(1) It is the largest outdoor museum in the world;
(2) Not everything is a mere replica; some are originals that were moved to this place for preservation;
(3) Even the replicas are said to be very beautiful;
(4) It is outside Bangkok, so it is a chance to experience Thailand beyond its main city.
Going to Ancient City
- Take BTS to Ekkamai Station, exiting at Exit 3
Wait for Bus 511 or 25
NOTE: Do not expect a nice bus stop with bench. You will only see a bus stop sign where you are to wait for the bus. This is near 7-11.
TIP: It may take a while for Bus 511 (Aircon) to arrive. Bus 25 (Ordinary / Non-aircon) comes more often, AND IT IS FREE. - Get off once you see this landmark:
TIP: Another landmark: A huge elephant with three heads. Once you see this, you are quite near Bangpoo already. - Ride the “minibus” 36. Do not be fooled by the name. It looks like this:
TIP: Tell the driver to let you off at ‘Muang Borang’ as that is how Ancient City is called in Thai. Payment is made once you get off. As of February 2011, fare is THB8 per person. The entrance to Ancient City is to your left. When getting off, you will have to press a button (they come in green and red) inside the minibus.
Here is the entrance to Ancient City:
All in all, the trip will be roughly 1 hour.
You can, of course, go by taxi. But it takes the fun out of the experience.
Admission to Ancient City
As of February 2011, entrance fee is THB350 for adults. To get updated fees, visit their site. This is already inclusive of bicycle rent.
Getting Around Ancient City
I wouldn’t say walking around the 80-hectare area is impossible, but it just might dehydrate you to your last drop of body liquid. Hence, here are your more viable options:
Bicycle – FREE
Golf cart
o For 2 – THB 150-THB 200 per hour
o For 6 – THB 450 per hour
NOTE: If by any case you meet with an accident and have no driver’s license, you are accountable for any damage in the vehicle.
Tram - FREE
o Available every hour but it is possible that you will not be able to see the entire area.
Allot 1 day for this activity if you want to really know Thailand and see all structures. Of course, it is always possible to shorten this – all up to you. However, you may not feel you have known Thailand if you just take pictures without reading the descriptions and taking everything in.
My Story
From Ekkamai Station, we took Bus 25 after waiting for Bus 511 for 30 minutes. Not bad for a free ride. We arrived at the landmark I told you about at around 12:30, so we looked for a restaurant. Luckily, there was one right where we got off. Unluckily, of course they did not speak English, nor did they have a menu. Fortunate that I downloaded a Speak Thai app, with words in Thai and in English. So I got a piece of a paper and wrote down in Thai our order, keeping our fingers crossed that they have these:
ต้มยำกุ้ง (Tum Yum Kung)
ผัดไทย (Pad Thai)
ปลาทอด (Fried Fish (we saw one in another table – biiig fried fish covered in much too much garlic))
ข้าว (Rice)
ไข่ (Egg (fallback in case we don’t like the others))
ข้าวเหนียวมะม่วง (Sticky rice with mango)
น้ำเปล่า (Water)
Success! They understood my Thai writing, and they had almost all, the exception being the sticky rice with mango. Wish I took a picture of my Thai writing before I gave it to the lady.
Bill: THB 332
After lunch, we tried asking an old lady working in the restaurant how to go to Ancient City. By this time I already had read about “Muang Borang” so while she was speaking Thai (knowing I don’t understand Thai), I caught “Muang Borang” and “songthaew” (Thai for the minibus), and she was pointing in the direction of the minibus (which I gathered by contect clues).
TIP: In asking for directions, you can say:
Yu tee nai is “where”, and yes, they as it in this reverse way if your point of comparison is the English language.
Some other useful phrases:
Leow Say? (Do I turn left?)
Leow Kwa? (Do I turn right?)
Trong Pai? (Do I go straight ahead?)
These are rough Thai phrases – and although I add the question mark, they don’t have the same rising tone we have for asking questions.
Once in minibus 36, we kept our eyes open, and noticed that passengers getting off press the green button shown above, got off, went near the driver and paid. Okay, got that. After a while, fearing that we have passed the entrance already, I asked the person beside me: Muang Borang yu tee nai? And I gathered that it will take a few more minutes. Yes, it’s not a very short ride so don’t worry your head off.
Finally, the entrance!
Paid entrance fee: check!
Paid rental for golf cart: check! (it was too hot for a bike, and the tram just left, the next in almost an hour. Of course I knew that we would extend beyond an hour, so I already prepared money for two hours)
Got our map: check!
And off we drove.
The place is in the shape of Thailand, how thoughtful.
We were given a map but after a few structures, we found ourselves driving to whichever direction we please. It was fun! The floating market, in particular, was beautiful. Here are some pictures:
Two hours was not enough, but it was already 4:00 in the afternoon and we were already quite tired.
Going back, there’s an overpass so you can go to the other side of the road and wait for the minibus 36. We got off when everyone else got off, asked the driver; “Rot bus Ha-neung-neung (5-1-1) yu tee nai?" and he pointed us to where we can wait for the bus. As luck would have it, we were again on Bus 25. This time it wasn’t free (weird). But the fare was only THB8. Imagine that!
P.S.
I don’t know where these 511s were when we wanted them!
We got off at Ekkamai and took the BTS-BRT going home.
This was the only thing we achieved that day, through our own fault. We did not wake up early so it was practically noon when we got to Ekkamai. We were also back in the hotel by 5-6 pm. Still early, but we decided to call it a day.
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