Out of Norm Travels: 2012 - Suan Phueng (New Zealand of Thailand), Ratchaburi

-
Just a mere 2 hours drive from Bangkok is another gem called "Suan Phueng" aka New Zealand of Thailand. Suan Phueng is at the bordering district of Ratchaburi and popular amongst the Thais. It boasts a healthy dose of fresh air and vast green fields. As we had some big and small children (including some "young at hearts"), this was just about the best place to be. We spent up to the most part of a day at "NewLand", an amusement park area. For an inexpensive 400baht/S$16, the kids had a wild time trying out Archery and Cross Bow; took out the ATV for a spin and did some sheep feeding after a cute choo-choo Train ride round the little area.  

The entire Suan Pheung is peppered with Mediterranean-themed resorts which are destinations in themselves, some complete with horse ranches, sheep farms, trickling streams and European gardens. We had a quaint stay at one of the local stays & woke up to beautiful sunrise & basked in the glorious evening sunset. Evening is spent very much like how it should be done in a rustic countryside i.e. listening to the sounds of crickets whilst enjoying a cuppa with a loved one. 

While we were there, we checked out the "Khao Chan Waterfall", which was another local favorite. Over there,  we enjoyed the best nature has to offer in terms of clean fresh waters. We went there empty handed knowing full well that we could easily purchase our picnic fare at a local market located just outside the waterfalls (for simple fares like Thai salads, skewered chicken, BBQ meats, ice cubes and water) - well, we did ask them nicely enough,  so the stall holders even provided us with a lovely picnic mat (that we returned after our little excursion)! 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!
Location: Ratchaburi, Thailand

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Out of Norm Travels -Beijing China - Walk up to Great Wall of China (JinShanLing section) on 21 May 2012

-
Image
This is a tick of my "to-do" list - Climb the Great Wall of China. There was never a doubt in my mind that I will do this climb & I was fortunate enough to do it again before I turn half century old.  Unlike my recollection of my first trip up along the Great Wall where I had little time to explore the Great Wall, this trip was arranged specially to ensure that I got to travel from one end of the Wall to another. As a result, I got to spend a significant time taking photos of the journey up along the Wall (without the thousands of best friends that would get their head into the picture). I specifically avoided the more popular Badaling section is where hordes of tourists are ferried when it comes to climbing the Great Wall.  This time the climb was carried out at the JingShanLing section of the Wall - where the old section of the Wall is still standing. This meant that in most areas my group of 3 was very much walking up along the Wall on our own with not many other t
Read more

Out of Norm Travels - 2020 Yoga Retreat in Nepal

-
Image
UPDATE: I did a video collation of the various timelapse taken during my Nepal trip:  MagTY Video_We will Rise Again Prayer Flags of Nepal  For many, travelling is a sort of ala "Amazing Race" with the maximization of the limited time in a particular location by going from point A to point B. Well, for the first time in my life, I gave myself the luxury of time by signing up for a 4 days yoga retreat in Nepal in early March 2020. Mind you, I am neither flexible nor a yoga fanatic so I was definitely doing something that scared me.   What is Yoga?  For those unaware, Yoga is an ancient philosophy and practice of health and well being. The practice emphasizes the quality of health and life with diet, physical acts, posture, breath, mental, rest and meditation, In the modern world, it has somewhat gained momentum with emphasis on the physical aspects.  Yoga retreat Booking I booked my retreat  via  bookyogaretreats.com   at Himalayan Yoga Academy , which
Read more

Out of Norm Travels - Iceland The Land of Contrasts

-
Image
As I wrote this, I had already finished my last bits of  Skyr, Iceland's famous low fat yogurt  and with that last bit, all my lovely memories from a land I had visited in early February 2016 started flooding back.  This land is located some 12,680 km/7,878 miles away from home and took me some 16+ hours over 2 airlines before I finally landed on  Keflavik   International Airport ,  Iceland's international airport located in   Reykjavik, which is also Iceland’s capital. Reaching Iceland has been nothing short of a dream with my travel into extreme cold where "normal" means 0 degrees or less. For me, Iceland is a country of contrasts where Fire meets Ice, Water claps hands with the Earth, Skies says hello to the Earth and the Land where Giants, Trolls and Elves used to roam.  Our travels across this vast land first brought us towards  Kirkjufell  (West Iceland) on the north side of the  Snæfellsnes Peninsula   where we encountered the mighty  Kirkjufell Mo
Read more