• Home
  • News
  • Classifieds
  • Bangkok Hotels
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Affordable Webhosting

Home December 2009

Newsletter

Thailand Hotels

Thailand Hotels
Bangkok Hotels
Phuket Hotels
Pattaya Hotels
Chiang Mai Hotels
Hua Hin Hotels

Main Menu

  • Home
  • April 2009
  • August 2009
  • september 2009
  • October 2009
  • November 2009
  • December 2009
  • January 2010
  • Feb 2010
  • March 2010
  • April 2010
  • May 2010
  • June 2010
  • July 2010
  • August 2010
  • September 2010
  • October 2010
  • November 2010

Magazine Current Articles

post 36post 36
Read More >>
NETWORKING + LADIES NIGHT =THE BANGKOK TRADER MONTHLY LAUNCH PARTYNETWORKING + LADIES NIGHT =THE...
Tuesday, September 1, 2009, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm....
Read More >>
The Ad that Everybody’s Talking About!The Ad that Everybody’s Talking...
Read More >>

Magazine Featured Article

No Featured Article Available

Magazine Upcoming Articles

No Issue ID specified, please open module backend and specify the module ID
Wong Amat Condo Pattaya

Designed by:
SiteGround web hosting Joomla Templates
Escaping Bangkok - Koh Kret PDF Print E-mail
July
Written by Editor   
Sunday, 10 October 2010 11:44
Escaping Bangkok

Koh Kret: Not just for the dogs

by Dave Stamboulis
Sometimes a weekend trip away to relax by heading to Hua Hin, Koh Samet, Khao Yai, or even Pattaya (yet face it, nobody goes to Pattaya to relax) just takes too much effort. Crowds, traffic, and the need to spend an overnight – not exactly a respite from a busy work week. Yet while quite well-known to the Thai community, nearby Koh Kret gets little press in guidebooks, and even most expats haven’t made the easy journey out to a place where one can feel miles removed from the Big Mango.

Koh Kret is a small island in the middle of the Chao Phraya River, just north of Nonthaburi. Founded during the Thonburi era, it is the home of ethnic Mon people who were famous for their pottery, as well as traditional khanom or Thai desserts. There are no cars on Koh Kret, and weekend tourism aside, the islanders lead quiet lives, making ceramics and growing local produce and flowers, for which the isle is famed for.

It might seem to the visitor that there are more dogs than humans on Koh Kret, as every nook, cranny, stairwell, and table leg appears to have a canine hanging around. They tend to sum up the island’s 		languid pace… it’s not one that involves a whole lot of motion. Koh Kret is only 6 or 7 kilometers round, with a mostly single lane alleyway circling its perimeter. Locals try to weave their motorbikes through the small lanes, and bicycles are available for rent to visitors seeking to make a full tour.

Along the riverfront, there are a lot of old wooden homes, with residents sitting on the verandahs, fishing, chatting, or preparing food. There are several restaurants on the water, serving up a variety of sweets and different varieties of fried flowers, a specialty of Koh Kret. Wandering through some of the alleyways with whitewashed walls, I felt like I was out on a Greek island rather than somewhere in Southeast Asia, especially with all the lazy dogs hanging around.

There are several Mon style wats on Koh Kret – one with a giant reclining Buddha housed inside, and a stupa which leans over the Chao Phraya, as if it’s about to fall in. There are also several small pottery villages to visit, certainly out to sell some of their well-crafted and inexpensive wares, but also places where pottery is a way of life, regardless of visitors arriving or not.
Last Updated on Sunday, 23 January 2011 05:55
 
, Powered by Joomla! and designed by SiteGround web hosting

valid xhtml valid css