It's been a comfortable night at Ban Lamoon with nothing to report and that's unusual. After another late night yesterday there's little appetite for making it another long day. However, there are still attractions on my wish list with little prospect of visiting them all today.
Ratchaburi is a medium-sized province which has a border with Myanmar. Its interior is therefore mountainous with some districts hard to reach. I decide to head for the mountains to the south which has a border with Phetchaburi province.
Initially, the route takes us through familiar territory as we reach the ancient town of Khu Bua. Khu Bua was an important city in the Dvaravati Period. 6th to 11th century. At that time it was on the coast, but today there are only impressive ruins left from that time. In terms of this mini tour I cannot spend much time here at the Ancient Town as this ruin and many minor ones were visited in 2015 almost 10 years ago to the day. However, I'll lose little by stopping here again at the principal temple structure and maybe look at it from a new perspective. The temple here was built on a laterite base with a brick upper structure similar to early Angkor buildings. For a civilization that existed earlier, this temple building is impressive. Before we leave Khu Bua I may as well call at the station which lies on the State Railway's Southern Line. It was here in December 2023 that a huge section of duel-track was opened as far as Saphli in Chumphon province. Since then the entire Southern Line from Bangkok has opened as far as Chumphon City. As there are no trains due at the time of my visit, all I can do is record the impressive infrastructure that has been the result of a huge effort to improve Thailand's railways. Staying on the subject there is one more station I could visit hoping for better luck to see a passing train.
We now head into the next district of Pak Tho and head for the station there. It's touch and go as a just manage to catch a local train heading for Hua Hin. I had hoped for more action on the railway during this mini-tour, but this could well be my last opportunity. It's time to see what else Pak Tho district has to offer as there are some attractions in the mountains to the west of the district.
I select Wat Khao Phutthabat as a site of possible interest but reaching it is not so easy. However, that is the point of its inception as the intention is to create a peaceful location suitable for meditation. Wat Khao Phutthabat is a name that often appears, simply translated as, 'the mountain temple of the Buddha footprint' of which there are many replica footprints in Thailand. Regarding this temple's provenance I'm informed that it is not officially recognised by the Buddhist Society of Thailand or by any other authority. It is simply a modern enterprise in the name of religion and it shows. In my opinion, despite a great effort to landscape the area, what's been built here doesn't work for me especially the structures that are built to look natural in an area which is full of nature anyway. While I'm happy to look around. I'm not inclined to stay long as it's turning out to be a really hot day. We now head for another attraction that is definitely natural.
We are now close to the provincial border with Phetchaburi. This province has some nice beaches along the coastal strip but also having a border with Myanmar means it is mountainous to the west. Here is the famous Kaeng Krachan National Park and I soon realize I'm on the edge of it. In order to reach my next destination, I need entry and there is a 100 baht park fee. What I'm searching for is the Thai Prachan Dam which holds back the Thai Prachan River. The dam lies inside the Thai Prachan National Park part of the Kaeng Krachan Forest Group which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (Natural Heritage). Once in the park you can travel to the headwaters of the Thai Prachan, but you ideally need a robust 4WD vehicle.
Given that we just want to see the dam, the entry fee as waived. As it turns out, the reservoir is unspectacular, now in the dry season. With no visitors expected, there is little point in collecting fees.
I'm now not prepared to put in more effort for little reward and decide to head back, but to where is a matter for debate. There are still unticked attractions on my list and there is time reach these, even though there is a full hour of travelling needed. We now head back through Ratchaburi and into one of the northern districts, Photharam which conveniently has a railway station. Could this be a grand finale?
We're led by the GPS to open land with historical monuments clustered around and I've found what I was looking for, a battlefield called Bang Kaew, but as, yet I know nothing about it. As I look around, the hero figure is Taksin the Great and from that alone I can be sure that this relates the the King's battle with the Burmese. This would be soon after the 'fall of Ayutthaya' in 1767. The bad news is that I have precious little else to work with either onsite or online. Fortunately, I do have a date of 2317 Buddhist year (Gregorian calendar 1774). After the Burmese sacked Ayutthaya, what was left of the Ayutthaya army retreated out of harms way but would regroup under General Taksin and reclaim Ayutthaya within seven months, Taksin being crowned King of Siam in the process. Given the date, it must be assumed that there were further, but unsuccessful raids by the Burmese and in this particular case, Taksin camped near here for 45 days. It's such a pity there is so little information about the battle of Bang Kaew that would enhance the site's popularity. As it is, we have these precious memorials to the battle and there is a final twist. At a shrine, a practically toothless old man is in attendance and it soon becomes obvious he is no casual visitor and I will refer to him as the guardian of this holy site. There appears to be a strong spiritual and likely ancestral connection here. Clearly this man is encouraging visitors to make merit and place incense sticks at the shrine in remembrance of the fallen. What a story there would be if only the dead could talk.
I'm clearly moved by being here, but there is one final site nearby that I must visit before I return to Bangkok. When I arrive, I'm in for another big surprise. We arrive at the foot of Chao Phran Hill and park up at the temple. Within the temple grounds there is a huge congregational open space, most unusual. It would be perfect for a festival, but today the concentration is not on humans. The reason for the open space is as a viewing area for residents of Chao Phran Hill who emerge at dusk. Yes, this is bat territory.
It's now 5.00 pm and a monk is both streaming out information on the bats and encouraging people to make merit at his temple. I learn that there are 17 bat species in the surrounding hills and the the daily exodus at dusk involves 100 million bats. That's crazy. March is also the breeding season. Now I have a decision to make. The bats start appearing after 6.00 pm and I decide to wait. I won't get chance to view this spectacle often. However, that 6.00 becomes 6.15 then 6.30 then 6:45, so where are the bats? Finally, they emerge but not at this side of the mountain. Is there something suspicious going on here? Well I do manage to make a video, but it's not what I expected. In fact, I had plenty of time to visit the train station in Photharam while I waited. It's time to head to Bangkok with weariness setting in.
Asiatic Lesser Yellow House Bat
Great Leaf-nosed Bat, Great Roundleaf Bat
Greater Long-tongued Fruit Bat, Greater Necktar Bat
Pomono Leaf-nosed Bat, Pomono Roundleaf Bat
Wrinkle-lipped Free-tailed Bat
Least Leaf-nosed Bat, Ashy Roundleaf Bat
Painted Bat, Painted Woolly Bat
Cantor's Leaf-nosed Bat, Cantor's Roundleaf Bat
Malayan Horseshoe Bat
Dawn Bat, Common Dawn Bat, Common Nectar Bat, Lesser Dawn Bat
Greater False Vampire Bat, Indian False Vampire Bat
Leschenault's Rousette, Shortridge's Rousette
Lyle's Flying Fox
Greater Mouse-tailed Bat
One of the latest dinners I can remember follows not far from the residence. It's been a crazy three days when we attended two amazing football and I added a hatful of new attractions for my collection. Could I have added more visits to train stations though? Yes, with a little more planning and luck, but travelling around in the Thai Summer is not easy.

Source: Visit