C’est dans un cadre un peu particulier que j’ai été amené à venir visiter cette jolie région méconnue de Singburi, située à environs 3h au nord de Bangkok.
En effet, collaborant régulièrement en tant qu’ambassadeur pour Withlocals, j’ai été assigné pour vérifier le profil de Rob, un expat Canadien (anglophone) et sa compagne Thailandaise, Pooh (oui, comme Winnie dans sa version originale).
Teaching English to Children
Basically, Rob and Pooh offer an accommodation solution, right in the countryside of Singburi, but they also allow you to get in touch with local schools, less than 1km from their house.
After an excellent meal préparé par sa compagne, on partait avec Rob en scooter afin de voir l’école. Le temps de voir les locaux, voir une classe à l’oeuvre et parler un peu avec la directrice, mais aussi profiter de la campagne environnante.
Il nous fera découvrir la vie le long de la petite rivière qui passe dans le coin et on s’arrêtera prendre un verre dans un restaurant posé là dans un cadre superbe au bord de l’eau.
A stay with them will normally cost you between US$5 and US$15 per day (approximately €4,5 to €14 per day at the current exchange rate), not including any excursions or extras you may choose. Please note that meals will be provided on the days you volunteer at the school.
I also invite you to see the unanimous comments (also in English) regarding their experience at Rob and Pooh on Tripadvisor.
Thanks again for their welcome! It was really great!
Temples and the Thai countryside
After the "formalities" related to my presence here, Rob willingly lent us his personal scooter to allow us to move around on our own, to see the rice fields that surround the small village where their house is located.
It was June and the rice fields, watered by the monsoon rains, were very green. This is the Thai countryside in all its splendor in that it is naturally welcoming, smiles are legion and honor the reputation of the "land of smiles" as it is cheerfully nicknamed.
We visited Wat Phra Non Chakkrasi Worawihan , a temple that rivals Wat Pho in Bangkok, and in addition to being a temple of royal class, it has inside a large reclining Buddha of 47.42 m , longer than the one in Wat Pho (45 m)!
We also took a look at the small temple of Wat Phra Prang , where ancient pottery kilns were recently unearthed.
The Legend of Bang Rajan
We ended this beautiful day far from the hustle and bustle of Bangkok by going to Bang Rajan Park (also spelled Bang Rachan).
Bang Rajan was once a peaceful village, which rose to national prosperity due to the history of these villagers.
Bang Rajan was a famous battlefield during the war between the Burmese and the Siamese between 1765 and 1767. 400 patriotic and daring villagers held off the Burmese army (comprising more than 100,000 men!) for 5 months before the village was finally razed with all its inhabitants killed, fighting to the end.
The armies of the Burmese King Mang Ra were repelled seven times by the village's fighters, who were vastly outnumbered and under-equipped.
The destruction of the village was inevitable, as they did not receive the possible reinforcements from Ayutthaya, the capital at the time, despite numerous requests to do so. It was a bad move for them, since just 2 years later, the Burmese arrived in the city and razed it (hence the ruins that result today).
Below is the monument at Bang Rajan Camp to commemorate this act. The sculpture depicts the 11 warlords as well as the main chief's mount, a simple buffalo.
It is a very popular act of heroism here in Thailand which, without a precise truth about the event, is, a priori, largely embellished. The story is also regularly brought to the screen on television or in films, the most recent blockbuster of which is soberly titled Bang Rajan (released in 2000)
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=257_aZK9RnI&w=640&h=385]
Bang Rajan Park also contains a beautiful sala (Thai pavilion) where you can relax. There is a museum with three exhibition rooms, a model of the village as it must have been and mini statues representing each of the heroes. There is also a small obstacle course and a playground.
