As many of you might know, I spent almost one year teaching in Phetchabun, Thailand (you can read my previous post about life in Thailand here). This year allowed me to get an insight about the changing seasons and the hidden gems in northern Thailand. That’s why I decided to introduce you to the Thai seasons and provide you with to-do lists by season in and around Phetchabun.
For westerners, Thailand might seem constant: always hot weather and picturesque beaches. But it’s a much more sophisticated picture than that. Yes, it’s actually always hot, but differently. Yes, there are plenty of breathtaking beaches and islands, but also much more than that. So my aim here is to break these stereotypes and show you around in a – lesser-known – region, Phetchabun province, where you won’t find beaches but mountains, where Thai people come to cool down and enjoy “winter”. I also want to introduce you the different seasons of hot. My list is not exhaustive at all, but hopefully your view on Thailand will expand. Who knows, maybe you’ll get some unconventional ideas for your next holiday – when travelling will be allowed again. 🙂
Season 1: Hot season, i.e. the Thai summer with a to-do list
What is it like?
I arrived in Thailand at the very end of April, which was still the time of Thai summer. It is from about March to May, with April being the wildest. It is scorching hot (37+ degrees) and extremely humid (~70%). Even Thai people can barely bear it. It’s basically the humidity that makes it even harder, and the lack of wind and rain. So it basically doesn’t cool down even for the night. It’s better to stay indoors in an air-conditioned room.
Local people doesn’t understand if you decide to walk, especially if it’s longer than 5 minutes or 50 meters. “It’s too hot”- they say. They’re actually absolutely right about that! But you still want to go and buy food, and you still want to believe and prove that 10 minutes outside won’t kill you. Your only chance is to have a thermos flask of water on you all the time (to keep it cold), even for the short walks, and get used to the constant sweating.
What to do then?
It’s actually really hard to be a traveller and explorer in such weather conditions, especially the type who I am. When I arrive in a new place, I usually go on long walks, wherever my legs take me. I try to explore the main sights, the streets, the restaurants, the parks simply by wandering around. However, I wasn’t able to do the same in Phetchabun. Not only because there’s not that much to see in town, but also because the heat makes it physically very demanding.
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The Buddha Tamaracha
For first, my limit was the few shorter walks to Topland (the local department store with a Tesco) and to the day market next to it. Then, in mid-May the first 3-day weekend came, and I decided to walk to the big Buddha which is a bit out of town. It takes around 30-40 minutes to walk there along the main road in the heat. Bringing water with you is essential.
The good news is that behind the Big Buddha, there is a nice park with a lake and an island in the lake, where you can take a rest in the shade. You can feed the fish or just enjoy the view. There is also a cycle and walking path around and behind the lake. Later, this Buddha park became my favourite spot to relax for example on a Sunday afternoon, but I chose to go there by the “Thai way”, i.e. by scooter, instead of walking. 🙂
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Khao Kho – Wat Pha Sorn Kaew
If you have a car or scooter/motorbike, a not-to-miss destination in Phetchabun province is Khao Kho, regardless of season. It is a popular travel destination for Thai people, too. Actually mainly for Thai people, and for those lucky “farang” (=foreigners), who somehow got to this “middle-of-nowhere province”, and got to hear about it.
We were taken to the Wat Pha Sorn Kaew Buddhist monastery and temple on our first day in Phetchabun. I can easily say that it is one of the most beautiful temple I’ve seen in Thailand. One part is the five-headed white Buddha representing the traditional five Buddhas who visited the Earth. The other is the temple which is decorated with more than 5 million colorful mosaic tiles and whole pottery items. Interestingly, it doesn’t feel too much or overdecorated, but its style is a little bit like the Parc Güell by Gaudí in Barcelona. The cherry on the top is the surrounding mountainview. This place is literally on the top of the mountain, 830 m high.
Season 2: Rainy season with a to-do list
What is it like?
In north Thailand, rainy season falls between June and November. I was a bit afraid of it, I didn’t really know if it means monsoon type of weather day and night or just occasional rain. After the first few heavy rainfalls and thunderstorms, I felt convinced that I’m going to hate it, and it’s going to be so long (especially because my first intention was to stay for only one semester, i.e. until October).
Then, things changed: I realised that it’s just as hot as before – if not even hotter due to the even higher, 80% humidity -, and it rains only for a couple of hours usually at night or in the afternoon. There were also dry days, so trips were still possible. Though some national parks, waterfall areas, campsites were not open these months because of safety reasons. Also, more than before, you had to be wary of the heat.
What to do then?
Rainy season opened up more opportunities for me, as I rented a scooter as of July. This allowed me more opportunities to reach places out of town.
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Local swimming pool
As I mentioned before, Phetchabun doesn’t have any beaches, it’s actually far from any. There’s not even a lake where you could cool yourself down with a quick swim. There are, however, two bigger hotels with public pools. You just have to pay 30-40 bahts, and you can enyjoy your swim. First, we discovered the SR, which comes with a nice view of mountains on the horizon. Then, we had to change to Kosit Hill, (as SR was under construction), which also felt nice to be at.
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Dan Sai – Phi Ta Khon Festival
I cheat a little bit here, as this program is not exactly in Phetchabun province, but in the neighbouring Loei. However, it’s still relatively close to Phetchabun (~ 2 hours by car or songthaew), and it would be a mistake to miss it once someone’s around that time of the year. The Phi Ta Khon (‘ghosts wearing masks’) festival takes place sometime around June/July (exact date varies yearly), lasts 3 days, and it will definitely leave you with amusement, surprise, laughter, and a dropped jaw. It’s quite a weird festival to be honest: basically a ghost festival blended with religious elements, mixed with a rocket festival.
We visited only the second day of the festival, so that’s what I can tell you more about. It contained a lively, almost never-ending procession of quirky ghost masks skillfully painted in bright colors, ‘shamanic’, pop and traditional Thai music and dances, groups of mud-covered men, and men carrying wooden phalluses and teasing the crowds. People also wear colorful patchwork pants and shirts made from different fabrics.
By the afternoon, we went to the temple garden along with the dancers. There, we were relaxing in the shade while whatching smaller groups of masked dancers raving to traditional music.
It seemed quite an out-of-this-world experience how these men danced a bit madly, a bit drunken, in their exquisite masks, with ringing cattle bells and the exaggarating and vulgar fertility symbols. All of this in the garden of a Buddhist temple…
If it wasn’t enough, they were also carrying around monks on wooden planks on their shoulders in a dangerously bumpy way. Then came the rocket festival, which means firing home-made rockets. I would say it wasn’t the highlight of the festival, not as spectacular as expected, the rockets were hardly seen in the distance. But it didn’t make the whole experience less worthy!
Personally, I can’t find the right words to describe this festival (fun?, interesting?, loud?, surreal?, disturbing?), but I would still highly recommend to go and experience it. Lastly, it’s also worth visiting the Wat Nimit Vipassana temple hiding in the forest. -
Pa Daeng Reservoir and viewpoint
Pa Daeng is in Pa Lao, about 8km from Phetchabun town, easily reachable by scooter. The reservoir was created by the dam constructed to block the waterway to the west of town for irrigation purposes. You can visit this site any time of the year, the only difference will be the amount of water in the lake. In July, when I first visited, it was definitely fuller than in the middle of the dry winter season. It’s ideal for picnics while enjoying nature and the scenic view, as we also did a couple of times. It’s an ideal spot to watch the sunset; its colours are truly magical.
If you feel more adventurous, you can scoot around the lake (not entirely though). But carefully on the dirt road. If you need a different perspective, you would want to observe it from above, then follow the bendy steep road up, which leads you to a fairly abandoned viewpoint.
We could see some old stupas where monks could meditate ??, and then luckily some people invited us in to the viewpoint. It wasn’t obvious if we can go in there at all, and the barking dogs didn’t seem too welcoming either. Luckily, we didn’t miss it, because the view was amazing from there, and the whole area was like a little oasis of calmness.
Season 3: Winter season with a to-do list
What is it like?
I guess you wouldn’t think that Thailand has winter too. Here and now, I tell you that it does, from October/November to February/March. In 2019, 17th October was the first day of winter in north Thailand officially. And what did I do that day? I was swimming in a waterfall near Chiang Rai with my friend, Niki, who visited me from Hungary.
So you can see, it’s not the winter many of us are used to: no freezing cold, no snow. I would define it as dry heat (31-35 degrees), much more bearable (for me) than the humid one. At night, temperature might go below 20, which feels quite a relief, and which brings along fresh mornings.
I even remember 3-5 days (!) in early December when it was really cold at night and in the morning, and not only for the Thai. It went down to 10-11 degrees, and without heating, good windows or even a proper blanket, it’s real cold to be in and sleep in. For those few mornings, jumpers, scarves, and winter coats got out of the wardrobes of the locals. On those days, I felt really lucky to be able to wear trainers and trousers because of the P.E. lessons, instead of the compulsory skirt. There was one morning, when I had to wear thights under the skirt. Otherwise, thights would have been unbearable for me in the heat, but that day they were lifesavers. 🙂 Apart from those few days, temperatures were just as high as always, the sun was burning, and we didn’t see a drop of rain until maybe March.
What to do then?
Winter is the season for camping and taking trips for locals. Most of my wanderings and explorations in and around Phetchabun also happened from December to March. Partly, because of the above mentioned pleasant weather conditions, partly because of the group of good friends that had been formed by then. It became a kind of tradition to ride somewhere on our scooters at weekends – either to try a new coffeeshop or to visit some places AND try a new coffeeshop there. Believe it or not, Phetchabun (and actually Thailand) is big on coffee and pretty coffeeshops. A new one opened almost every week either in the city, in the middle of a rice field, along the highway, or basically anywhere. My best mates love coffee just as much as I do, so it was our mission to find these gems.
I’m now listing some spots that we visited in the winter season, but I guess they could be enjoyed any time of the year, too.
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Tham Nam Bang Temple and Cave
A truly hidden gem, hidden even for the locals. When you reach the temple, at the back of the temple yard, you have to climb the stairs to get to the cave temple. Then you can get to a small yard cut in the rocks, where little monk houses are. We weren’t sure if anybody lives there; it seemed abandoned, but not messy or dirty.
The only living creatures we saw were the bats in the caves, hundreds of them. It’s probably a place for forest monks who live in the depths of the forests and mountains, seeking physical isolation to aid them in the development of meditation and realization of the truth of the Buddha’s teaching. It’s definitely a peaceful place to meditate and conduct a simple life close to nature.
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Phu Thap Boek
It’s a 1,768 m high mountain peak, which tops the Unseen Thailand list, and which is a popular camping spot. As we were driving up the bendy mountain roads, on the back of a pickup truck, we started to feel the temperature dropping gradually. By the end, I even wore my jacket. On the top, it felt like in a village in the Alps: hot drink and food stalls, winter clothes, wooden houses, hotels, guesthouses with a view, campsites. It didn’t even feel like being in Thailand. Not to mention the evening and the night, when the campfire was much appreciated and a good sleeping bag was missed hugely. It was freezing cold; I was just imagining my hot room back in Phetchabun all night, and promised myself not to complain about the heat anymore. 😀 Well, Thai people come here exactly for this real wintery feeling! Crazy, huh? 😀
The main attraction in the area is the panoramic view of the “sea of clouds” that can be appreciated from the hilltop. If someone comes here, it’s no question if they want to catch the sunrise. People flock the viewpoints around 6-6.30 am, to wait for the magic to happen over the valley. Though we didn’t get to see the sea of clouds that morning, seeing the sunrise second by second was magical and left us in awe.
And what was the most surprising sight here? For me, the cabbage fields covering the hillsides.
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Bankhok – sunflower field
First of all, don’t confuse Bankhok with Bangkok, they have nothing to do with each other. 😀
This is basically not more than a sunflower field, that you can visit throughout December, when it’s in bloom. Why do I mention it? Because it’s a popular point of interest for Thai people, and because it’s not a usual thing to walk among beautiful sunflowers in December. If you visit this place, it’s essential to bring your phone or a camera to take photos, as that’s the main purpose of this site. That’s what drives Thai people the most: to have hundreds of photos for their Instagram. 🙂
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Tat Mok National Park
If you’d like to hike in a lush green jungle, cross streams, climb among bamboo trees and other giant trees, and look for snakes and other wild animals, this is your place to go near Phetchabun. I visited the park twice: first, in the rainy season, then on my birthday (in February). I would definitely recommend the winter visit, as the road to the main attraction, to the Tat Mok waterfall, is closed until October due to the dangers of heavy rains, and slippery roads and paths.
First time, I went up to the Lan Chom Dao peak campsite, from where you can enjoy full panorama. Next time, I hiked to the waterfall with 2 friends. From the park entrance, you have to ride 21 kms into the park, to the parking area. From there, a 7-km-hike awaits you with a relatively steep ending, when you finally get to the waterfall flowing from a 750m high cliff.
However, if you visit in the middle/end of the dry season, don’t expect high volume of water running down. It rather seemed a wet cliff wall when we were there, instead of bustling water. Apart from that, the surrounding is stunning, unspoilt, relaxing. It’s definitely a must-visit place in Phetchabun.
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Khao Kho wind farm, flower garden, Blue Sky Resort –> the “little Switzerland” of Thailand
Khao Kho is a 1143 m high mountain, popular holiday destination. Just like Phu Thap Boek, Thai people come here to enjoy the cooler weather along with astonishing scenery. Khao Kho has many attractions, from which I’ve already mentioned the temples (the 5 white Buddhas and the temple decorated with mosaic tiles) at the beginning in ‘Season 1’. To discover more of them, we jumped on our scooter on a Saturday morning, and rode through the mountain roads. Lakes, strawberry fields, forests…such a lovely ride.
If Khao Kho, then wind farm. It stands with the largest wind turbines in Thailand, 24 turbines with each turbine 110 meters tall, generating total of 60 MW power. The wind farm is at around 1,020 meters high, which altitude ensures the constant wind that these turbines need (even though Thailand is not windy at all). It’s not only an interesting spot for renewable energy fans, but also the view with these huge turbines with the mountains and the valley in the background is spot on.
Across the wind farm, there is a flower garden and a cafe at the edge of the mountain. Once you’re here, it’s worth spending a few bahts for entrance fee to access this area. Walking among the colourful flowers, sipping a coffee while enjoying the view of the valley is pretty relaxing. And you’ll also need energy for the ride that is still ahead of you. 🙂
In our Khao Kho scooter trip, we headed from the wind farm to Lom Sak through a Hmong village. Please, do a research on this ethnic group, and visit their village if you can. However, I’m inserting another typical Khao Kho attraction here. It’s the Blue Sky Resort, which is an European style, luxurious hotel, restaurant, cafe, garden (yes, a resort), but it’s not only for its guests. Basically, anybody from the street can enter this beautiful garden for 200 bahts… And believe it or not, people do come here, only to take photos of themselves with this fairytale garden in the background. I find it overrated to be honest, maybe because I’m from Europe, and it doesn’t seem that special for me? Anyway, I didn’t pay the fee, just had a glimpse from an upper terrace, and that was enough beauty for me. 🙂
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Lom Sak
Lom Sak is around 40 km from Phetchabun to the north. I wouldn’t really say it’s that special of a city, but its Saturday Night Market is massive. We went there twice, once on the way back from Dan Sai, and once on our way back from Khao Kho by scooter. It’s a long walking street and an island full of vendors. You can buy anything here, and you can also taste typical food of the region.
The market is mainly for local people, which means that prices are friendly, too; not a typical tourist-trap. I’ve been to some night markets in Thailand, but this one is still different in terms of its size and how they made the surroundings pleasant, too. On the island, for example, you can find most of the food stalls, and you can also sit down on “benches” of hay bales to enjoy your meal on the river bank while looking at the boats on the river. The atmosphere is relaxing, especially after the very lively walking street. It’s really worth a visit!
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Khlang Lam Gong Reservoir in Nong Phai
It’s quite a ride to get here from Phetchabun, but the nice view compensates for it. It’s a much bigger reservoir than Pa Daeng, and it also offers some outdoor activities, like rafting. Well, not the wild water rafting, just spending time on a wooden raft.
When we visited, it was an almost-rainy, greyish day, not a typical one for outing. Maybe that, or the season itself, but there weren’t other visitors. Only one group came later, who took one of the rafts to the middle of the water, and they just stayed there to enjoy their time among the mountains. I can easily imagine that this place gets lively when the weather is ideal. For us, this calmity was the ideal condition; it also had a certain charm.
So that was my list of recommendations for an unconventional Thailand trip. Phetchabun is probably one of the least-known provinces, in the middle of central-north-east-west, basically in the middle of nowhere. It’s not the easiest to get here, as there is no train, but only buses, and unlike in and around other Thai cities, you cannot get around by public transport. To discover the top spots, you need a car or a scooter at least.
Anyway, if you visit in the winter season, you can definitely break some stereotypes about Thailand. You can see where Thai people go on winter vacation, how they enjoy the “cold”, how they hike, how amazed they are by gardens and flowers, photos and Instagram 😀 I’m pretty sure that there’s much more to discover in and around Phetchabun, but my aim was to give a glimpse into the different seasons and a different type of scenery than it’s usually shown in pictures. I hope you enjoyed my unconventional seasonal to-do lists, as this is also Thailand! 🙂
A magyar verzióhoz kattints ide!