Day 2, 12th November - Bangkok
Fast Start....... From Lopburi we're still an hour from where we want to be. We need to keep to a timetable and leave Hop Inn at 8.00am, an unheard-of time for us but all is good as we cover the distance arriving at Khok Salung Railway Station just after 9.00am. We have time to wander along the platform where locals have come to set up stalls in anticipation of good business, as a crowd of people will soon arrive.
Branch Line....... Khok Salung Lies on a branch line between Kaeng Khoi Junction in Saraburi Province and Bua Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Normally the station master has a boring job dealing with just a couple of local trains per day but today he's full of smiles: An excursion train is about to arrive from Bangkok. The excursion trains only run during the winter months between November and January and then only at weekends. So, after today all will be quiet again at Khok Salung.
Khok Salung....... I've been to Khok Salung several times and used the train twice; one excursion and one local. I've come here again obviously to take videos and photos of the excursion train. I had hoped to get a video of the train passing over the massive concrete rail bridges that traverse the Pasak Chonlasid Reservoir. There is a viewing point which I noticed on a previous visit here but I'm disappointed to learn that this location is beyond Khok Salung Station and the excursion train terminates here. Oh well! That means I have to stay here now for the arrival of the train. However, that opens up opportunities. A local train is due to arrive from Bua Yai. It has to wait here for the excursion train to arrive as the line is only single track. That gives me an opportunity to make another video. When the excursion train arrives, it waits for 30 minutes while the locomotive changes ends. The passengers can now get off the train and wander up and down the platform to purchase a range of local goods at the stalls locals have set up. Meanwhile the Bua Yai train can now depart for Kaeng Khoi. While all this is happening, I get a break.
Off Script....... From this station the excursion train makes its way back over the concrete rail bridges arriving at the Pasak Chonlisid Dam 12 minutes away. Here it will disembark its passengers who have 5 hours to go off exploring. Although this excursion train was fully booked weeks ago, the station master suggests that if I want to take this train for the amazing journey back to the Pasak Chonlisid Dam then if I hand over 3 baht and he will issue a ticket. I can't refuse this opportunity and Katoon can collect me on arrival. The train soon departs but obviously I won't have the luxury of a seat, but it still allows me to take some videos on the way. Naturally I'm thrilled but these unscripted opportunities are no stranger to me.
Kaeng Sue Ten Railway Station....... It worth noting that the train cannot wait at Pasak Chonlisid Dam Station as it's only a single track. Instead, it departs for the next station, Kaeng Sue Ten where there is a passing point and waits until it needs to collect its passengers. After taking some photos of the reservoir I arrive at this station to confirm this.
Still no Sunflowers....... By midday I have accomplished what I wanted but with only two hours needed to return to Bangkok my attention turns to other attractions I might find on the way back. We take lunch in Phatthana Nikhom. One possibility is to visit the sunflower fields which I did earlier in the year during the dry season with no hope of seeing the sunflowers in bloom. The best time to see them is between November and January but quite early in the season the flower heads haven't opened quite yet. Oh well, let's now head into Saraburi Province where there is a symbolic attraction that has escaped my attention in the past.
Wat Phra Phutthabat....... Wat Phra Phutthabat in Phra Phuttabat District was established in 1624 by King Songtham of Ayutthaya, after a hunter named Pram Bun found a large depression in the stone, resembling a huge footprint, near Suwan Banpot or Satchaphanthakhiri Hill. The hunter reported his find to the king, who ordered workers to build a temporary mondop to cover the footprint; this later became the temple. The square mondrop is elaborately decorated, gilded with a coloured glass inlay design with fine mother of pearl inlayed door panels. There are three Naga staircases up to the complex which also contains Phra Ubosot, the ordination hall and Wihan Rias, prayer hall. The votive hall is from the Ayutthaya and Early Rattanakosin periods.
Phra Phuttabat Museum....... It takes some time to wander around the complex but then there's the Phra Phuttabat Museum.
The Phra Phuttabat Museum is only open at weekend so that's quite fortunate. The museum relates the history of the temple from the time it was established through all the stages of development under Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin kings and to the history of the Buddha's footprint. Original footprints were cast where the Buddha wandered, and Phra Phutthabat is said to be at one of those locations. There were many copies made with Thailand having a good proportion of them. One thing that is strange about this museum is that no photographs are allowed. Yes, there are some priceless objects here that relate to Buddhism and to Royalty but unusually for a religious museum, most of the information boards contain English translations. Yet how can one remember all that is written here particularly as it seems no brochure is available? One thing I do remember is that the exhibits here are grouped into 30 categories with over 1,000 items on display.
We now make further progress towards Saraburi stopping at another weekend attraction in Chaloem Phra Kiat District.
Hua Pli Market....... Hua Pli Market opens on Saturdays and Sunday and is a local market selling local products, mostly foods and plant-based items from the local area. From the many food stalls, you can buy food and drink and sit at communal tables set under a canopy of trees providing welcome shade from the sun. We manage to indulge ourselves even though it wasn't long ago we had lunch. Perhaps it is fitting that we should end the tour relaxing this way, but not quite, since Saraburi Railway Station is on our way back.
The Monster Returns....... The last time I visited Saraburi Railway Station it was quiet with no traffic due imminently. However, I did notice work progressing on a new elevated railway station that will eventually become part of the high-speed rail system. On this visit I see work progressing nicely with huge concrete pillars being constructed to take the cross beams for the railway track. Saraburi is the starting point for multiples phase of construction all the way to the Laotian border in Nong Khai. Many sections have already been completed. While the construction work is interesting to note, there is actually a train due soon. Yes, it's that excursion train again returning from the Pasak Chonlisid Dam. I have to wait for it to pass through the station before finally heading back to Bangkok.
Congested....... When I check the predicted time of arrival things don't look good. Huge congestion is expected with people returning after the weekend. This coupled with some road works means that a good hour is lost over normal times. Yet another late arrival at our destination means that there is little time to do anything else today except to consider that the end of my current visit to Thailand is not that far away.
Conclusion....... There is not that much by way of conclusion that I need to write here. The main objective of reaching Khok Salung to see the arrival of the excursion train was completed. The couple of attractions in Saraburi province were a bonus, a welcome addition to previous visits but there is also more work to do here should I choose to add more. The weather in Central Thailand remains relatively cool and cloudy with thunderstorms now becoming less frequent. This could be the last paragraph I write this year with just three days left now before I return to the UK.
First Page.
Fast Start....... From Lopburi we're still an hour from where we want to be. We need to keep to a timetable and leave Hop Inn at 8.00am, an unheard-of time for us but all is good as we cover the distance arriving at Khok Salung Railway Station just after 9.00am. We have time to wander along the platform where locals have come to set up stalls in anticipation of good business, as a crowd of people will soon arrive.
Branch Line....... Khok Salung Lies on a branch line between Kaeng Khoi Junction in Saraburi Province and Bua Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima Province. Normally the station master has a boring job dealing with just a couple of local trains per day but today he's full of smiles: An excursion train is about to arrive from Bangkok. The excursion trains only run during the winter months between November and January and then only at weekends. So, after today all will be quiet again at Khok Salung.
Khok Salung....... I've been to Khok Salung several times and used the train twice; one excursion and one local. I've come here again obviously to take videos and photos of the excursion train. I had hoped to get a video of the train passing over the massive concrete rail bridges that traverse the Pasak Chonlasid Reservoir. There is a viewing point which I noticed on a previous visit here but I'm disappointed to learn that this location is beyond Khok Salung Station and the excursion train terminates here. Oh well! That means I have to stay here now for the arrival of the train. However, that opens up opportunities. A local train is due to arrive from Bua Yai. It has to wait here for the excursion train to arrive as the line is only single track. That gives me an opportunity to make another video. When the excursion train arrives, it waits for 30 minutes while the locomotive changes ends. The passengers can now get off the train and wander up and down the platform to purchase a range of local goods at the stalls locals have set up. Meanwhile the Bua Yai train can now depart for Kaeng Khoi. While all this is happening, I get a break.
Off Script....... From this station the excursion train makes its way back over the concrete rail bridges arriving at the Pasak Chonlisid Dam 12 minutes away. Here it will disembark its passengers who have 5 hours to go off exploring. Although this excursion train was fully booked weeks ago, the station master suggests that if I want to take this train for the amazing journey back to the Pasak Chonlisid Dam then if I hand over 3 baht and he will issue a ticket. I can't refuse this opportunity and Katoon can collect me on arrival. The train soon departs but obviously I won't have the luxury of a seat, but it still allows me to take some videos on the way. Naturally I'm thrilled but these unscripted opportunities are no stranger to me.
Kaeng Sue Ten Railway Station....... It worth noting that the train cannot wait at Pasak Chonlisid Dam Station as it's only a single track. Instead, it departs for the next station, Kaeng Sue Ten where there is a passing point and waits until it needs to collect its passengers. After taking some photos of the reservoir I arrive at this station to confirm this.
Still no Sunflowers....... By midday I have accomplished what I wanted but with only two hours needed to return to Bangkok my attention turns to other attractions I might find on the way back. We take lunch in Phatthana Nikhom. One possibility is to visit the sunflower fields which I did earlier in the year during the dry season with no hope of seeing the sunflowers in bloom. The best time to see them is between November and January but quite early in the season the flower heads haven't opened quite yet. Oh well, let's now head into Saraburi Province where there is a symbolic attraction that has escaped my attention in the past.
Wat Phra Phutthabat....... Wat Phra Phutthabat in Phra Phuttabat District was established in 1624 by King Songtham of Ayutthaya, after a hunter named Pram Bun found a large depression in the stone, resembling a huge footprint, near Suwan Banpot or Satchaphanthakhiri Hill. The hunter reported his find to the king, who ordered workers to build a temporary mondop to cover the footprint; this later became the temple. The square mondrop is elaborately decorated, gilded with a coloured glass inlay design with fine mother of pearl inlayed door panels. There are three Naga staircases up to the complex which also contains Phra Ubosot, the ordination hall and Wihan Rias, prayer hall. The votive hall is from the Ayutthaya and Early Rattanakosin periods.
Phra Phuttabat Museum....... It takes some time to wander around the complex but then there's the Phra Phuttabat Museum.
The Phra Phuttabat Museum is only open at weekend so that's quite fortunate. The museum relates the history of the temple from the time it was established through all the stages of development under Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin kings and to the history of the Buddha's footprint. Original footprints were cast where the Buddha wandered, and Phra Phutthabat is said to be at one of those locations. There were many copies made with Thailand having a good proportion of them. One thing that is strange about this museum is that no photographs are allowed. Yes, there are some priceless objects here that relate to Buddhism and to Royalty but unusually for a religious museum, most of the information boards contain English translations. Yet how can one remember all that is written here particularly as it seems no brochure is available? One thing I do remember is that the exhibits here are grouped into 30 categories with over 1,000 items on display.
We now make further progress towards Saraburi stopping at another weekend attraction in Chaloem Phra Kiat District.
Hua Pli Market....... Hua Pli Market opens on Saturdays and Sunday and is a local market selling local products, mostly foods and plant-based items from the local area. From the many food stalls, you can buy food and drink and sit at communal tables set under a canopy of trees providing welcome shade from the sun. We manage to indulge ourselves even though it wasn't long ago we had lunch. Perhaps it is fitting that we should end the tour relaxing this way, but not quite, since Saraburi Railway Station is on our way back.
The Monster Returns....... The last time I visited Saraburi Railway Station it was quiet with no traffic due imminently. However, I did notice work progressing on a new elevated railway station that will eventually become part of the high-speed rail system. On this visit I see work progressing nicely with huge concrete pillars being constructed to take the cross beams for the railway track. Saraburi is the starting point for multiples phase of construction all the way to the Laotian border in Nong Khai. Many sections have already been completed. While the construction work is interesting to note, there is actually a train due soon. Yes, it's that excursion train again returning from the Pasak Chonlisid Dam. I have to wait for it to pass through the station before finally heading back to Bangkok.
Congested....... When I check the predicted time of arrival things don't look good. Huge congestion is expected with people returning after the weekend. This coupled with some road works means that a good hour is lost over normal times. Yet another late arrival at our destination means that there is little time to do anything else today except to consider that the end of my current visit to Thailand is not that far away.
Conclusion....... There is not that much by way of conclusion that I need to write here. The main objective of reaching Khok Salung to see the arrival of the excursion train was completed. The couple of attractions in Saraburi province were a bonus, a welcome addition to previous visits but there is also more work to do here should I choose to add more. The weather in Central Thailand remains relatively cool and cloudy with thunderstorms now becoming less frequent. This could be the last paragraph I write this year with just three days left now before I return to the UK.
First Page.
Lopburi Province
Khok Salung Railway Station, Manao Wan, Phatthana Nikhom District
Pasak Chonlisid Dam, Nong Bua,
Phatthana Nikhom District
Kaeng Sue Ten Railway Station, Nong Bua, Phatthana Nikhom District
Saraburi Province
Wat Phra Phutthabat, Khun Khlon, Phra Phutthabat District
Hua Pli Market, Phu Khae,
Chaloem Phra Kiat District, Saraburi
Saraburi Railway Station, Nai Mueng Saraburi