It was a joy to attend Loy Krathong Festival at Pranburi, approx 30 min drive from Sam Roi Yot and it really showed the friendly nature of Thai people.
The event originates from a festival which paid respects to the water spirits and has been adapted in Thailand to also respect Buddha.
The word ‘krathong’ refers to a small vessel or basket and ‘loy’ means to float.
People buy these candle-lit baskets and, deep in contemplation, float them off down the river in a colourful flotilla.
We arrived to find a busy street flanked with food and drink stalls, which we surveyed with interest.
Delicious smells wafting in the evening heat were too good to resist so, after a small look around, we grabbed some barbecue pork belly on a stick and a couple of cold Cokes (no beer to be found) and sat at a tiny table and chairs provided for festival-goers.
Further investigation revealed little fried balls stuffed with crab or bacon, which we gobbled up greedily, before we then shared a mighty pork sausage on a stick, accompanied by cucumber slices and a ginger-tasting vegetable which went down a treat.
It was soon time for dessert, which came in the form of some little custard tarts.
Having seen a little old lady lacking trade at a colourful cake stall, our second dessert comprised of a couple of scrumptious little chocolate and icing sugar morsels from her.
The atmosphere was buzzing as dusk fell and a train thundered over an impressive railway bridge serving as a backdrop for the event.
Loy Krathong a real family festival, with events which included a competition for the best giant scale offerings, everyone a stunning work of art.
Things got interesting when we decided to leave.
We had bargained on finding a restaurant and using its wifi to rustle up a Grab taxi (Thailand’s version of Uber) to get us the 25km home.
Alas, no restaurants were to be found, but we did get wifi from a nail bar and thought we were home and dry.
Alas again, the Grab website said no cars were available at that time.
With that, the guy from the nail bar and some girls outside the next shop had a bit of a conflab and told us they could get hold of a local taxi for us.
Thankful, we agreed a not too exorbitant fare and moments later we were hurtling back through the pitch-black towards base and our local eatery for some cold beers and a fish and chip supper.
It was a nice way to round off a really chilled trip on a really hot night.
Three other places of interest to see near Sam Roi Yot:
Petchaburi is the provincial capital and is one of Thailand’s oldest cities, famous for many beautiful temples. On Kao Wan hill you can visit the summer palace of King Rama IV and the scenic park. A famous feature is the Mahtat temple, a remarkable monument of the centuries-old Khmer architecture. At the Kao Luang (Royal Mountain) outside the city you can enter an extended natural cave, with several caverns filled with rows of Buddha images including a large reclining statue
Wat Huay Mongkol and Pala U waterfall
After a short stop at Wat Huay Mongkol, with a massive statue of a revered Thai monk, you can venture on through the mountains up to the Burmese border. Pala U is a 15-level waterfall along a creek stretching out in the south end of the Kaeng Krachan national park. It is said most visitors turn back after the fourth level, but the recommendation is to keep going as far as you can. The waterfall flows all year round and each level has its unique beauty,
Phraya Nakorn Cave is part of Sam Roi Yot national park. It comprises of two caves and a pavilion which was built in 1896 for a visit of King Rama V. It is best viewed in the early morning when the first light breaks through the openings in the roof of the cave. The climb to the cave is pretty hard work, check out the TripAdvisor reviews to see if its something you are able to do, we decided not to.