Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [324]
Ban Huay Kon
Located 140km north of Nan, Ban Huay Kon is a very quiet village in the mountains near the Lao border. There’s a fun border market on Saturday mornings, but most will come here because of the town’s recent status as an international border crossing to Laos. A sign near the border boasts that it’s only 35km to the Lao town of Hongsa, 152km to Luang Prabang (90km by boat), 295km to the Chinese town of Mengla, and 406km to Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam.
To get to Ban Huay Kon, you’ll need to hop on a bus from Nan to Ngob (85B, 2½ hours, once every hour during the day). From there you’ll need to transfer to either the morning or afternoon srng·ta·ou that goes the 30km further uphill to Ban Huay Kon (50B, one hour, twice daily).
BORDER CROSSING (LAOS)
To cross at Ban Huay Kon you must have arranged a Lao visa ahead of time. If you have this, the Thai immigration booth (0 5469 3530; 8am-5pm), 3km from Ban Huay Kon, will allow you to cross over to the Lao immigration booth and on to the Lao village of Meuang Ngoen, where you can find sporadic transport to points abroad.
There’s basic bungalow-style accommodation between the village and the border. Ask in the village for details.
PHITSANULOK PROVINCE
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PHITSANULOK
pop 80,254
Phitsanulok sees relatively few independent travellers, but a fair amount of package tourists, perhaps because the city is a convenient base from which to explore the attractions of historical Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet. Due to large parts of the town being burned down by a massive fire in 1957, Phitsanulok’s architecture is pretty nondescript. Yet this vibrant and extremely friendly city boasts some interesting sites and museums, chief of which is Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, which contains one of Thailand’s most revered Buddha images. And those willing to forge their own path can also use the city as a base to visit the nearby national parks and wildlife sanctuaries of Thung Salaeng Luang ( Click here) and Phu Hin Rong Kla ( Click here), the former strategic headquarters of the Communist Party of Thailand (CPT).
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Information
Shops offering internet access dot the streets around the railway station, near Topland Plaza and on the western bank of the river near Saphan Ekathotsarot. Several banks in town offer foreign-exchange services and ATMs. There are also several ATMs inside the Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat compound.
CAT office (Th Phuttha Bucha; 7am-11pm) At the post office. Offers phone and internet services.
Krung Thai Bank (35 Th Naresuan; to 8pm) An after-hours exchange window.
Main post office (Th Phuttha Bucha; 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun)
TAT office (0 5525 2742/2743; tatphlok@tat.or.th; 209/7-8 Th Borom Trailokanat; 8.30am-4.30pm) Off Th Borom Trailokanat, with helpful staff who hand out free maps of the town and a walking-tour sheet. It also runs a sightseeing tram ( Click here). This is the official information office for Sukhothai and Phetchabun provinces as well. If you plan to do the trip from Phitsanulok to Lom Sak, ask for the ‘Green Route’ map of Hwy 12, which marks several national parks, waterfalls and resorts along the way.
Tourist police (1155; Th Ekathotsarot) Located 300m north of Topland Plaza.
Sights
WAT PHRA SI RATANA MAHATHAT
The full name of this temple is Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, but the locals call it Wat Phra Si or Wat Yai. The main wí·hhn appears small from the outside, but houses the Phra Phuttha Chinnarat, one of Thailand’s most revered and copied Buddha images. This famous bronze statue is probably second in importance only to the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok’s Wat Phra Kaew.
The story goes that construction of this wát was commissioned under the reign of King Li Thai in 1357. When it was completed, King Li Thai wanted it to contain three high-quality bronze images, so he sent for well-known sculptors from Si Satchanalai, Chiang Saen and Hariphunchai (Lamphun), as