I'd first seen the signs on Old Sukhumvit Road months ago when I
took the long way home after visiting the southeast. “The
Ancient City XX kilometers”. Whoah,
An Ancient City?! That sounds pretty cool! I
gotta see that. On
that trip, I totally drove by it without noticing because I didn't
know what I was looking for, and as I found out today, the roadsigns
nearest the attraction are written in Latinized Thai. There's a huge
sign that says 'Muang Buran: Turn Here' (Muang Buran being the
phonetic spelling of เมืองโบราณ which translates into English as
'ancient city'). No wonder I missed it.
Muang Buran is on the coast, in
Samut Prakan, a good 25 miles from Bangkok city center, but only
about 12 miles from my home on the east side of town. I visited it
today and was very much impressed. I'm hesitant to make comparisons
to Disneyland because first of all, Ancient Siam (how they now want
to be known in English) is about culture, not entertainment. Second,
except for the boats and the great fun I had zipping around the place
in my rented golf cart, there are no rides. That said, in scope,
size, attention to detail and sheer cost of what it must have taken
to build this place, the comparison is appropriate.
I zipped through the place in two hours for a couple reasons. First, I was renting a golf cart at 150 Baht an hour, and I'd already blown through my first pre-paid hour. Second, I do hope to go exploring the rest of Thailand during my time here, and these replicas of all the best of Thailand's historical buildings were so finely crafted that by exploring them, it's like you're seeing the actual places themselves, and so, much of my future travel would have been ruined. Nothing ruins ruins liked ruined re-creations of ruins.
Enjoy the video.
I zipped through the place in two hours for a couple reasons. First, I was renting a golf cart at 150 Baht an hour, and I'd already blown through my first pre-paid hour. Second, I do hope to go exploring the rest of Thailand during my time here, and these replicas of all the best of Thailand's historical buildings were so finely crafted that by exploring them, it's like you're seeing the actual places themselves, and so, much of my future travel would have been ruined. Nothing ruins ruins liked ruined re-creations of ruins.
Enjoy the video.
You have great videos, Joko, but I wish you uploaded in 480p or better resolution.
ReplyDeleteI do, on occasion, and based on your comment, will do so more. I certainly record in a lot higher res than that. Two reasons I don't, at that resolution, the video will stop and start for folks without a fast internet connection, and second, since I am on ADSL here (assymetrical DSL), although I can download pretty fast, if I want to upload a 6 minute vid in HD, it'll take four hours. I lack the patience. I suppose its worth doing so, in the long run.
DeleteWonderful video. Hope you have a chance to get back there again, there is so much to see! After it was open, could you have driven in? It looks like the golf cart was a good mode of transportation. Do they also rent bikes?
ReplyDeleteNo, they don't rent bikes... The bikes are FREE with admission! Yeah, next time, it's a bicycle and all day. That's the kind of slow trek best enjoyed as part of a group though.
DeleteGreat video, enjoyed touring a place I will never get to see in person. Your mom sent me!!
ReplyDeleteAha! This explains the burst in comments! Thanks, Mom!
DeleteYour Mama said to come here --- so I did ---That was great advice - I will be a regular reader from now on --- Mamas know where to go
ReplyDeleteGot here because of your Mama..... great video. We've got a "tentative" visit planned there for November... now I know what to look for :-0 Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMuang Buran is definitely a place to visit if you can't visit the entire country.
Deletegreat post:) glad to see your still having fun:)
ReplyDeleteRead the comments on my latest post. You have more readers than you may know.
ReplyDelete