Sacred caves with a sleeping Buddha, a Khmer temple ruin and a ‘holy hill’ that’s selfie heaven a short train ride from Bangkok, in Phetchaburi
- Just 90km by train from the Thai capital, Phetchaburi’s ruined Khmer temple, once you find it, looks like one at Angkor in Cambodia but is much less crowded
- The city also has cave temples in the jungle with a sleeping Buddha, and a former royal retreat on a hill that’s a selfie magnet and offers great views
It’s an airless, languid day and the mugginess permeates the third-class train carriage. Passenger heads nod to the rhythm of the wheels, while the ceiling fans refuse to turn.
As the rice plains to the west of Bangkok give way to the houses of Ratchaburi, a sudden cloudburst spurs passengers to hastily close the carriage windows.
The rain doesn’t last long, and goes someway to breaking the oppressive heat. When I alight at Phetchaburi station, some 90km (56 miles) down the line from the Thai capital, I walk into town without an umbrella for shade.
The muddy banks of the Phetchaburi River run south to the old wooden fishermen’s homes and weathered shrines of Khlong Krachaeng. Across the river is a wet market, its alleyways decorated with murals and lined by Chinese shophouses, pairs of red lanterns dangling either side of doorways.
In a ramshackle building beside the Chom Klao Bridge is Rabieng Rimnum, which, according to The Rough Guide to Thailand, is “The town’s best restaurant, an airy, wooden house with riverside tables.” I find a seat.
