Breaking the ice
Nakhon Si Thammarat may seem aloof outwardly, but beneath the surface it is indeed a friendly destination
Published: 23/09/2010 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Horizons
Walking the streets of Nakhon Si Thammarat I peered left and right as I tried to scratch beneath the veneer of faces that gave away nothing, and much as I tried it was hard escaping the feeling that, to the people there, I was some outsider trespassing on their hospitality.
❖ One of the highlights of Khao Luang National Park is this elegant waterfall, Krung Ching, hidden deep inside a forest accessible only after a torturous trek nearly four kilometres long, of which the last 800 metres is toughest for you climb down a steep gradient with narrow steps. It cascades from a height of about 100 metres down a cliff unleashing thick sprays of mist and forming big pools of water where it falls.
My every attempt to establish some kind of rapport with them drew blanks and cold stares, their expressionless faces and body language betraying no emotion. Such a cold people! It was frustrating. I began to wonder if it was right of me to be here, and if I ventured into wrong territory.
That’s when arrived an encouraging piece of advice. ‘‘Don’t feel intimidated or let their blank expressions bother you,’’ my tour guide Nares Sukarin said. ‘‘That is their nature, their way of life. Don’t allow yourself to think, not even for one moment, that you are not welcome here.’’
Some relief!
Nares explained that the general feeling among the public towards outsiders is one of apathy, because they arrive here with the attitude that in Nakhon Si Thammarat anything, any service can be bought for a price.
‘‘We do not like to serve such people, but we love those who treat us like a friend. Once you win their friendship, they will accept you and help you in every way. Just come with an open heart and you will be able to see the real face of Nakhon Si Thammarat,’’ he said.
Needless to say, not many outsiders pass on this score, which kind of explains why the province continues to linger in obscurity compared to neighbours Samui, Krabi and Phuket, even though it boasts a land mass bigger than any of the three and many attractions that remain largely unexplored.
For more than a thousand years Nakhon Si Thammarat was a significant port town and cultural hub of south Thailand with Phra Barom That Chedi, where enshrined is a relic of Lord Buddha, its spiritual centre.
Buddhist temples, churches, mosques, Chinese and Brahmin shrines existing side by side are a testament to its rich cultural heritage and traditions, while to the south of town are the towering mountains of Khao Luang, endowed a wide diversity of flora including over 200 of 670 species of ferns found in Thailand.
The mountains enjoy thick cover of rainforest and blessed with beautiful waterfalls and pristine scenery, amongst which dwells a friendly community of farmers called Kiriwong who are expert at enjoying life in harmony with nature.
No wonder the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is currently marketing the province under a campaign labelled ‘‘7 Greens’’ where the focus is on sustainable tourism.
All said, friendship should be the priority of tourists visiting this deep-south province. Break the ice and you stand a real chance to get to the feel the warmth of the local people. Then they will welcome you with hot meals, warm beds and help you out in every which way possible.
Yes, Nakhon Si Thammarat was my baptism of fire!
Nakhon Si Thammarat is around 780 kilometres south of Bangkok. Buses and air-conditioned coaches depart for the province daily from the Southern Bus Terminal. For timetable, call 02-894-6122.
There is daily train service between Bangkok and the province. For schedule, call 02-220-4334 or visit www.railway.or.th.
Nok Air and Air Asia operate daily flights there. For more information, call Nok Air at 1318, www.nokair.com; and Air Asia at 02-515-9999, www.airasia.com.
For information about tourist attractions in the province, call TAT’s local office at 075-346-515/6.
❖ Among many precious items on view at Wat Phra Maha That, probably the most interesting is the image of Phra Phuay, popular with couples wishing a child. Rooted in folklore, the statue is a monk’s known to bless homes he visited with children. On one such occasion he incurred the wrath of a jealous husband. Told by neighbours that the monk had arrived while his wife was home alone, the husband flew into a rage and cut off the monk’s head. But the monk didn’t die. Instead, he picked up his severed head, ran to the temple’s prayer hall. The villagers followed and found that his head and body had turned into a broken statue of Lord Buddha.
❖ Though shadow puppet is fading from national conscience, it remains a well-kept form of art at Ban Nang Thalung Suchart Subsin, a stone’s throw from Wat Phra Maha That. Run by national artist Suchart Subsin, everything you need to known about shadow puppet is available here.
❖ Within the premises is a puppet museum showcasing specimen drawn from all over the country, including leading clowns and characters from the past. Speaking of clowns, there are 20 of them put on show to entertain the visiting public.
❖ The puppet museum also boasts exhibits sourced from Cambodia, India, Turkey and several other countries including China, which is what this picture is about. What you see here points to a passage in the Chinese epic ‘Three Kingdoms’ where a character is about to be executed, which is why the body and head are kept apart.
❖ The City Museum is probably the best place if you wish to dig into Nakhon Si Thammarat’s history dating back to 1518 when it was a major trading port called Ligor by the Dutch.
❖ Next to the city hall is this coffee house, Copee, which serves up delectable local cuisine like ‘bak kut teh’ Chinese soup, a variety of dim sum, sticky rice with toppings such as Thai custard and sweetened shrimp and so forth. The atmosphere is nostalgic and the customer list reads like a who’s who of Nakhon Si Thammarat because most of them work in the city hall. So if you need to know the big shots in the province arrive early morning and find a seat at one of the front tables.
❖ Tourists adore Khao Lek and always try to reach its summit before dawn for a panoramic sweep of Krung Ching Valley over which hangs a thick blanket of fog best admired at sunrise. The mountain in Nopitam district is accessed from Ban Nop, whose warm and friendly residents keep tourists supplied with coffee and snacks during the trek.
❖ At the foot of Khao Luang mountain is the village of Kiriwong whose residents have turned a patch of rainforest into an orchard where they grow rambutan, mongosteen and other fruit which are in abundant supply in July and August. The interesting bit about this village is homestay facilities where tourists, among other things, can learn about herbs and their uses, how to extract natural dyes from fruit and, of course, their rustic lifestyle. This way they can also supplement their meagre income.
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❖ Mangosteen soap is another interesting by-product of the orchards. The fruit’s outer skin is dried and mixed with herbs and ingredients good for the skin. The soap industry is a reliable source of income for farmers because when there is glut in the market mangosteen prices often plummet to a low four baht a kilogramme, but its skin is guaranteed a price of five baht per kilogramme.
❖ Khanom is the northern-most tip of the province and the calm sea there is home Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins which occasionally make an appearance. Although usually dark grey on their back and lighter underneath, white and pink variations are also known. The dolphins here are dark grey in colour, but they gradually turn to pink once they are 10 years old. They live for 60 years and grows up to two metres long and weigh 200 kilogrammes. They can be spotted foraging for small fish in shallow water.
❖ The waterfall (on front page) is named after the ‘ching’ palm (Licuala kunstleri) that abound here. It is similar to the mangrove fan palm, (Licuala paludosa), that has deeply split leaves. Both love swampy terrain but the ‘ching’ has standalone trunks while the other’s grow in clusters.
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❖ On the way to Krung Ching Waterfall tourist trek through a dense rainforest packed with rare plants and towering trees, including banyan that are a common sight here.
❖ One of the most remarkable trees is the Malacca teak, some 40 metres tall. It has fibrous roots, a wide trunk marked by a profusion of branches forming a canopy that shelter trekkers from rain. High humidity in the jungle is ideal for fungi, of which many species can be found, including the rare coral type.
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Bron: Bangkok Post