Rural retreat is closer than you think | Bangkok Post: travel

TRAVELSCRAPBOOK

Huge rice paddies span to the horizon without any skyscrapers to interrupt the scenery. A farmer drives his tractor across a muddy field, followed by hundreds of white egrets looking for prey in the upturned soil. A housewife cuts fresh vegetables grown in her backyard for breakfast. Muslim kids run along the side of a clean canal while an angler waits patiently for his catch.

This is Nong Chok, which despite being the biggest district in the city may look quite different from your typical perception of Bangkok. Located to the east, Nong Chok occupies about one-sixth of the area of Bangkok, but is home to only 1% of the city's population. And most of the residents of Nong Chok are Muslims whose ancestors migrated from the south more than a century ago.