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Thomas Bird

The gem dealers’ quarter in the Thai town of Chanthaburi is a warren of jewellers, stonecutters, wholesalers and retailers.
Midweek visitors to the area – south of the old centre, around Trok Kachang and Thanon Sri Chan, the latter signposted as “Siam Gem Street” in English – browse gems piled in porcelain bowls like confectionery in a sweet shop.
Jewellers examine stones through magnifying loupes while pretty, if bored-looking, shop assistants try to court business with promises of discounted wedding rings. “Thirty per cent off, ka!”
“You should have come on the weekend,” a gem-cutter tells me, his eyeglass fixed in place like an appendage. “It’s much busier then.”

Chanthaburi, about 250km (155 miles) to the southeast of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border, is gaining a reputation as a weekend retreat from the capital, but I am happy to be visiting while only a few tourists stalk the sites.
Chanthaburi is an ideal size for those who like to get acquainted with a place on foot – after a coffee.
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Koff House is an airy cafe in front of which, on a bank of the Chanthaburi river, old mining tools are arranged as though they are in a sculpture exhibition. It is a reminder that for 500 years, the sapphires and rubies that streaked east Thailand’s hills and mountains drew fortune hunters from China, Myanmar, Cambodia and Vietnam – the seeds of a population that is unusually cosmopolitan for a provincial Thai town.
One thread of Chanthaburi’s ethnic tapestry can be unpicked upstream, along the river’s promenade, where Chinese temples stand on either side of the water. They were established by merchants from China and are maintained by their descendants.
A man fixing some overhead lanterns at the Sa Bap Shrine says I may enter, so I kick off my shoes and step in to pay my respects to dusty Taoist effigies framed by elephant tusks, the Chinese character shen (“god”) dominating the rear wall.

The city’s showcase religious building is not of Chinese design, though, but Catholic European by way of Vietnam. The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is situated upriver, near a bustling wet market.
A tourist plaque explains that this imposing Gothic structure – the largest in Thailand – was established by Vietnamese converts fleeing persecution, who arrived in Chanthaburi in the 1700s.
Although this incarnation of the cathedral dates back only 100 years or so, it stands as testament to a tradition of openness that runs as deep as the mineshafts through the surrounding hills.

On the opposite side of the river and further upstream is the Chantaboon riverfront, a strip of traditional wooden shophouses now home to snack stalls and fruit vendors selling Chanthaburi mangosteen, longan, rambutan and durian – the big four, as they are known – as well as fancy restaurants and boutique hotels.
At dusk, chirping birds congregate on overhead power lines to serenade a tropical sunset before the stars appear over the golden rooftop of Wat Bot Muang. I take a seat on the terrace of a restaurant called Taste, which looks across at the Chantaboon riverfront.
Taste serves Italian fare, and offers another expression of Chanthaburi’s cosmopolitan character.

“I’m half Chinese Hakka and a Catholic,” says the owner. “I studied in Italy but wanted to come back; I’m proud of my hometown. There was no good Western food and people who come from Bangkok expect quality, so we decided to open a restaurant.”
As I devour a bowl of spaghetti, he lists some of the local highlights. “The province has several dedicated national parks occupying the hills where the gem mines used to be,” he explains, before opening a smartphone map app to show me the route to nearby Namtok Phlio National Park.
I rise the next morning, while Chanthaburi slumbers, and set off on a rented scooter.

For several kilometres southwards, the road flanks the mangrove-lined Chanthaburi, which is a reminder of what rivers are supposed to look like, without concrete banks to direct the flow. Birds and boatmen on the water contribute to a scene worthy of an old Siamese watercolour.
Veering east across Highway 3, I chance upon the spectacular Wat Mangkon Buppharam, which is said to be the brother temple of Bangkok Chinatown’s Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. Both are called Longhua Si in Chinese.
Yet with the Sa Bap mountain range as a backdrop, the temple complex here looks more like the set of a Hong Kong historical drama than a busy place of worship.
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The entrance to the Namtok Phlio National Park is just beyond. Having parked outside the ticket kiosk, I pay 200 baht (US$6) to enter the 130 square kilometres (50 square miles) or so of protected forest.
A path along a mountain stream passes signs warning of wild boar, Asian mongoose and black bears; a pyramid-like stupa – a Buddhist shrine – built by King Rama V in memory of Queen Sunanda Kumariratana, who drowned in the Chao Phraya river in 1880; and a moss-coated chedi – a Thai Buddhist monument – dating back to 1876.
Thais are bathing in the pool below the epic waterfall that shares the park’s name.

I peel off my sweat-soaked shirt and leap into the cool mountain water. Fish are easy to spot in the clear water and they are not shy of the people intruding on their habitat, nipping dead skin from toes.
I had not imagined my journey would culminate in being nibbled by black carp in the jungle, but that is the beauty of wandering, when detours and chance encounters lead to the gems travellers prospect for.


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Asia travel

This rising Thailand holiday location is fast gaining a reputation as a great weekend break from Bangkok

The waterfall in Namtok Phlio National Park, Thailand, 2022&#xA;&#xA;CREDIT: THOMAS BIRD

Chanthaburi at night. The town in Thailand’s southeast is fast gaining a reputation as a short holiday spot for people looking to escape Bangkok for a weekend. Photo: Thomas Bird

Gems piled in porcelain bowls in Chanthaburi’s gem dealers’ quarter. Photo: Thomas Bird

A man fixes lanterns outside the Sa Bap Shrine. Photo: Thomas Bird

Chanthaburi’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is the largest Catholic church in Thailand. Photo: Thomas Bird

A boatman on the Chanthaburi river. Photo: Thomas Bird

Wat Mangkon Buppharam is said to be the brother temple of Bangkok Chinatown’s Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. Photo: Thomas Bird

The waterfall in Namtok Phlio National Park. Photo: Thomas Bird

Pummelled Indonesian resort island between Bali and Lombok has more misery piled on its tourism industry

The rubbish-strewn pool of an abandoned resort on the Indonesian island of Gili Air after a tropical cyclone swept through on Christmas Day 2022. Photo: Dave Smith

Gili Air lies between Lombok and Bali. Photo: James Waller

Rubbish covers the beach on Gili Air. Photo: Dave Smith

Gili Air’s broken ring road. Photo: Dave Smith

Plastic and construction waste dot Gili Air’s entire coastline. Photo: Dave Smith

After 150 years of rail travel it’s still at the heart of Japanese culture – and worth the trip to Japan to see

A super express bullet train waits to depart for Tokyo from Ichonoseki, Japan. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

An American-made steam engine from 1880 that was imported for service in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Train travel is still a big part of Japanese culture 150 years after it began. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A bullet train waiting to depart for Tokyo from Ichonoseki Station in northern Japan. Bullet trains whisk passengers around the country at speeds as high as 320km per hour. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Many of Japan’s rural rail lines tunnel through mountains to connect otherwise isolated communities with major routes. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Tokyo Station, circa 1920. The terminal was designed by architect Tatsuno Kingo and inspired by European rail hubs. Photo: Getty Images

Tokyo Station’s red-brick frontage was restored in 2012 as part of a major renovation project. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Locomotive No. 1 went into service in 1872 hauling Japan’s first passenger trains between Tokyo and Yokohama. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A high-speed “Toki” train from decades past on display at JR East’s Railway Museum in Saitama. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A mannequin depicting a train attendant aboard one of the display trains at JR East’s Railway Museum. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Simulators for everything from steam engines to super expresses can be found at the Railway Museum, and also at some JR East hotels in Tokyo. Photo: JR-East

A schoolboy alights from a train on the single-track Sanriku Line at Yoshihama Station in Iwate prefecture, in northern Japan. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A woodblock print by Japanese artist Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) depicting a train with boats in the background. Photo: Getty Images

Inside the dying art of Chinese signboard making: meet the 2 men keeping the traditional craft alive in Singapore

Cheh Kai Hon is one of Singapore’s last signboard makers. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Traditional signboards are common in Singapore’s Chinatown. The dying art of Chinese signboard making is being kept alive in the city state by two men. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Calligraphy brushes – tools of the Chinese signboard maker’s trade. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

(From left) Teo Lee Lang, Cheh Kai Hon, Han Kin Kwang and Yong Cheong Thye hold Chinese signboards in their Chinatown studio. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Yong says his business continues a tradition that began soon after Singapore was colonised by the British, in 1819. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

An attractive Chinese signboard in Emerald Hill alongside Orchard Road in Singapore. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Thong Teck Sian Tong Lian Sin Sia temple in Singapore. Chinese signboards feature calligraphy carved into camphor or teak wood. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Chinese signboards decorate Buddha Tooth Relic temple in Singapore. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Yong Gallery experiments with signboard styles if requested by clients, as seen in this design that incorporates an abacus. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

A huge signboard at the Chinatown Complex market in Singapore. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

A vibrant signboard made by Yong Gallery. Photo: Ronan O’Connell

Trouble in paradise: at Bali surf spot Medewi the good old days are gone, as tourists who ‘forget what surfing is all about’ crowd out locals

Mike Holzrichter, the former manager of a homestay in Medewi, surfs off the village in Bali. Photo: Mike Holzrichter

Dropping in, or stealing someone else’s wave, is among the worst breaches of surfing etiquette there is, and in the breaks off Medewi, Bali, it has become more common with the growth in foreign tourists surfing there. Here, a woman surfer drops in on another surfer riding a wave. Photo: Instagram/@onedayasurfer

Mike Holzrichter has seen the surfing off Medewi change as it has become more popular. Photo: Mike Holzrichter

Mike Holzrichter rides a wave off Medewi’s beach. Photo: Mike Holzrichter

A bar on Medewi Beach. Photo: Ian Neubauer

A young local surfer walking along the beach at Medewi. Photo: Ian Neubauer

The beach at Medewi, a draw for surfers on Bali’s west coast. Photo: Getty Images

In Colditz country: the castles of Saxony, eastern Germany are historic, spectacular and remarkably free of visitors

Schloss Colditz is famous as the most secure prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers in the second world war, but its recorded history goes back to 1036. It is one of many historic castles in Saxony, eastern Germany. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Barockschloss Delitzsch, near Leipzig, is an elegant, moated town house with a medieval tower, once home to the widows of Saxon rulers. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

The vast Schloss Hartenfels, with its spiralling external staircase, was once home to the Electors of Saxony. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

The staircase at Schloss Hartenfels. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

The magnificent Burg Kriebstein. A more delicate 17th century castle is built on its martial 14th-century base that soars above the River Zschopau. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Schloss Colditz is famous across the English-speaking world as the most secure prisoner-of-war camp for Allied officers, who nevertheless riddled it with escape tunnels such as this one. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A loft in Schloss Colditz with a replica of an escape glider built secretly by Allied inmates. They were liberated by American forces before the original could be assembled and flown from a roof ridge. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

The halls of the luxurious and highly decorated Schloss Albrechtsburg in Saxony, the oldest castle in Germany, are filled with murals of the deeds of the state’s historic rulers. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Schloss Pillnitz was the summer pleasure palace of ruler of Saxony Augustus the Strong. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

A painted panorama imported from Canton in the late 18th century is a surprise at Schloss Pillnitz, once the summer palace of the rulers of Saxony. Photo: Peter Neville-Hadley

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

Chanthaburi, about 250km to the southeast of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border, is an ideal short holiday location for those looking to escape the capital
It’s an ideal size for those who like to get acquainted with a place on foot, but also offers some real gems for those prepared to wander further


Chanthaburi, about 250km to the southeast of Bangkok, is an ideal short holiday location for those looking to escape the capital, offering plenty to those who like to discover a place on foot.


Thailand