What is Ancient Siam?

Ancient Siam is also known as Ancient City to anyone who speaks English.  In Thai it is called Muang Boran.  According to the Ancient Siam brochure you receive on arrival, “Ancient Siam is an excellent reflection of Thailand’s multi-faceted ancient culture presented in an authentic and visually exciting setting.”

From some of the information I read about Ancient Siam, it was originally going to be a miniature golf course.  What Ancient Siam is today is basically an outdoor museum set on a plot of over 200 acres shaped like the country of Thailand (see map below).  Ancient Siam contains 116 ‘artifacts’ of Thailand’s culture.

The ‘artifacts’ range from everything from a simple small statue, to giant Buddhas, to the aforementioned floating market to giant temples which you can walk in.  Each ‘artifact’ has a sign with a description printed in English and Thai.  According to the free map given at the ticket purchase each ‘artifact’ is either real, taken from the real site for reconstruction, duplicated from an original in Thailand or a creative design built specifically for the Ancient City.

Ancient Siam Map (Click to Enlarge)

Getting to Ancient Siam from Bangkok

Ancient Siam is located in Samut Prakan province, between 30-40km from Bangkok depending on where you depart from.  You can get there by bus by taking the air-conditioned bus #511 (Pinklao-Paknam) to the end of the line and from there, taking the mini-bus #36 which passes the entrance of Ancient Siam.

If you take a taxi as I did, be prepared to negotiate.  Make sure you negotiate the price for the fare before you get in the cab. Even if the driver starts the meter, and you tell him Muang Boran he will likely try to overcharge you.  Make sure you get a return trip as well as the driver will be more than happy to sleep in his car while you’re in the park for 1, 2 or even 3+ hours.

When negotiating, keep in mind that the trip is about as far as a trip to the airport.  There will also be a tollway fee of 45 baht ($1.39 USD) each way.  I ended up paying 800 baht ($24.68 USD) total for the round trip having the driver pay the highway tolls.  I feel I may have overpaid a bit, so you may want to offer a couple hundred less and try to get the round trip for around 600 baht ($18.51 USD).

How long the trip takes depends on your taxi driver and above all traffic.  When I went, around 1:30pm, returning around 5:30pm it took me around an hour each way which I though was not bad considering there were few of those Bangtkok moments when your car is stopped motionless for minutes at a time.

Ticket & Transportation

Like I mentioned, Ancient Siam is no miniature golf course.  The overall area is 200 acres so walking in the sweltering heat is probably the last thing you want to do.  Aside from walking there are 4 primary options of transportation within the park;  1.  You can pay a fee to allow your private vehicle or taxi driver to drive through the park; 2.  You can get on a tram with a group for a guided tour; 3.  You can rent a bicycle which I saw hundreds available for rent; and 4.  You can rent an electric powered golf cart with either 2 or 4 (possibly more) seats.

I chose to rent a golf cart which cost 100 baht ($3.08 USD) per hour.  After I bought the admission ticket which cost 350 baht ($10.80 USD), renting the golf cart from the booth right outside the air conditioned ticket office took about a minute.  There seemed to be a shortage of golf carts although I could be mistaken.  I was there on a Wednesday afternoon, so if you go on the weekend, you may want to prepare to wait for a golf cart, use one of the guided tours or rent a bicycle.

The golf cart was perfect for me because I put my my camera bag in the passenger seat and lazily drive around sipping multi-colored Fantas while shooting photos with my Nikon D700 and  my Nikon Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR telephoto lens .

Getting around the Ancient City's Nice Wide Roads via GOlf Cart

Overview of Ancient City & More Information

Muang Boran had an interesting variety of sites.  While some were replicas of actual temples, or the actual ‘refurbished’ temples others were pretty cheesy “creative designs.”  While some of the sites seemed pretty authentic, compared to sites you will see traveling all around Thailand, others such as Sumeru Mountain (pictured below) seemed right out of an amusement park.

Besides just looking at things, there are also things to do such as the floating market, a deer farm and possibly more things I didn’t see.   Look to spend at least 2 hours just sight seeing at Ancient City.  If you want to get out of your golf cart, and check out the various temples and the floating market you could spend 3-4 hours there easily.  There is plenty of places to get drinks, snacks and food.  The park closes at or around 5pm so going early is the best option which will let you avoid the extreme heat and humidity as well.

Sumeru Mountain

Overall Impression

I enjoyed the 2 hours I spent touring Ancient Siam.  While my focus was less about learning the culture about the 116 ‘artifacts’ of the Ancient City the time I spent there I felt “busy” without long periods of nothing to do.  When I was thirsty it was easy to find something cold to drink, and I stayed cool from the breeze while driving the golf cart.

While to some, especially people who have traveled extensively throughout Thailand, Ancient Siam may seem like a cheesy “canned tour” others will consider Ancient Siam as a cultural experience.  I would highly recommend Muang Boran, the Ancient City to anyone who is spending a limited time in Thailand, specifically in Bangkok as it will give them a decent look into Thai culture and history.  I would recommend Ancient Siam to photographers who want to get some shots, but to hardened “templers” or other people who travel far and wide just to see yet another temple, I would only slightly recommend Ancient Siam.

The overall cost for me, including ticket, golf cart rental and transportation was 1300 baht ($40 USD) may be a little high for a budget traveler traveling alone but going in a group will slash the cost a lot.  I probably wouldn’t go back to Ancient Siam but I think for anyone in Bangkok for a few days, especially those who don’t have the time to travel around in Thailand, to spend an afternoon exploring the Ancient City.

Getting to Koh Phangan

There is no airport on Koh Phangan.  There are many travelers whose only time spent in Koh Samui is to wait for a Koh Phangan bound ferry at Big Buddha pier which is very close to the airport.  There are other points of embarkation to Koh Phangan including points along mainland Thailand but the easiest for most people is to fly into Samui Airport and book the ferry.

There are a couple different companies offering a trip from Koh Samui to Koh Phangan so it is important you know their schedules according to your itineraries.  I took a standard boat with what seemed to be a hundred or so fellow travelers on it.  It was the standard island transport boat which had indoor and outdoor seating, a small snack bar and bathroom facilities.  The trip from Samui to Phangan takes around 30 minutes unless you book a private speedboat which costs a ridiculous 7000+ baht.

Big Buddha Pier in Koh Samui (Big Buddha at the edge of Land in center of Photo)

Arriving in Koh Phangan

Koh Phangan Map (Click to Enlarge)

There are a few different piers on each island in which you can get from Samui to Phangan and vice versa.  I took the ferry from Big Buddha pier to Thong Sala pier which is in the center of Phangan.

Upon arrival you will no doubt see non-stop reminders of what Koh Phangan is famous for.  There are signs advertising the full moon and associated parties everywhere.  It is nothing like Koh Samui’s over development induced signage overload but you will notice them even in Thong Sala which is about an hour drive away from Haad Rin Nok beach on Southeastern Phangan which is the home of the infamous Full Moon Party.

After arriving on Thong Sala pier there are beautiful deserted beaches and fishing boats to the right and the town is directly in front.  There is nowhere to get lost as if you walk straight you will see numerous stores.

You have several transportation options after your arrival.  I saw many young travelers who I assume were on their way to Haad Rin the town/beach of the Full Moon Party getting in the back of ‘sawng teeo’ which are pick-up trucks converted to taxis with 2 benches lining their bed.

I had planned to rent a scooter/motorcycle and I rented one from the first vendor I saw.  She charged me 200 baht ($6USD per day) all I had to do is hand over my passport, pay her the 200 baht and I was off.  I initially planned to head back to Koh Samui because I still had all my stuff except for camera at my bungalow there.  I knew Koh Phangan had only a handful of main roads so I set off looking to explore the island but had no idea how long it would take or what was in store for me.

Thong Sala Beach (Directly to the right of Thong Sala Pier Upon Arrival)

Exploring Koh Phangan

I really didn’t have an itinerary on Koh Phangan.  I knew the island was small and I could just ride around on my scooter and explore various towns, mountains and of course beaches.  My exploration of Koh Phangan got off to a good start as I took a road to the northeast which lead me to the Chinese mountain temple on my way to one of the northern beaches.  The road seemed brand new and I was able to zip across the island.

Once I got to the north end of the island to the small fishing village there were a few small dirt roads which I decided not to take on my Honda scooter.  To this day I’m not sure whether the roads lead somewhere or just to someone’s house.  According to the maps there are non-paved roads that lead to the northern beaches but I figured there was a lot more to explore so I left and headed back south.

Once I drove back South I came to a familiar intersection.  Rather than going back to Thong Sala I decided to head northeast as I was pretty much just randomly driving.  The northeast road suddenly changed from paved highway to one of the worst dirt roads I’ve ever driven on.  The road was flat on probably 10% of it as it had grooves in it from a likely mixture of motorcycle traffic and rain water.

Beach on Northeast end of Koh Phangan

I almost crashed my scooter half a dozen times even though I was driving cautiously.  I consider myself lucky for not crashing, that’s how bad the roads were.  The dry loose dirt along with the multiple grooves in the road were a major problem going down the steep hills. Through the mountains on the way to the coast the roads would become paved for short stretches then back to the horrible dirt roads.

A great thing about traveling on Thailand’s islands is the small villages which often have restaurants.  I would usually stop and get food at these villages.  I stopped at one with a kid practicing Muay Thai in a full ring next to a dining area overlooking cliffs as well as one with a massage setup overlooking the beautiful beaches and landscapes of Koh Phangan (pictured below).   Like most of Thailand the people were extremely friendly but it seemed the people on Phangan were even friendlier!  I usually ordered fried rice as it’s pretty much impossible to get sick from eating it.

I finally got to the beach I had traveled the dangerous roads to get to.  The area I reached was an amazing looking crescent beach which was enveloped with dense forest.  There was another beach to the Northeast.   The area was very quiet and family/couple oriented so I decided I wanted to go to Haad Rin to spend the night.  I still had some light so I decided to brave the horrific roads in the darkening skies to get to an area with more options.

Get a Massage after Eating some of the Local Cuisine all over Phangan

Haad Rin Pier after Sunset in Koh Phangan

I ended up getting to to Haad Rin just after sunset.  I drove around and found the town remarkably similar to the infamous backpacker’s ghetto Khaosan Road in Bangkok.  It was like a whole town of Khaosan road with tons of backpackers, tourists along with shops and of course 7-elevens.  I thought it was pretty cool but instead of going out and partying I ended up getting exhausted so I had to find a hotel where I ended up crashing without getting to sample Haad Rin’s infamous night life.

Places to Stay in Haad Rin Koh Phangan, Thailand:  DROP IN CLUB RESORT & SPA - Coming Soon

Things to Do on Koh Phangan

Full Moon Party

If you are interested in the Full Moon party or any of its offshoots such as the Half Moon Party or Black Moon party you should check out their official website:  FullMoonParty-Thailand.com There are numerous websites online completely devoted to killing your brain cells in mass quantities, enjoy!

Haad Rin - One of the Most Developed Areas on Koh Phangan

Beach & Water Activities

Anyone headed to a tropical island should not be surprised to find beach and water activities and Koh Phangan is no exception.  There are many beaches and all the water anyone could want and more.  Most beaches I saw on Phangan were not very crowded with the exception of Haad Rin Beach the scene of the full moon party.  All water activities from snorkeling to jet skiing to fishing are available as well and are best booked ahead.

Exploring

Riding a motorcycle or scooter on Koh Phangan is an adventure in itself.  While some roads are in perfect condition, calling others “roads” to begin with is doing them too much justice.  If you want to explore every inch of Phangan I would recommend recommend renting a dirt bike rather than a normal scooter.  I saw numerous couples having difficult climbing up hills in their low powered scooters.  I had enough trouble navigating the pot holed roads on a scooter by myself during dry season I couldn’t imagine trying to get around on a scooter when the mud/clay roads are wet, in addition to impossible it is likely extremely dangerous.

Elephant Trekking

Since most of Kho Phangan is covered with dense mountainous jungle, on the back of an elephant is the best way to explore some of it.  I saw a few elephant stables one which was near Kuan Yin Shrine almost caused me to get in a wreck because there was a stray horse in the middle of the road.

Hiking

Like Samui, there are numerous “waterfalls” on Kho Phangan.  If you arrive in the dry season expect those waterfalls to be less than a trickle if there is any water at all.  There are plenty of places to hike on Phangan which are best accessed with a group.  There are numerous beaches which have few if any roads which are only accessible by hiking or boat.  If you like hiking, plan ahead, get a tour guide and you can find it on Phangan.

Chinese Temple

The Kuan Yin Shrine is a Chinese mountain temple.  It is located rather close to Thong Sala town and pier and is easily accessible and impossible to miss on one of the main, high quality roads of Koh Phangan.  View more Photos of Thailand’s Island Temples on tourismPICS.com

Kuan Yin Shrine a Chinese Temple in Koh Phangan

Leaving Koh Phangan

The options for leaving Koh Phangan involve taking a boat to the coast of Thailand’s mainland or to another island.  Since I had all my belongings at Koh Samui I had fewer choices.  I hastily returned my scooter to the vendor which was literally 50 meters across from the ticket booths only to find the boat back to Big Buddha Pier on Samui didn’t leave for another 5 hours!

The bad news wasn’t so bad at all because it gave me another 5 hours on the island which allowed me to explore the main roads I missed the day before and a waterfall which included a hike to a viewpoint which I was able to get some of the following Koh Phangan photos.

View more Photos from Koh Phangan at tourismPICS.com

Leaving Koh Phangan

Overall Impression

I had no intention of going to Koh Phangan’s Full Moon, Half Moon or Black Moon Parties.  The reason I traveled to the Thai islands in the first place was to relax and while it was relatively difficult to relax on Koh Samui, Koh Phangan had a lot more quiet and peaceful places to relax and most importantly didn’t have the buzzing circular traffic 24 hours a day.

I loved Koh Phangan.  On Koh Phangan there were dozens of kilometers of beautiful white sand beaches with less than a dozen people on them.  That is my idea of a tropical paradise and that is exactly what I consider Koh Phangan.  It really has just enough of everything without going overboard.  Yes the infamous Full Moon parties are crazy but that is such a small percentage of the island.

I was only on Koh Phangan for around 24 hours which in no way does it justice.  There is so much to do, so much to explore on Koh Phangan the next time I go back I will definitely spend at least a week there.  I would recommend any travelers who want to relax on a tropical island, go hiking, elephant trekking, swimming, snorkeling, beach bumming to their heart’s content to spend at least a week on Phangan.

Even if your soul goal is to party like a rock star and have a wild night on Haad Rin beach’s Full Moon Party you can still explore the entire island in a week or simply relax on a secluded beach with your friends during the day and that includes nursing your hangover.  I just can’t say enough positive things about Koh Phangan a great relaxing place which is definitely on the list of places I will return to in the near future.

Old Hut overlooking Yet Another white sand Koh Phangan Beach

View more Photos from Koh Phangan at tourismPICS.com

Getting to Koh Samui

If you’re at all familiar with the geography of Thailand you may already know that often times it’s not as simple as simply booking a flight, landing, getting to the hotel and lounging on the beach.  Some of Thailand’s islands have only a few thousand if any inhabitants while others are almost completely developed.

Koh Samui happens to be one of the 3 largest islands along with the Phuket and Koh Chang.  While Koh Chang doesn’t have an airport and requires a ferry from the mainland’s Trat airport Phuket and Koh Samui both have an airport but with the airport at Koh Samui there is a catch.

The airport on Koh Samui was built by Bangkok Airways which for a long time was the sole airline occupying the airport.  Times have changed and now Thai Airways has a couple flights in and out of Samui along with a couple tiny airlines but if you plan to head to Samui you’re probably going to be flying Bangkok Airways.

This is not to say Bangkok Airways, “Asia’s Boutique Airline” is not good but it does limit your options especially if you pay attention to airfare.  Due to the obvious lack of competition Bangkok Airways can charge a few extra baht for each flight.  I was flying from Singapore so I paid what I thought was a lot more than a typical domestic flight in Thailand.

Bangkok Airways Plane Flying over Big Buddha Pier on Koh Samui

Getting Situated on Koh Samui

I picked a bungalow which was the very cheapest accommodations for Koh Samui on Hotels.com which was located in Mae Nam Beach which was supposed to be one of the quieter areas on Koh Samui.  Upon arrival I went to the one and only counter for taxi and was quoted 600 baht ($18 USD) for a ride to my bungalow.

I pretty much knew I was paying way too much for a cab or one of those pickup truck style cabs with 2 rows of seats in the back but I wasn’t in the mood for inconveniencing myself so I just plunked down the 600 baht and in 15 minutes I was at my hotel.  If you arrive to Samui Airport and don’t want to spend 600 baht to get to your bungalow make sure you plan your transport in advance.

Places to Stay on Koh Samui Thailand, Bungalow – Coming Soon

Koh Samui Island

My Koh Samui experience was quite different than what I expected.  I was under the impression that Koh Samui was a quiet and peaceful island which wasn’t overdeveloped like Phuket, Hawaii or other popular tourist islands but Samui was just that.  I specifically avoided Koh Phangan because I thought it was going to be covered with drunk teenagers attending full moon parties and overcrowded roads but that is exactly what Koh Samui was like.

I rented a Honda Scooter (moped?) from the Bungalow for 250 baht ($7.50 USD) which was overpaying and began to drive around Koh Samui.  When I say drive around It’s not a figure of speech.  The main road of Koh Samui is a 2-way 2-4 lane road that goes in a circle around the entire island.  My hotel manager said it takes from 45-60 minutes to go around the whole island.

There are many interior roads, the ones I drove on were all paved and in very good condition (note the exception pictured below) as opposed to what I read which said they were all bad.  The huge problem with getting around via scooter on Koh Samui is the absolutely ridiculous sign overload.  I’m not exaggerating when I say after you see the sign of the place you are trying to get to, you will see 20-50 signs before your turn.

In addition to being really annoying this showed some serious overdevelopment of Koh Samui’s coast and beaches.  Most of the beaches were either crowded tourist beaches like the two most popular Chaweng and Lamai or smaller beaches lined with resorts.

Typical Beach Scene Surrounding Koh Samui

Things to do on Koh Samui

If you don’t plan on driving around in circles like I did you should probably plan your things-to-do itinerary before you set out.  Even if you plan it out, make sure you have a general idea of how far you need to go so you don’t get confused by the sign overload.  At the very least, if you are driving yourself, drive very slowly on the far side of the road to be able to see where you want to go.

Beach Bum it

If being on the beach and in the water is your thing there is no shortage of it on Koh Samui.  You will no doubt be sharing it with hundreds of Western tourists but there is an abundance of water activities from surfing to snorkeling to jet skiing.  While 90% of anyone visiting a tropical island wants to take advantage of this, alternative activities are important for if you get bored or get that likely bad sunburn.

Grandmother and Grandfather Rock

Tourist attraction rock formations which resemble human genitalia are not entirely unusual (See Halong Bay, Vietnam) but Koh Samui has its own version.  I didn’t get a chance to see Grandmother and Grandfather rock mostly because I was caught up in the turbulent traffic swirl and missed the sign.  I didn’t get a chance to take my own photos but I got the idea from other people’s photos.  If you want to see Grandmother and Grandfather rock you’re in luck because it’s very close to Lamai Beach one of Koh Samui’s 2 most popular beach and areas.

Grandfather & Grandmother Rocks

“Templing”

Not that Koh Samui is the best place in Thailand to visit Buddhist temples and shrines but there are a fair share.  The most popular temple to visit in Koh Samui is the Big Buddha, located very close to Big Buddha Pier which is the primary embarkation point for Koh Phangan and other nearby islands.  There are various small shrines and temples on the island which I didn’t get a chance to visit.  Another rather large temple which I happened to visit was Wat Nuan Naram which you can more on the following link.

Thai Island Temple Photos on tourismPICS.com.

Hiking & Trekking

I had this 1000+ meter peak behind the Bungalow that was beckoning me.  My plan was to hike it so I went to 7-Eleven and bought some Man Vs. Wild survival gear like a cigarette lighter, flashlight, small pocket knife as well as a fresh phone card for in case I got lost.

Little did I know the hills in Koh Samui are no joke.  My Man vs Wild survivor kit was sorely lacking mosquito repellent and in the first 30 seconds I had to stop after getting my leg sliced up by some cactus like plants, I had about 500 mosquitoes buzzing around the fresh meat.  Needless to say I wimped out and saved the hiking for another day.

There are many mountains on Koh Samui and many opportunities to hike them on foot, mountain bikes, ATVs and of course elephant back.  None of these activities are going to be something you will do on your own so if you are interested by hiking and trekking make sure you call one of the many groups and make plans.

Eat, Drink & Party

It is Koh Samui’s close neighbor island Koh Phangan is world renowned for its Full Moon Parties but there is no shortage of partying on Koh Samui.  Aside from the huge night club Green Mango in Chaweng which could be in any urban city center to there is a ton of night life venues mainly concentrated in Chaweng and Lamai beach areas but there are also smaller, low key spots throughout the island.

Party at Green Mango Night Club in Koh Samui

Leaving Koh Samui

I had a 6pm flight from Koh Samui back to Bangkok.  With check-out time being at 12pm it meant I had a few hours to kill.  I planned to write for this blog so I wanted an internet connection and most importantly air conditioning.  I was worried about getting stuck at the small Samui Airport for 6 hours but rather than lugging my big bag around I decided to bite the bullet and wait at the airport.

What I didn’t know was Samui’s airport had a very nice boutique-like row of shops and restaurants.  There was everything from a sports bar, to a professional massage studio to ice cream shops, coffee shops and eateries.

All were air conditioned and the coffee shop even had a free wireless internet connection with any purchase.  Needless to say I got some work done and consumed some delicious extra calories before I boarded my Bangkok Airways flight back to Bangkok.  If you have some extra time on Koh Samui I would recommend going to the airport early what you’re going to find there is likely better than anything else on the island!

Bangkok Airways Koh Samui Airport Shops & Restaurants

Overall Impression

I still have nightmares of all the signs in Koh Samui.  It bugged me to the end and it made getting around way more difficult than it should have been.  While I thought there were many beautiful sights on Koh Samui it wasn’t what I envision when I think of a tropical Island.  Of course it still is Thailand so it is still covered in nice, laid back people.

I had just came from Singapore so it was really easy for me to appreciate the Thailand cost of living as well although some things were priced for the tourist.  While I liked some parts about Koh Samui and would consider going back before I left, I probably would bypass Koh Samui next time and use it for Bangkok Airway’s “boutique” airport after visiting its less developed neighbor, Koh Phangan.

View the Complete Koh Samui Photo Archive at tourismPICS.com

Places to Visit from Bangkok, Thailand – Koh Phangan