Thailand
Central Thailand

Central Thailand consists of 21 provinces, most of which lie in a fertile region that produces much of the country's rice.

Ayutthaya, the former capital, is located 70 kilometres from Bangkok on the northern edge of the Central Plains and at its zenith in the 13th century, was acknowledged as one of the greatest cities in the world.

It was an industrious business centre for the Chinese and Japanese who came trading silk, tea and porcelain, for the Arabs and Indians who traded pepper, spices and scented woods and for the Siamese who traded tin, rice, camphor, betel nut and elephants for the rajahs of India. The city traded for 400 years, until it was destroyed in 1767 by invading Burmese.

Today it can be reached by bus, train or river from Bangkok in around an hour. Of principal interest are its many temples and the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, as well as the local handicrafts.

Phra Chedi Klang Nam is a pagoda on an islet in the Rayong River which has a festival with boat races and folk plays each November.

Nearby is the old summer palace of Bang Pa-In where the royal pavilions display a blend of Italian, Victorian, Chinese and Thai architecture. From there you can journey a further 20 kilometres to the Bangsai Royal Folk Arts and Crafts Centre which enjoys royal patronage from Her Majesty the Queen.
A day-trip to the west brings you to Katchanaburi province, 128 kilometres west of Bangkok and home of the infamous  Kwai River bridge. Late in November its history is recreated in a sound and light show during which visitors can hear explosions, the chatter of small arms and the sounds of picks and shovels on the 'death railway'. Even the bridge's partial destruction by Allied bombers is relived during the show. Nearby are two war cemeteries, Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in the shadow of the bridge and Chong Kai Cemetery on the other side of the river.
Equally evocative is the JEATH War Museum beneath the bridge which is in a reconstructed POW detention hut. JEATH is an acronym for Japan, England, Australia, Thailand and Holland. The rail line no longer goes to the Burmese border but ends at a rusty buffer in the jungle past little Nam Tok station, 60 kilometres from the bridge. However, the journey itself by rail is spectacular through open fields and dense jungle. Two significant sites are Hellfire Pass and the Three Pagodas Pass.

Kanchanaburi has two very special national parks, the Tham Than Lot National Park and the Erawan National Park. In either you can stay in floating hotels, canoe and raft along the Kwai River, ride on horseback or trek through the jungle to caves and waterfalls. Rafting is particularly popular, as is a lazy trip down-river to see the exotic flora and fauna.

In the southernmost part of the region is the popular beach resort town of Cha-Am which adjoins Hua Hin in the neighbouring province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, part of South Thailand.