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Must-Visits, Must-Sees in Thailand No.1-5

ThaiSmile.jp recommended places !

Since the first visit, I have gone to various places in Thailand. This page shows top-10 places in Thailand that are specially impressive or make me want to go again. I hope the information of this page will help those who are going on a trip to Thailand or thinking of visiting Thailand again.


By the way, the places shown below are picked out by the webmaster who likes history, nature, and countryside rather than cities. Just check them as a reference.



  • No.6 `  No.10
    - Sukhothai Historical Park
    - Tao Island (Surat Thani)
    - Mon Bridge (Sangkhlaburi in Kanchanaburi)
    - Golden Triangle (Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai)
    - Phra Maha Chedi Chaimongkon (RoiEt)

Besides these, There are a lot of wonderful places to visit or to see. Anyway this pages show top-10 Must-Visits, Must-Sees.

No.1 - Grand Palace (Bangkok)

No.1 is the Grand Palace in Bangkok !

Grand Palace is (I guess) the most famous tourist place in Bangkok.
The view of Grand Palace.

It was built in 1782 when the capital was moved from Thonburi to Bangkok by Rama I.
Excellent artists were gathered from each area over the country and they competed with each other over their skills. The successive kings repair or build an extension.

The Grand Palace consists of four parts;
The outer part is the civil and military headquarters, the central is the King's living quarters, the inner part is for female members of the royal family and their attendants, and another area is the royal temples.

This is one of my favorite places in Thailand. I want to visit again if it's not a too much warm day. You must visit here at least once  if you go to Thailand or Bangkok for the first time or are interested in historical things.
(You can't tell about Thailand without visiting here. :D)

Chakri Maha Prasat and Dusit Maha Prasat
Chakri Maha Prasat on the left hand and Dusit Maha Prasat is in the back on the right.
Dusit Maha Prasat
One of the most elegant examples of traditional Thai architecture of the early Bangkok period.
Thailand has demon guardians called "Yak". (like a huge demon in a movie in Japan)
Paintings 2
Splendid paintings that go around endlessly.
Related page: Grand Palace (Bangkok)

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No.2 - Ayutthaya Historical Park

No.2 is the Ayutthaya Historical Park !

Wat Mahathat
The broken chedi on the right hand.
 Since the king U-Thong established the kingdom, Ayutthaya flourished for about four hundred years. However, it suffered catastrophic damage by the attack of Burma (Myanmar) in 1767and the kingdom came to an end.

The Ayuttaya city is surrounded by Chao Phraya river (Menam Chao Phraya) and its branches. The old buildings were destroyed because of a lot of fights with Burma during the Ayutthaya period.
 Ayutthaya iHistoric City of Ayutthayaj has been registered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1991, and you can see what the city looked like in the Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Ayutthaya is the first place I visited in Thailand except for Bangkok and one of my favorite places. Every time I go to Thailand, I want to visit there again. :)
You can't help but drop by there  if you like history or love to enjoy old exotic atmosphere.

You can enjoy going around riding on an elephant with beautiful clothes on in the historical park.
Wat Phrasi Sanphet
The symbols of the temple, three stupas in line east to west.
Wat Ratcha Burana
The eighth king, King Boroma-Tri-Loka-Nat II, constructed this temple in 1424 for his two brothers who passed away fighting each other for the next king.
Related page: Ayutthaya 1

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No.3 - Doi Suthep (ChiangMai)

No.3 is Wat Prathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, north of Thailand.

This temple is " Wat Prathat Doi Suthep " at the 1,080-meter summit of Doi Suthep mountain.
It looks like this is the most famous tourist place in Chiang Mai. The wat was built in 1383 during the reign of King Kuena, the 8th ruler of Chiang Mai.
This temple is " Wat Prathat Doi Suthep " at the 1,080-meter summit of Doi Suthep mountain.
It looks like this is the most famous tourist place in Chiang Mai. The wat was built in 1383 during the reign of King Kuena, the 8th ruler of Chiang Mai.

There is a legend like below:
King Kuena was given a holy bone relic of the Buddha. He put it on the back of a white elephant and let it roam free. After several days, the elephant reached the top of Doi Suthep and passed away overlooking the town. That is the place where the temple was built.

This place has a beautiful golden chedi (stupa) and decorated umbrella as symbols of this temple like the picture above and is visited by many people, not only tourists from overseas but Thai local people as well.
You need to go up the long flight of stairs, 306 steps, to reach the temple but try it while enjoying the nature around. :)

Long stairs
Long flight of stairs with 306 steps. It looks like easy to go up but stairs are stairs. Try it ! :D
The temple
Now, this is in front of the temple.
The entrance fee for foreigners is 30 Baht (as of Jan in 2007).
The site
Wide and a lot of flowers.
Related page: Chiang Mai 1

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No.4 - Long neck tribe (Mae Hong Son)

No.4 is the Long neck tribe village in Mae Hong Son.

A Karen girl weaving cloth.
It was in 2004. I really wanted to visit the village and see how they live, then in the end I flew to Mae Hong Son.

I heard from a tour guide that there are three villages of long neck tribe, and I visited one of them, called " Ban Nai Soi ", the village of " Long neck tribe ".

One hour drive from the city of Mae Hong Son to Myanmar while enjoying the peaceful scenery of a rural district, then going through in a mountain.

By the way, the Baan Tong Luang Eco-Agricultural Village was opened in 2005 in Chiang Mai; The village is a cultural preservation project and a tourism village to preserve the old traditional ways of Hill Tribe agriculture,  to provide an income for the Hill Tribe people, and for visitors not to take a lot of time to see the culture and way of life of Hill Tribe people.
Surroundings
While relaxing in a car, going to their village.
(The middle picture is a rice field and the right is an orange field.)
Ladies of Long Neck Karen
(You will see gift shops along the street right after you enter the village.
Long Neck women are selling gifts.
I heard that tourist dollars are their principal source of income.)
Red Karen 1
(Our guide says that women with black strings around knees are "Red Karen".
If you see carefully, you will find their ears are also long.)
School 4
(A student from Long Neck Karen is in the middle of this picture.)
Related page:
- Mae Hong Son 1 (Long Neck Tribe)
- Chiang Mai - Baan Tong Luang

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No.5 - Floating Market (Ratchaburi)

No.5 is Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in Ratchaburi, Middle of Thailand.

It seems that there are a few floating markets in Bangkok. The floating market I visited is called "Damnoen Saduak Floating Market" in Ratchaburi and the biggest and the most popular one in Thailand.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. A lot of people enjoy it.
It's located about 80 km from Bangkok developed for cultural-preservation and tourism in the reign of Rama IV in 1864.

They sell various products such as vegetables, fruits, bags and decorative figurines, not only from Bangkok but from other areas in Thailand.

It opens around from dawn till past noon and it might be hard for those who are not good at getting up early. :D
(I visited there by car but I was almost sleeping in the car... )

There is another floating market, Ampawa floating market, not so far away from here in Samut Songkram. It's said that Damnoen, the morning market and Ampawa, the evening market.

Boat 4 (Control a boat by hand not to bump each other.)
Boat 5 (Boats with a lot of fruits on past tourists.)
Boat 13 (Traffic jam ! :D )
Shop 2 (Shops along the canal. Various products are here such as decorative figurines, dolls.
It is fun even only looking at them. :) )
Related page:
- Floating Market (Ratchaburi)
- Pattaya 3 (Pattaya Floating Market)

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  • No.6 `  No.10
    - Sukhothai Historical Park
    - Tao Island (Surat Thani)
    - Mon Bridge (Sangkhlaburi in Kanchanaburi)
    - Golden Triangle (Chiang Saen in Chiang Rai)
    - Phra Maha Chedi Chaimongkon (RoiEt)

@Besides these, There are a lot of wonderful places to visit or to see. Anyway this pages show top-10 Must-Visits, Must-Sees.

Back to top