Chanthaburi province is known as the gem capital, it used to produce the most amount of gems in Thailand and maybe even in south east asia... well I didnt go there for the gems, I went there because it also hosts numerous national parks and towns with very few westerners.
Initially I was supposed to go to Kao Yai National Park with a bunch of friends and then to Chanthaburi, but after arriving in Kao Yai to torrential down-pour I decided to make the trip to Chanthaburi a day early.... I left my friends at 2pm and didnt see another westerner until 11am the next day!
Chanthaburi, the town it's self is a really cute town on the edge of a river.
The morning after I arrived I woke up early and roamed around the town briefly before taking a taxi to Khao Khitchakut National Park. (I knew that if I wanted to do any hiking it would have to be before the heat of the day!)
One of the main sights in Chanthaburi Town is the Catholic Church, which although it doesnt look like it, it was orriganlly built in 1711... but I guess it has been renovated 5 times since then and now... the last renovation was in 1909 but the roof had to be rebuilt after WWII
Khao Khitchakut National Park hosts Krathing Waterfall, a 13 level waterfall that you can hike up. It was beautiful! I was hiking in the jungle with the water and pools beside me the entire way up... unfortunately it actually wasnt that long a hike... I was expected something a little more challenging but it was still a good workout with beautiful views.
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| One of the first pools... if you look closely you can see all the fish! All the pools were filled with fish! |
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| I had fun trying to swing on the vines! |
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| Sitting at the edge of one of the levels. |
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| The lake at the bottom of the waterfall. |
After the national park I did some more roaming in Chanthaburi town and found King Taksin Memorial park, a huge market... and as I was trying to find my way out of the market I also came accross a monastery...
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| Thai's exercising in the park! |
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| Statue of King Tuksin with animal figurines below (i'm thinking they are offerings?) |
Initially I was supposed to go to Kao Yai National Park with a bunch of friends and then to Chanthaburi, but after arriving in Kao Yai to torrential down-pour I decided to make the trip to Chanthaburi a day early.... I left my friends at 2pm and didnt see another westerner until 11am the next day!
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