You could haggle. Don't be shy and name your price! As the village was about to close shop, I got great deals on the souvenir t-shirts, cosmetic bags and authentic Thai silk scarves. You may also find local artists who do hand paintings on fashionable apparels such as blouses, dresses and casual cotton short sleeved shirts for men as well has bags and scarves. Real pretty stuff here (around 500-700 baht each depending on the item).

Wish I had more time to explore the entire Rose Garden. Go on a river cruise, boating in the lake or maybe next time, stay at their hotel. More thing to look forward to in the future.

back to the Prince Palace

Nakhon Pathom was a very good idea. Try to check it out the next time you're in Thailand. 

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Nakhon Pathom (2 of 3): Our Real Life Jungle Book

lots of trees  and shade surround the area, making the  41 degree Celsius heat bearable 

Sam Phran, Thailand 2012: No Mowgli here, just Phil, myself and MAX. No Shere Khan either. We've got Mr. Oil and Mr. Lift instead. Hathi and his sons are not around but a small soccer team of his cousins are getting ready for the big game. Then there's a whole section of the park for Jacala's family. Not to mention all the other animals that could be a foil for the cast of Rudyard Kipling's original Jungle Book.

first traffic light tree in Asia. See the lights for the elephants?

For those who haven't read the Jungle Book, one of the most popular tale in the book takes us to India, where the adventures of a boy raised by wolves  (Mowgli), interacts with the various animals of the jungle. Not all are as good as Hathi (the elephant). Jacala (the crocodile) and Mowgli's arch nemesis Shere Khan (the tiger) have their own share of villany.

one of the many residents of the place

Before I totally stray off topic, here are things you ought to know about the Samphran Elephant Ground, Zoo and Crocodile Farm: (website here)

GETTING THERE:  (from their website)

How to make a trip:

1. Contact any travel agencies in and around Bangkok.

2. By taxi

3. By Public bus no. 123 (non-air) from the Royal Grand Palace to The Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo.

4. By bus and air bus no. 84 from Krungthonburi BTS station. The bus pass by the main gate. (Click map for driver)

ADMISSION:
Entrance fee including all shows: Adult 600 baht, child below 130 cms. 350 baht.
Open daily from 08:30 - 17:30 hrs.

SHOW SCHEDULES:

Daily Show Time	1st show	2nd show
Crocodile Wrestling Show	12.45 - 13.10	14.20 - 14.40
Magic Show	13.15 - 13.45	15.00 - 15.30
Elephant Theme Show	13.45 - 14.10	15.30 - 16.00

FOOD:

• International Buffet Restaurant, located near the entrance/exit has some good selections (open daily from 11:30 - 14:30) see menu
• various snack bars dot the place, selling chips, candies, drinks, ice cream and even Thai street food on sticks. they're also reasonably priced, if not close to the prices outside the zoo.
• an open air food court may also be found on the premises. Some of the stalls even serve croc meat (probably those non performers in the wrestling show :P)

crocodile meat soup is on the menu

a Hello Kitty ice cream stick to beat the heat

ATTRACTIONS:

**the zoo's staff are always around and oftentimes, they have a camera on hand to document your animal interactions. Your pictures may then be printed out on commemorative plates (with stand), a Polaroid snapshot will be handed out to you or printed on t shirts as well. The plates and shirts cost around 150 baht each. The Polaroid shot on the other will be given to you should you want to have your picture taken with the twin Siberian-Bengal tigers close to the entrance.

• Mr. Lift and Mr. Oil: for 100 baht, you  and 3 other ( maximum of 4 people in a photo) can have your picture taken with these chained behemoths. Hello Kitty they are not, so no sudden movements :P

MAX expressed his fear of the tigers. Our greatest fear at this point in time? The tigers sensing MAX's  fear and ACTING on it :p

whew! glad that's over and done with

• Elephant Encounter: on their downtime, the elephants try to earn some extra bananas and sugarcane as well as some real cash for their trainers. Walking through the grounds, you may find elephants (chained) chilling near booths that sell the aforementioned pachyderm treats. You can also have your photo taken with them. Just tip the trainers. The Food stalls for the elephants have bundles of sugracane and bananas that cost 10 baht each. As expected, those big boys can eat a whole lot!

pass them your camera, your phone  or whatever, and  the trainers will be more than happy to take your pics

• Crocodile Wrestling Show: two young men and 6 medium sized crocodiles in a closed off mini pool! Try to go to the show venue 30 minutes earlier to get a good pick of the viewing area upstairs. There are souvenir shops there to check out as you wait for the show to start. Show was exciting. The whole head inside a crocs mouth thing and more were done. It was so exciting that we opted to shot a video of the show rather than take stills. Will try to upload an edited, shorter clip soon!

the crocodile wrestling show venue

• The Elephant Theme Show: prior to the elephant show, there is a magic show that starts right after the Croc Wrestling program. We opted to skip the abracadabras and rode on an elephant instead. More on that in a few. As for the Elephant Theme show, this is probably the highlight of the place. The huge residents of the zoo " dance, race, play football and games,  perform the“Yutha Hathi” ( a great royal battle scene), that is even performed with the actors riding on the elephants. "

Entertaining, educational and awesome, this is one show you can't miss. Drinks and food are also sold in the venue, as well as ice cold face towels in sealed packs. Just the perfect thing to wipe away the sweat. By the way, while staying at the front row may be great for your vision, the battle scenes and the explosions in the show (as cools as they are) may frighten young children.

talk about being a diva...

soccer-playing elephants

fearing for MAX's safety, it was quite ironic that he was the one who had the most fun in the while ride!

• The Elephant Ride: for 500 baht/person (paid at the entrance of this attraction), you could get to ride  the bigger elephants in the group. The ride lasts for about 30 minutes (but to a person with a fear of heights, the ride seemed to last forever), as a trainer maneuvers your ride around the garden. The garden in itself is quite pretty. A waterfall, a pond and an orchid nursery are some of the things to see from above. As a safety precaution, no taking of photos during the ride is advised. You gotta hold on for dear life. No kidding!!!). The seat itself is a sturdy plank with metal bars at the back to lean on and handle bars at the sides to hold on to. The seat is strapped down over the thick blankets placed over the elephant's back. There are no harnesses, no seat belts. Just you, and your will to live. 

our 10 foot tall ride has arrived :P

To get on and off this breathing ride, a one storey high platform is there for your convenience. The scariest part of riding an elephant this big (specifically the pregnant pachyderm we rode on), was when the elephant decided to try and get off the path and pull plants from the ground. I broke into a cold sweat and was torn between crying or laughing hysterically from the fear. Other than that, it was a wonderful experience!

we made it!!!! wheee!!!!

• Fish feeding and boat rides with..guess what...more fish feeding :P- fish food (actually dog food pellets) are sold at the snack kiosks at 15 - 20 baht a bag. The pellets would make your hands smell weird, and the faucets around the area dump the water back into the pond, so good luck on using soap. (sorry mutant catfishies. I used some soap-free hand wash from the Bodyshop coz the smell really bothered me). The pedaled boat ride is also around for you to get closer to the fish and feed them.  

fish food

mutant catfish

• The Zoo: lots of mammals and reptiles around the place. Didn't get to take pictures of em, but they're there!
• Shopping stalls: traditional Thai outfits, souvenirs and other curio items at decent prices

This place was probably the highlight of our trip. We had so much fun, that we stayed a little bit longer, and ended up missing a good part of the cultural show at the Rose Garden. 

But that's another story, for the next blog.

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!

Nakhon Pathom (1 of 3) : Phra Pathom Chedi-Get Your Stupa On!

Wear comfy shoes. You've got stairs to contend with. Also, you'll be removing them anyway if you want to enter the temple

About an hour from Bangkok is the province of Nakhon Pathom. The "touristy" thing to do while in the area is to visit site A. the Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo/Crocodile Farm, site B. the Rose Garden/Sampran Riverside and site C. Phra Pathom Chedi, the tallest stupa (Buddhist monument) in the world. As blogging about all three stops could prove to be too long for one blog, I've split them up into 3.

For about 2500 baht, we tapped the services of the travel agency at our hotel. Asking a cab driver upon arriving in Bangkok, a rate of 1500 baht was to get us to and from site A and back to Bangkok. After negotiating with the travel agent, he was able to throw in site C (which is 30 minutes away from the 2 other places mentioned) as site A and B came in a 2500 baht package already.

The car rented out to us was a Camry sedan, which was quite comfortable. The driver, Mr. Sam, was able to comprehend 70% of our English and was quite pleasant.

a couple of steps  below the top of the hill is a statue of Buddha. The gold leaf covering the statue  is from the 1x1 sq inch gold leaf sheets brought by the devotees

Leaving the hotel at around 9 am, we drove away from the traffic, the hustle and bustle, that is Bangkok and into a more quiet suburban looking town (which somehow reminded me of Laguna - rural yet modern).
Our first stop was Phra Pathom Chedi. At 417 ft, this stupa is tallest of its kind in the world. Parts of it date back to as early as the 4th century. However, the final structure that you see in these pictures was completed in 1870.

start off by getting your prayer props at the tables located at either side of this prayer area

light your incense stick

bow (3x I think) and say your wishes to Buddha

stick your incense and your donation that's clipped on a wooden lotus leaf

don't forget to offer your lotus flower too

Seeing this huge monument, in itself, is quite a treat. Though no pictures maybe taken inside the temple, the story drawn on the ceiling high murals on how Buddhism came to Thailand is good enough to be etched in your mind. It's no Disney drawing either as some of the images denote a certain amount of violence.

why does the movie Mortal Kombat come to mind whenever I see this pic?

this place is huge and outdoors. running around chasing a toddler will definitely stress you out

the view from above

walking between the tulpa and it's parapets gives you an excellent view of the place from above

 Getting to the top of the hill of this stupa also allows you to experience certain Buddhist traditions. Aside from the stupa, there's this huge courtyard at the bottom of the monument, within it's gates that is absolutely stunning!

lotus flowers float on the huge jars found at the bottom of the tulpa

At the bottom of the hill, near the parking lot is the Phra Pathom Chedi Museum where artifacts found in Nakhom Pathom dating back from the 7th to 11th century are on display.

some of the artifacts may even be found just outside the museum walls

We didn't get to see the museum as my boys had had enough of the heat. In a way, the intricate mosaics, detailed murals, various statues of Buddha and the architectural design of Phra Pathom Chedi was enough for me. After a quick bathroom break (really clean, but Asian styled facility), we were off to our next tourist destination...The Samphran Elephant Grounds, Zoo and Crocodile Farm.

one of the many windows that lined the hallway surround the stupa's courtyard

one of the many flowering trees surrounding
the area

From TMW, may all your wanderings be better than ours!