Overnight trips from Bangkok

Hello Thailand Experts!

So I've got a 12-day trip to Thailand coming up in a couple weeks, and
it goes something like this:

Krabi: Overnight stay
Koh Lanta: 5 or 6 days
Khao Sok National Park: Overnight stay
Bangkok: 2 or 3 days

Which leaves a couple of days free to wedge something else in there.

I'll confess that I'm a bit of a sucker for the romanticized idea of
hacking through the jungle to stumble upon some Khmer temple ruins
overgrown with dense foliage. (Sadly, I think you might have to go to
Cambodia for that.) Generally speaking, then, what I'm after is some
fascinating off-the-beaten-track temple or wat or what-have-you
complex, not yet completely ruined by tourism, that's either a) within
five hours of Bangkok or b) reasonably accessible from any stop along
the Surat Thani-->Bangkok rail line.

Are there any "must-sees" that fit the bill?

And has anybody been to either Prasat Hin Hhao Phnom Rung or Prasat
Hin Phimai? Which of the two would you recommend?


Thanks in advance for any advice you might have,
SJ

I recommend Phetchaburi

Nice temples, few tourists (most of the tourists are Thai) and thousands of
monkeys swarming all over the place.

Easy day trip from Bangkok

nycutler@ (NYCutler) wrote in message news:<20031230190459.14309.00001936@mb-m14.>...
> ... Phetchaburi - Nice temples, few tourists ... thousands of monkeys

in Phetrchaburi make sure you see the two Royal Summer Homes. the one
on top of the hill has the monkeys at the base.

Hua Hin and Cha Am are very nice if you like the beach and fresh
seafood. there's a neat Royal Summer Home in Cha Am.

Lopburi is famous for its monkeys. also has Kymer ruins plus an old
Royal Palace from the Sukothai period.

closest of all is Ayutthaya. the previous capitol. great ruins.

a little further afield is Sukothai. another former capitol.
fantastic ruins.

general tip. get out a map. draw a circle with radius BKK-Lopburi.
look up the towns inside the circle in your guidebook.

have fun.

NYCutler wrote:

> I recommend Phetchaburi
>
> Nice temples, few tourists (most of the tourists are Thai) and thousands of
> monkeys swarming all over the place.
>
> Easy day trip from Bangkok

Lots of gunmen, too ;-)

Also the best Kanom Maw Gaeng Kai in Thailand! :-)

> in Phetrchaburi make sure you see the two Royal Summer Homes. the one
> on top of the hill has the monkeys at the base.

Also check out Tham Khao Luang, which is a cave that contains a temple
and also has a lot of monkeys, though they aren't as aggressive as
those on Phetchaburi's Maha Samana Hill.

> Hua Hin and Cha Am are very nice if you like the beach and fresh
> seafood. there's a neat Royal Summer Home in Cha Am.

To really cover Tham Khao Luang, Phetchaburi/Royal Summer Palace
complex, Hua Hin and Cha-Am sufficiently, you would probably want to
do the trip over two days like I did; this would also give you a
chance to check out Hua Hin's Night Bazaar.

Ayutthaya and the Bridge on the River Kwai (Kanchanaburi) were two
one-day trips that I made out of Bangkok, and both were enjoyable;
Ayutthaya was arranged through the Songserm travel office on Khao San
Road (Tel: 0-2280-7897).

USC