Chanthaburi travel guide

source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Chanthaburi_(province)

Chanthaburi, otherwise known as ‘Mueang Chan’, is a fertile province with various factors contributing to successful cultivation of fruits, especially durian, rambutan, mangosteen, and other economic crops such as pepper and para rubber tree. The province also serves as a hub of gemstone trading, with diversified tourist attractions to offer ranging from mountains, forests, waterfalls, beaches, places and objects of antiquity to soft adventure and ecotourism activities such as trekking, mountain biking, rafting, etc.

King Taksin the Great Shrine Located in front of Taksin Military Camp on Tha Luang Road. The shrine is a nonagonal building with a roof taking the shape of a royal hat with a pointed spire constructed in 1920 A.D. It houses a statue of King Taksin the Great to whom a large number of people come to pay respect each day. There is an annual merit-making and offering ceremony in commemoration of his heroic deeds on 28 December, the day of his accession to the throne.

Wat Phai Lom is located on the Tri Rat Road, about 500 metres from the K.P. Grand Hotel. Concerning the architecture, the building is surrounded by a boundary wall in four directions with an entrance on each side. Behind the temple, there is a corridor supported by five pillars without decorative capitals. The building’s base line is straight, and there is a pagoda with twelve-redented corners within the wall. There are also mural paintings of bonsais and Chinese-style flowers, the story of the Lord Buddha’s ten incarnations, and his biography. It is assumed that the paintings might have been drawn after the reign of King Rama III, as the pictures contain many foreigners.