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Royal Barges National Museum
The royal barges are slender, fantastically ornamented vessels used in ceremonial processions. The tradition dates back to the Ayuthaya era, when travel (for commoners and royals) was by boat. When not in use, the barges are on display at this Thonburi museum.The most convenient wa
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Muang Sing Historical Park
Muang Sing, or Lion City, preserves the remains of a 13th-century Khmer outpost that may have been a relay point for trade along Mae Nam Khwae Noi. The restored ruins show a Bayon style of architecture and were built for Mahayana Buddhism. The parks remaining shrines are constructe
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Tham Khao Luang
About 4km north of town is Tham Khao Luang, a dramatic stalactite-stuffed chamber thats one of Thailand’s most impressive cave shrines, and a favourite of Rama IV. Accessed via steep stairs, its central Buddha figure is often illuminated with a heavenly glow when sunlight filters i
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Doi Khun Tan National Park
This 225-sq-km national park straddles the mountains between Lamphun and Lampang Provinces. It ranges in elevation from 350m at the bamboo forest lowlands to 1363m at the pine-studded summit of Doi Khun Tan. Wildflowers, including orchids, ginger and lilies, are abundant. At the pa
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Sanam Luang
On a hot day, Sanam Luang (Royal Field) is far from charming: a shadeless expanse of dying grass and concrete pavement ringed by flocks of pigeons and homeless people. Yet despite its shabby appearance, it has been at the centre of royal ceremony since Bangkok was founded. Large fu
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Foreign Quarter
One reason Ayuthayas rulers lasted so long was that they could talk a good game. As a result of their adroit diplomacy and tolerance towards other religions and cultures up to 40 ethnic groups settled here. Today evidence of this remains in the Portuguese Settlement, St Josephs Chu
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Wat Ratburana
Across the street from Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, Wat Ratburana draws fewer visitors but in some ways is more interesting than its famous neighbour. In addition to a wí·hăhn with a 700-year-old gold Buddha, there’s a bòht (chapel) with beautiful murals thought to date back to the
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Wiang Kum Kam
The first attempt at founding a city on the banks of the Mae Ping river, Wiang Kum Kam served as the Lanna capital for 10 years from 1286, but the city was abandoned in the 16th century due to flooding. Today, the excavated ruins are scattered around the winding lanes of a sleepy v
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Phra Pathom Chedi
In the centre of town, rising to 127m is one of the tallest Buddhist monuments in the world. The original stupa was erected in the early 6th century by the Theravada Buddhists of Dvaravati. But, in the early 11th century the Khmer king, Suriyavarman I of Angkor, conquered the city
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Wat Phra That Chang Kham
This is the second-most important temple in the city after Wat Phra That Chae Haeng. The founding date is unknown, but the main wí·hăhn (sanctuary), reconstructed in 1458, has a huge seated Buddha image and faint murals that have been partially recovered. The chedi behind the wí·hă
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Phu Chong Nayoi National Park
Sitting at the heart of the Emerald Triangle (a meeting of the Thai, Lao and Cambodian borders) this little-known national park is one of Thailands wildest corners and healthiest forests. The 686-sq-km parks primary attraction is Namtok Huay Luang , a waterfall that plunges 45m in
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Wat Ao Noi
From Ao Prachuap, follow the coastal road 8km north as it skirts through the fishing village to reach this beautiful teak temple that straddles two bays (Ao Noi and Ao Khan Kradai). Limestone mountains pose photogenically in the background, while a dramatic nine-headed naga protect
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Wat Tham Chiang Dao
Set in pretty grounds that teem with jungle butterflies, this forest wát was founded at the entrance to the Chiang Dao Cave , a chilly warren of tunnels and passageways that extends more than 10km beneath the limestone massif of Doi Chiang Dao. For local Buddhists, the cave is a po
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Erawan Shrine
The Erawan Shrine was originally built in 1956 as something of a last-ditch effort to end a string of misfortunes that occurred during the construction of a hotel, at that time known as the Erawan Hotel. After several incidents ranging from injured construction workers to the sinki
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Royal Agricultural Station
Sprawling out from the village of Ban Khum, this Royal Project was founded to provide local hill-tribe villagers with an alternative source of income to growing opium, and to conduct research into which new crops could be cultivated in the cool mountain valleys of northern Thailand
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Similan Islands Marine National Park
Known to divers the world over, the beautiful 70-sq-km Similan Islands Marine National Park lies 70km offshore from Phang-Nga province. Its smooth granite islands are as impressive above the bright-aqua water as below, topped with rainforest, edged with blindingly white beaches and
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Poeng Kloeng & Letongkhu
Rte 1288, which leads to the checkpoint for Um Phang Wildlife Sanctuary, continues more than 70km, terminating in Poeng Kloeng – a Karen, Burmese, Talaku and Thai trading village on the Myanmar border. Poeng Kloeng is a pretty nondescript border town where main occupations appear t
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Thong Pha Phum National Park
Thong Pha Phum National Park, near the end of ear-popping Hwy 3272, crosses a serrated mountain range along the Myanmar border and is one of the most beautiful but least-known places in Thailand. It bills itself as the Land of Fog and Freezing Rainforest, which in travellers terms
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Letongkhu & Sangkhlaburi
Roughly 12km south of Poeng Kloeng along a rough track (passable by 4WD in the dry season), near the Myanmar border on the banks of Mae Nam Suriya next to Sam Rom mountain, is the village of Letongkhu. According to what little anthropological information is available, the villagers
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Prasat Ta Meuan
The most atmospheric of Surins Khmer ruins is a series of three sites known collectively as Prasat Ta Meuan in the forest on the Cambodian border. They line the Ancient Khmer Hwy linking Angkor Wat to Phimai and this is where the road crossed the Dongrek Mountains. The first site,
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