Other minor attractions

Bats, puppets and markets

What we say:

There's a bunch of other things rarely visited by forigners if you find you've got some time to kill around Ratchaburi.

About 10km past Khao Ngu is another limestone mountain called Khao Chongpran. Within its bowels is a cave called Phra Non, which comes alive from about 17:30 each evening as thousands upon thousands of bats wing out for the night's exploits. They pour out in a line that's a bit like that the pollution from a very unenvironmentally-friendly factory as the sun sets behind nearby hills. If you venture inside the cave, you'll find a 9m-long lying Buddha. You can get there by taking a yellow songtheaw from next to the night market, but you might have problems getting back into town after dusk if you don't arrange for a tuk-tuk or motorcycle taxi to pick you up.

Enjoy a royal Thai pastime of old at Nang Yai Wat Khanon. Nang Yai or large puppets are made from animal hides and plays using the instruments were performed exclusively for the royal family. This is the only place in Thailand where the tradition is preserved, and if you time your visit right you can see a performance of the puppets set to classical Thai music.

Another possible daytrip is to a miniature floating market just next to Wat Chanthakharm, south-west of Ratchaburi. A traditional Thai community lives along the river sans the boatloads of happy-snapping interlopers that often crowd Damnoen Saduak. To get there you have to arrange for a tuk-tuk or motorcycle taxi from Ratchaburi and even that might take some work - some sections of the road are quite bumpy.

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