Unconventional distractions off the beaten track in Phetchaburi
YVONNE BOHWONGPRASERT
Cha-am and other seaside destinations in Phetchaburi have received ample coverage, so recently we decided to venture inland to the district of Ban Lat and check out a large farming community called Thamrong.
While most of the 3,600 people who live in the village and its hinterland work in the agricultural sector, a major effort is being made by Bunpot Kumlaikaew, president of the local TAO (Tambon Administration Organisation), to boost tourism by offering free guided tours of the neighbourhood.
"We have mango, roseapple, sugar-palm, banana and star-fruit orchards in the area and we also grow a wide range of vegetables. We believe in sustainable methods of farming around here so there's always some fruit in season whenever tourists come to visit," said Bunpot, a bespectacled man in his early fifties.
 |
| Thamrong TAO chief Bunpot Kumlaikaew takes visitors on a tour of Luang Por Dam Cave, which houses a `centuries-old' Buddha image. |
 |
| Vanda, Oncidium and Cattleya were among the beauties spotted at Thamrong Orchid Farm. |
"Our handicrafts have been making a name for themselves at OTOP [One Tambon One Product] events around the province and there's a number of interesting places to visit in the locality."
Right in the heart of the village is an imposing hill on which grows an equally impressive tree, an enormous and obviously very old ton takhian (Hopea odorata), a species in the Dipterocarpaceae family. Within this hill is a limestone cave and this is where we began our tour. For within this cave is enshrined something much treasured by the locals - a venerable, old, larger-than-life representation of the Buddha called Luang Por Dam.
The opening to the cave is protected by an iron grille and as we approached a gate in the centre of this metal latticework I was much taken by the gnarled beauty of a sort of natural tapestry - a riot of exposed tree roots growing down the hill to frame the entrance.
A few metres inside the refreshingly cool interior the majestic Buddha towered over us in the gloom. A huge statue, maybe nine metres tall and over a metre in width, it has a most peaceful expression on its countenance. Bunpot claims it was created some time during the Dvaravati period (6th to 9th centuries AD). And while it certainly has the appearance of something crafted by artisans from that ancient civilisation, the fact that it is made from a mixture of white cement, pulverised seashells and iron immediately made me doubt its antiquity. I wasn't able to ascertain whether archaeologists have yet come up with a definitive date for it.
According to Bunpot, when the statue was first discovered (all records of its existence must have been lost at some stage), one end of a "chain" fashioned from what he described as "cement" was fastened around its left ankle, the other attached to the wall of the cave. This odd feature, he said, was attributed to a superstition that an evil spirit had entered the image. The chain, presumably meant to prevent the "spirit" from leaving the cave, has since been removed and these days a constant flow of pilgrims come to pray for good health and prosperity at the feet of the Buddha.
 |
 |
| A pan of evaporated sugar-palm sap is given a final stir before being poured into moulds. |
Roseapple, one of the fruits grown by the villagers on a sustainable basis. |
 |
 |
| Pote Namuang with some of the toys he carves from sugar-palm seeds. |
This tram-like vehicle is used to take tourists on sightseeing trips around the village. |
"In the past, religious activities were conducted in caves because people felt that these were the safest places to be," Bunpot volunteered. "And wherever there's a Buddha image villagers will always come to pay homage to it.
Water-buffalo races, a traditional sport in this part of the South, are held in the vicinity of Thamrong between November and April but since we'd arrived too late in the year to witness that particular spectacle Bunpot suggested we check out something else for which Phetchaburi is famous: the cultivation of sugar palms. Giving us directions, he invited us to drop by Loong (Uncle) Thanom's sugar-palm orchard bright and early the next day to see how an aromatic brown sugar called nam taan beep is made from the sap of this tree.
We duly turned up at the plantation around 5am and watched as a nimble young farmhand climbed to the top of a tall sugar palm to remove a bamboo cylinder into which the sap had been oozing over the previous 12 hours. He fastened a lid to his prize, cut the tip from an adjacent flowering branch of the tree, secured an empty bamboo tube under that and then carefully made his descent.
To stop the sap from spoiling, Loong Thanom said tiny pieces of wood from the payom (Shorea roxburghii) tree are put into the bamboo tubes to preserve the liquid's taste and fragrance.
All the sap gathered that morning was filtered through thin squares of cotton to remove any detritus, then poured into two large pans and left to evaporate over a low heat on a wooden-burning stove. It's a painstaking process that takes about three hours; as the sap simmers it has to be constantly agitated with long wooden spoons. After the pans are removed from the stove, the workers continue to stir the now-viscous liquid to speed up the cooling process. Finally the concoction is poured into round, wooden moulds and left to set. We were offered a spoonful - it was still lukewarm! - and so deliciously fragrant was it that we all went back for second helpings!
Sticking with the sugar-palm theme, Bunpot then brought us to the home of another old villager. Clearly a talented craftsman, Loong Pote Namuang has been earning a living for the past five years or so by carving miniature animals from the large seeds of the sugar palm. He sells the finished work at OTOP outlets around the province.
"I love doing tortoises - they're my favourite - but I can do birds and insects and any of the wild animals that are found in the forest. I've lived all of my life close to nature so I love this kind of work," explained the softly spoken 72-year-old. "I'm happy to share what I know with anyone who comes to visit."
While village tours are offered free of charge, visitors are welcome to make a donation to support the upkeep of the cave, which also houses a collection of smaller Buddha statues. Home-stay accommodation is available for teachers and students. Phone the TAO office on 032-491-467, 032-586-443 or 032-440-570 for more information.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Next
