Off the Beaten Trail Thailand: Suphanburi

Bangkok is of course the hub of the kingdom and most trips into Thailand will begin and end here. So it is not unreasonable for people to look for interesting things to see and do that aren’t too far from the capitol; but they usually come up with the same three destinations: Pattaya, Ayutthaya, and Kanchanaburi. Fantastic destinations but limited.

Suphanburi is only 100 kilometers north of Bangkok and to the right audience just as if not far more interesting than those well explored three I mentioned just a second ago. It doesn’t have all the neon-lit go-go joints aflutter with whisky soaked white moths you find in Pattaya, and requires a bit more experience in Thailand or a better guide and preparation than you need to get the most out of Kanchanaburi or Ayutthaya, but Suphanburi is one of the most fascinating, beautiful, and off the beaten trail places in Thailand.

For music lovers, Suphanburi is known to some as the “Thai Nashville” for the central role it has played in the development of contemporary Thai music, particularly of the Luck Thung Style. In March it hosted the first annual Suphanburi Music Festival, but there are plenty of sweet sounds there whenever you happen to roll in and lots of cool historical stuff dealing with the music industry in Thailand.

Suphanburi’s historical relevance is not relegated to the music industry. The region has factored in substantially at a number of important points in Thai history, particularly during the Ayutthaya period. Though archeological evidence dating back to the New Stone and Bronze ages suggests that people have been hanging around the golden city for more than 3,500 years, making the wars of the Ayutthaya period seem rather a drop in the bucket. Stop by the U Thong National History museum too check out these 3 and a half millennia of artifacts and treasures.

Also in Suphanburi is the kingdom’s least visited national park…Phu Toei. With around 300 visitors annually during peak season, it is safe to say that this 356 kilometer patch of jungle is unspoiled by the heavy feet of the tour mob – and off the beaten trail. There is a campground with basic facilities and the park officials can supply you with four wheel drive vehicles and guidance around the park. Among other things, they have an old farming tractor they’ll let you use to get into the backcountry. While this may not be the neat and tidy national park experience you’ll find in more developed areas, the genuine and laid back quality of it, plus the fact that you will not have to share your hard won views and photo-ops with, well, anyone. There’s a small mountain in the park which is the highest point in the province, so you can get some good views from up there.

The area around the park is also worth mentioning, with Ban Pakhi, a Laos refugee village right at the park gates, and a very isolated Karen tribe village called  Ta Pheurn Khi which has been there at the base of the mountain for some 200 years.

Finally, one of the most on the beaten trail sort of attractions in Thailand’s beautiful Suphanburi, the Bung Chawak Aquarium. I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking here but I will mention there are also some agricultural displays outside the aquarium, it has a number of these cool tubes to walk through, and the mad carp are getting drunk daily on thorn apples.

All in all it’s worth 100 kilometers on the road and a night or two outside of the sprawling, strobe-lit metropolis; however it is a trip for the more seasoned and intrepid travelers, or the ones with a private driver and guide.