Travel Notes from Thailand's Ancient City
The Ancient City in Thailand… it’s an interesting sort of place. Imagine you were a wealthy businessman who wanted to do something nice for your country. I know, you think, I’ll build an amusement park! But not the sort of amusement park with daredevil rollercoasters and log flumes. The kind that plots a map of the entire country on some empty land and fills it with a mix of transplanted, recreated or just plain made up landmarks that correspond to each region of the country’s geography. That makes sense, right? Well, that is the Ancient City in a nutshell.
Pay to get in, then ride a bicycle or drive a golf cart around the winding paths to see various structures either moved here or constructed here so you can get a feel for every part of the country and all the unique cultures contained therein. You’ll see things like this:
Because every theme park needs some random cattle, right?
And some pretty flowers.
As well as samples of product packaging over the years.
No rollercoasters, but on the plus side, you also don’t have to queue for anything and the ladies’ room was the cleanest of all I saw in Thailand, I do believe!
The real reason The Boy was a fan: he could drive a golf cart all afternoon. He would quite happily forget the ‘lf’ at the end of ‘golf’ and tell you this was a go cart instead. Oh my. So maybe there was nearly one rollercoaster, if you were a passenger on this cart!
And if you can understand what they mean by all that, then your translation skills are awesome. (Not that I could read a word of it in Thai – just that this particular translation is more creative than others!)
There are temples, ruins, bridges, homes, waterfalls, mountainsides, rivers and ancient burial grounds all recreated here.
Which makes it seem like a geography teacher’s dream: can you imagine the field trip potential? I am sure there are often many children here with worksheets in hand.
Though that might be a bit confusing when you come to a spot on the map where it indicates that some pieces were just made up from their imagination, like a bridge (over no water) painted like a rainbow and clouds. The little-known Rainbow Brite province, I do believe.
Rather than school children when we were there we saw a corporate retreat, with all sorts of groups doing trust falls and scavenger hunts… something comforted me that those mixed up days are part of business life all over the world! I went on many as a teacher and they were always a little hit and miss. But then they were usually in the school yard or maybe a conference room at a local hotel. Not a theme park of national landmarks!
Okay, so maybe I think this whole idea is slightly comical, but it is worth seeing. It’s a very pleasant place and far quieter than Alton Towers or Six Flags, of course. And it did let us see a bit about life in years gone by or parts of the country we’re not going to see with our own eyes.
And just to ensure family and friends that I am actually here and this isn’t a random joke I’m blogging from my bedroom in London, some photographic evidence of my location:
Now… share a slightly funny thing to see if I came to your neck of the woods! After all, I hail from the state with the world’s second largest ball of twine, so your locale must have something unique too! (And given the choice, definitely go see the Ancient City rather than the ball of twine! But if you happen to be driving by…)
xlovesx
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2 January 2011, 03:26
Where is the largest ball of twine???
2 January 2011, 05:17
Looks like a wonder land to me. I’d love to see it in person but your photos will have to do.
2 January 2011, 08:01
Fabulous photos! Thank you for sharing your travels with us still at home!
In the state I live in there is a ranch that is larger than Rhode Island, world’s largest cowboy boots & Dr. Pepper was invented here.
2 January 2011, 09:17
Maryland and Delaware share the worlds largest frying pan…used to fry chicken at the Delmarva chicken Festival every
year. It’s enormous! Enjoying the photos from your trip.
2 January 2011, 10:19
I am actually a native of the smallest state in the United States, Rhode Island, best seafood around too.
Love all you pictures, Thank you so much for sharing them with us
2 January 2011, 10:19
I am really enjoying your photos. Thailand was one of my all time favorite trips although it’s been awhile since I’ve been there. I can’t wait to see where else you go.
2 January 2011, 11:10
That place looks great (and clean toilets in Thailand are not to be taken for granted)! Having lived in Thailand (very near Ko Kret), I’m reasonably confident that very few children are going to be taken there on geography field trips, alas. As a good teacher (which I have no doubt you are) you would be horrified by the average Thai school. I was. There’s a lot of memorisation but not a lot of teaching children to think or explore new concepts. It’s scary. :/ You’d be so great in a Thai school! :)
2 January 2011, 14:25
Aside from all things Rabbie Burns, Ayrshire also has “electric brae”, an optical illusion where you think you are going uphill when you’re supposedly going downhill..
2 January 2011, 18:21
the ice machine was accidentally invented in my neck of the woods during a treatment for yellow fever.
2 January 2011, 19:27
Just south of Dayton, Ohio(where I live) was (and is being rebuilt after burning to the ground) the worlds largest Jesus.
2 January 2011, 23:59
Outside of Seattle, Wa. in a private housing community is a park. Fudpucker Park (say that 12 times fast). It consists of 4 picnic tables and recently a trash can.
3 January 2011, 09:52
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos! And funny story about the ‘go’ cart. In NC, you should see the US largest private residence – the Biltmore House. It isn’t funny although it is beautiful. It might be a let down though after all the large pretty castles in England.
4 January 2011, 15:47
Thanks for posting. Your photos and story are terrific. Makes me want to go somewhere exotic.
4 January 2011, 19:50
AMAZING! Photos. My BFF went to Japan and I just love all of looking over all of her photos and yours. Wish I could visit, looks breathtaking!
-Aimee
4 January 2011, 22:36
Great photos! Looks like experience of a lifetime!
22 February 2011, 00:30
This is my first visit here. I found some really interesting stuff in your blog especially this discussion. Keep up the good work.
7 October 2013, 08:24
Useful information ..I am very happy to read this article..thanks for giving us this useful information. Fantastic walk-through. I appreciate this post.
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25 May 2022, 21:58
Great photos. I have a lot of ties to these places, my biggest win at tornado pokies will always be in my memory.
20 October 2022, 10:18
Good to explore.
10 November 2023, 07:37
Valuable insights! Delighted to come across this informative article. Gratitude for sharing such useful information. A fantastic walk-through that I truly appreciate. Thanks for enriching our knowledge.bhulekh up
10 November 2023, 07:38
Valuable insights! Delighted to come across this informative article. Gratitude for sharing such useful information. A fantastic walk-through that I truly appreciate. Thanks for enriching our knowledge.bhulekh up