Sangkhlaburi, Mon Bridge.

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Hey Susana, although you may not see it here clearly, but when you look at it in the raw image it shows it to be a painted wooden inlay, quite nicely done and gives a very nice effect.


Yes it is definitely a wonderful place to visit Susana, it was a very nice feeling to be on the bridge at this time of the morning, it was 9:15am on a Monday and only a few people on the bridge.

I’m a bit confused about its length, most reports put it at 400m but one travel report I read said it was 850m and also states that it is the second longest wooden bridge in the world…..next time I return I will take a tape measure just to settle it….but I would say that 400m is closer to the length

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Out on the main road and opposite the P guesthouse is this cafe, great coffee, toasted sandwiches and much better wifi than the guesthouse. The owner is a shutterbug (likes taking photos) and has some very interesting photos mounted around his cafe.


Dinner time and the evening cooking fires engulf the views. You can just make out Wat Wang Wiwekaram on the left of this photo.


Wat Wang Wiwekaram.

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Wat Wang Wiwekaram (Wat Mon) is about 2km walk across the Mon Bridge and pretty easy to find. Once across the bridge, walk straight up that road until you come to an T intersection, turn left, keep walking and stay on that road until you come to another T intersection, turn right will take you to the main Wat and left will take you to the big golden Pagoda ......easy!

There is a small market by the golden Pagoda selling mostly wooden crafts and opposite the market are a few food stalls.....yum yum

If you take a motor cycle taxi from the centre of town (50baht)they will take you across the main traffic bridge and that is about a 5 km trip but a very scenic ride.






This Sign.....

The Abbot Ven Uttama was the initiator in 2521 B.E. The Pagoda has been modeled from the Buddhagaya of India.

Construction costs were funded by the faithful followers by donations of cash, gold and materials for the construction.

About 400 Mon people, both male and female, devoted labour for land preparation and fabrication of 260,000 Mon bricks Which sized 4 inches in width, 8 inches in length and 3 inches in height.

The construction of the pagoda started in 2525 B.E.

The pogoda was built in reinforced concrete with a square basement 42 meters long each side and 59 meters high, 16 tons of iron posts were used for reinforcement in the 4 directions of the pagoda.

In 2532 B.E., His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn came on behalf of His Majesty the King for the enshrining ceremony of 2 relics of the Buddha’s right thumb-bone with the size of a rice grain, transparent white and shiny yellow, contained in the 3 layer boxes which originally were brought from Sri Langka by the abbot.

400 tickels of the golden umbrella were also lifted to the top of the pagoda.

(tickle is a unit of measurement for gold and silver)

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A few photos of the inside of the Golden Pagoda.








There is a lot of work going on here..................and a lot more to do..

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Another amazing thing I find about Thailand is the different types of flowers I see.


This one I came across in Nong Bua, 10 km north of the city of Kanchanaburi at Ban Sabai Sabai Guest house, I had never seen anything like it before.


I came across these little gems in the lower court yard while snooping around the Golden Pagoda.




They are simply amazing and the fragrance they give off fills the air and is just lovely.

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Returning earlier this month I noticed that the Boarder/Burmese markets had changed, unfortunately in February 2012 these markets by the Golden Pagoda caught fire, a lady in one of the shops told me that the fire started from and electrical fault and wasn’t deliberately lit.


Most items for sale were wooden as was the buildings structure and from the photos you can see it must have been a huge fire.


The new look Boarder/Burmese markets.

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The walk from the Golden Pagoda to the main Wat Wang Wiwekaram (Wat Mon) area is about 600m and well sign posted.






This is such a lovely place to visit. It was 9:30am when I took these photos, it was still overcast and just a perfect temperature to explore.

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I revisited Sangkhalburi earlier this month and was amazed at how far the water level had fallen.

14th November 2011.............................................. 14th May 2012.


14th November 2011.............................................. 14th May 2012.


14th November 2011.............................................. 14th May 2012.

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Between the two bridges is what seems to be a classy resort (just under the red arrow) thinking it would have great views I went to check it out.

To get there is pretty straight forward, cross over the main traffic bridge and continue about 300m up the hill, just when the road takes a sharp right turn, you will notice gardens and a car park on the left, this is where you want to go.

Except for one cleaner the place was completely empty and all the signs were all in Thai.

This wasn’t a resort but more of a convention/recreation center? I couldn’t find any information on the internet about this place.



Could someone (djaidee) please tell me what these signs say?

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It was quite over cast every morning in early May but with no less spectacular views, the Mon Bridge is on the right and the peaks of the mountains just visible through the low lying clouds.
This walkway goes right down to the water’s edge.


Looking back from the lower level…..Just remember, if you travel down these steps…you have to climb back up them…

I thought these two buildings in this photo could have been restaurants, as they were quite large but they were all locked up, had very dark tinting on the windows and quite a few air/con units on both, they seem like they are used for meetings but it looks like this project isn’t finished yet, so far the layout of the walkways and the gardens are very well designed and a credit to the people involved.



Either side of the very well-constructed steel walkway are these huts, I could just imagine Thai family and friends all sitting cross legged on blankets enjoying massive amounts of food in beautiful surroundings.

There is also toilets situated either side along the walkway.


Looking back up from one of the two observation decks.


Looking towards the main traffic bridge and the other observation deck.


And the view of the Mon Bridge.

This is well worth the effort (a very easy one) to visit here, the views are fantastic and would be a great place to bring some food and have a picnic.