Feb 19-20 2023 |
Departed Koh Phangan on the last leg of my 4-month trip, back to Singapore, and I was stoked to be heading to Nakhon Si Thammarat, a first-time visit to a place that looked very interesting. It was an easy ferry ride from Phangan to Don Sak, then a 2-hour drive down the east coast on a good 4-lane highway.
Nakhon has a long history as a major center in south Thailand. It is the only city in Thailand other than Chiang Mai with remnants of city walls, and has a major temple with origins that date back to the Srivijaya empire 1000 years ago. One interesting historical nugget is that it was led at one time by a Japanese pirate (from Numazu, a place I have been to - small world).
Nakhon is not a regular tourist destination (the huge majority of people head north from the islands to Bangkok, or southwest to Phuket). It's known as perhaps the place in Thailand that retains the most "Thai-ness". Near my hotel was a weekend market that had every type of Thai local snack you could imagine. In. general, locals didn't seem to give a hoot about me as a tourist (which was fine with me). And...the woman were maybe the most attractive I have ever seen in Thailand (and that is saying a lot). All-in-all it was a great 2 night, one full-day stay. Nakhon is an unknown gem and I recommend it to the intrepid traveler seeking a glimpse of what Thailand was like in a prior era.
Ride: 112km | 4 hrs (including ferry)
Stay: B2 Hotel | $15 | 4/5
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