A travel guide to Phitsanulok Thailand

A pleasant, provincial river town, Phitsanulok is also a convenient base for exploring the lower north. As the proud home of Phra Buddha Chinnarat, one of Thailand’s most revered Buddha images, Phitsanulok draws large crowds of Thai pilgrims. The town’s characteristic houseboats, moored along the Nan river, add to the local color. Phitsanulok also has an excellent night bazaar, folk museum, and Buddha casting foundry. Little may remain of its one-time military importance as the capital of Thailand during the Ayutthaya period and as the headquarters of the Third Army during Communist uprisings in the nearby Nan hills, but Phitsanulok has plenty to keep visitors occupied.

Transportation

• Flights: Phitsanulok Domestic Airport - Nok Air Airlines from Don Muang
• Trains: Phitsanulok Train Station (☎055 258 005), on Akatossaroth Rd, next to the southern traffic circle. To Bangkok (Hua Lamphong Station; 6-8hr., 10 per day 3:51am-12:05am, 69-404฿), Ayutthaya (4-6hr., 4 per day, 54-258฿), and Chiang Mai (6-8hr., 5 per day 4:20am-1:34am, 52-269฿).
• Buses: Bo Ko So Bus Station (☎055 302 716), on Phitsanulok-Lomsak Rd., east of town. Take a motorcycle taxi (60฿) or catch city bus #1, which shuttles between the train and bus stations. Schedules and prices change frequently; get an up-to-date schedule at the TAT. To: Bangkok (Northern Bus Station; 5-6hr.; 29 per day; 1st or 2nd cl. 238-299฿, VIP 406-650฿); Chiang Mai (6-7hr., 16 per day, 232-275฿); Chiang Rai (6-7hr., 24 per day, 275-346฿); Khon Kaen (6hr., 15 per day, 223฿); Mae Sot (5hr., 9 A/C vans per day 7am-4pm, 160฿); Nakhon Ratchasima (6-7hr., 10 per day, 270-393฿); Phrae (4hr., 14 per day, 66-119฿); Sukhothai (1hr., 17 per day 7am-6:15pm, 43-82฿); Udon Thani (7hr., 9 per day, 240-291฿) via Loei (4hr., 153฿). Multiple routes for major destinations. Duration of routes can vary significantly.
• Local Transportation: City Bus Station, on Akatossaroth Rd., 1 block from the train station. 13 bus lines run daily 5am-9pm. Full schedule available at tourist office. Bus #1 to Bo Ko So Bus Station, Wat Yai, and Naresuan University. Bus #4 to airport. Regular buses 8-11฿, with A/C 11-14฿. Tourist office runs a tour tram to more than a dozen of Phitsanulok’s major sights (6hr., daily 9am, 30฿); starts and ends at Wat Yai.
• Car Rental: Avis, at Phitsanulok Youth Hostel .

Orientation And Practical Information

Phitsanulok lies along the east bank of the Nan River, 377km north of Bangkok. Puttaboocha Road runs alongside of the river and hosts an extensive night bazaar on its southern end. One block east is Baromtrilokanart Road, which encompasses the financial district. The main thoroughfare, Akatossaroth Road, lies two blocks east of the river and runs parallel to the railroad tracks. Naresuan Road leads west from the Phitsanulok Train Station on Akatossaroth Rd., cutting through the busiest part of town, as well as across Baromtrilokanart and Puttaboocha Rd., before crossing the river. The famous Phra Buddha Chinnarat is at Wat Yai at the northern end of Puttaboocha Rd. The Bo Ko So Bus Station is 2km east of the wat on the other side of the train tracks.

• Tourist Offices: TAT (}/fax 055 252 742), on Srithammatripidok Rd. Near Able Tours and Travel. Helpful English-speaking staff. Info, maps, and timetables for buses and train. Free Internet for tourists. Open daily 8:30am-4:30pm. The Municipal Tourist Office (☎055 252 148), beside the river on Puttaboocha Rd, is located in a beautiful teak house that is worth seeing even if you don’t intend to visit the office. Friendly staff but resources are not as comprehensive as at the TAT. Open M-F 8:30am-4:30pm.
• Tours: Able Tours and Travel, 55/45 Srithammatripidok Rd. (☎055 243 851). Books regional tours along with domestic and international flights. Open M-F 8am-6pm, Sa 8am-4pm. MC/V.
• Currency Exchange: Thai Farmers Bank, 144/1 Baromtrilokanart Rd. (☎055 241 497), at the clock tower. 24hr. ATM. Cirrus/MC/Plus/V. Open M-F 8:30am-3:30pm. There are also several banks on Naresuan Rd.
• Luggage Storage: At the train station. 10฿ per item per day. Open daily 7am-11pm.
• Massage: The floating Thai Massage raft (☎055 243 389), down the stairs just south of the Naresuan Rd. bridge, offers well-priced massages on a spotlessly clean raft that bobs gently with the river. Massages 120฿ per hr., with A/C 150฿ per hr. Open daily 9:15am-9pm.
• Shopping: Night bazaar, on Puttaboocha Rd., 2 blocks south of the Naresuan Rd. bridge. Large, well-organized, and touristy. Topland Plaza, at the rotary on the northern end of Akatossaroth Rd. Multi-level department store sells almost everything. Top-floor arcade. At the very least, a fun introduction to Thai consumer culture. Open M-F 9:30am-9pm, Sa-Su 10am-9pm.
• Tourist Police: 31/15 Akatossaroth Rd. (☎055 245 357), 200m past back entrance to Wat Yai. Little English spoken. Open 24hr.
• Medical Services: Buddha Chinnarat Hospital (☎055 219 844), on the southern extension of Akatossaroth Rd. The official street address is on Srithammatripidok Rd. 24hr. emergency room and pharmacy. 2 other hospitals, Ruamphaet and Phitsanuvej, both west on Srithammatripidok Rd., are nearby.
• Telephones: Phitsanulok Telecommunications Center (☎055 243 116), on Puttaboocha Rd. near the Post Office. International phone and fax services. Open daily 7am-10pm. AmEx/MC/V.
• Internet Access: The TAT offers free Internet access for tourists. For a faster connection, try any of the stores filled with teenagers playing computer games. Rates average 15฿ per hr. Internet and Games (☎055 258 207), across from the night bazaar on Puttaboocha Rd., is especially close to the guesthouses. (Open daily 9am-11pm. 15฿ per hr.)
• Post Office: GPO (☎055 258 313), on Puttaboocha Rd., 500m north of Naresuan Rd. Poste Restante. Open M-F 8:30am-4:30pm, Sa-Su 9am-noon. Postal Code: 65000.

Accommodations

• Bon Bon Guest House, 77 Payalithai Rd. (☎055 219 058), beside the Lithai building, at the back of an alley. Little touches—doilies on the TV, floormats for the bathroom, paintings on the wall—make the large rooms feel like home. Cable TV, hot water, and private balconies. Rooms with fan 350฿, with A/C 450฿.
• Lithai, 73/1-5 Payalithai Rd. (☎055 219 626). Walk south from the train station and take the 2nd road to the right, and you’ll see the sign 50m down on the left. High-quality hotel rooms surround a quiet, vine-draped inner courtyard. Some rooms have TV, hot water, and fridge. Full breakfast included at adjacent Steak Cottage with rooms 350฿ and up. Singles with fan and private bath 220฿, with A/C 350฿; doubles with A/C, private bath and hot water 460฿.
• Phitsanulok Youth Hostel (HI) , 38 Sanambin Rd. (☎086 679 9425; www.tyha.org). Take bus #4 toward the airport. If walking, go about 2.5km south from the train station, cross the train tracks, turn right on Sanambin Rd., and look for the hostel signs on the left. As soon as you step off the main road, you’ll feel like you’re on a jungle safari. Brick paths overgrown with tree roots lead through overhanging vegetation to a converted old house. Those seeking a place with character won’t be disappointed. Breakfast included. Dorms 120฿; singles with bath 200฿; doubles 300฿.
• London Hotel, 21-22 Soi 1 (☎055 225 145), off Puttaboocha Rd. From the train station, walk west on Naresuan Rd., and turn left on Baromtrilokanart Rd. You’ll see the English sign as you pass Sairuthai Rd. Quirky decor for cheap. A stuffed elephant head watches over the main staircase, which leads up to a wood-shingled hallway with numerous rooms and 2 shared baths. Internet 20฿ per hr. Singles with fan and no window 100฿, doubles with window 150฿.

Food

Phitsanulok is a great place to eat. For lunch, locals head to the delicious, inexpensive restaurants in the city center, or sit at the umbrella-shaded terraces along the river and eat from the ubiquitous food stalls near Wat Yai. After dark, the night market on Puttaboocha Rd. becomes a popular destination for dinner and drinks.

• Karaket Thai Food (☎055 258 193), on Payalithai Rd., across from the Lithai Building. One of several good Thai restaurants on this block. Although it is usually packed with a local crowd, Karaket eases the language barrier by setting out its pots of curries for customers to peer into before making their choices. Fresh and flavorful curries served with water, herbs, and cucumber slices. Curry with rice 20฿. Open daily 2-8pm.
• Song Kwae Noodle Shop (☎055 208 501), at the northern end of Puttaboocha Rd., past Wat Yai; non-English sign has an image of people sitting in a noodle bowl. A predominantly university-age crowd frequents this popular noodle shop, slurping down rice noodles as their feet hang over the edge of the relaxed roadside terrace. Pork, beef, or chicken noodle soup 25-60฿. Open daily 10am-4pm.
• Vegetarian Food Shop, 55/4 Srithammatripidok Rd. (☎055 246 416), beside the corner facing the hospital. A tiny underground outpost of vegetarian fare, with a small seating area along the side wall. Delicious, freshly squeezed orange juice 10฿. Veggie dish of the day with brown or white rice 15฿, 2 choices 20฿. Also sells rice and vegetarian food supplies. Open daily 6am-3pm.
• Steak Cottage (☎055 219 6269), in the Lithai Hotel . Shares a kitchen with It’s a Cake, which is usually open later in the day and focuses on delicious baked goods and coffee. This is the place to get your fix of Western food, including Western breakfast (70-90฿). Steak Cottage doesn’t cater to vegetarians—the highlight here is the extensive steak list (80-150฿). Open daily 7am-2pm and 5-9pm.

Sights

Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat (Wat Yai). This huge wat shelters Phitsanulok’s jewel. Cast in 1357, the spectacular Phra Buddha Chinnarat (“Victorious King”) is one of the world’s most commonly reproduced Buddha images and one of Thai Buddhism’s leading pilgrimage destinations. Wat Yai is also one of Thailand’s most prominent wats in terms of the total donations that it receives each year. The Sukhothai-style image glimmers with a distinctive halo of flames that frames its head and torso. The architecture of the sanctuary itself is similarly striking, punctuated by mother-of-pearl inlay doors that Ayutthayan King Boromokat commissioned in 1756. A bustling marketplace complete with snacks, souvenir stands, and an ATM to get cash for merit donations surrounds the wat. The left wing of the wat (if you’re facing Phra Buddha Chinnarat) has been turned into a small museum. (At the northern end of Puttaboocha Rd. Wat open daily 7am-6pm. Museum open W-Su 9am-4pm. Suggested 20 ฿ entrance donation includes brochure. Sarongs provided free of charge to the bare-legged.)

Sergeant Major Thawee Folk Museum.  This museum is a remarkable project aiming to document and preserve rapidly vanishing Thai folk traditions. Spread throughout several traditional teak houses with fragrant gardens, the museum includes a traditional birthing room, an exhibit about the magical powers Thais ascribe to their tattoos, and a fascinating collection of such traditional animal traps as a snake guillotine and a porcupine snare. Visitors will leave armed with expertise about cattle castration techniques, hill-tribe costumes, and regional kite patterns. Has helpful English captions. (26/43 Wisutkasat Rd. ☎055 212 749. Open Tu-Su 8am-4:30pm. 50 ฿ , students 20 ฿ ; includes a souvenir postcard.)

Nightlife

Phitsanulok is not heavily touristed by Westerners, and so it’s mercifully free of the hostess bars common in other parts of Thailand. Instead, students from the nearby universities contribute to a lively bar scene that is active most nights of the week. This crowd congregates at the row of open-air bars overlooking the Nan River along the far side of the night market. The downtown area is less busy after dark but has a few popular bars.

• Halem (☎086 778 8884), toward the northern end of the night market. Uses red lighting to create a low-key mood, and is conveniently around the corner from spotless public bathrooms. Large Singha 75฿. Open daily 6pm-midnight.
• Sabay Boat Floating Restaurant (☎055 251 970), across the river from Halem; go down the stairs, past Thai Massage and Wow! Food and Drink. This floating party attracts a slightly older clientele and features nightly karaoke and live music. Large beer 100฿. Open daily noon-11pm.
• The Mouth Pub and Restaurant, (☎055 219 456), near the eastern end of Srithammatripidok Rd., attracts Westerners with indoor/outdoor seating and airy, tasteful interior design. Large Tiger beer 80฿. Open daily 11am-midnight.

Entertainment

If it’s the right time of year, you can partake in one of Phitsanulok’s two major festivals. Long-tailed-boat races are the central attraction of a festival that takes place when the Nan River is at its fullest, generally in early October. The boats depart from the front of Wat Yai, and river processions accompany the races. On the waxing moon of the third lunar month, generally in January or February, the Phra Nakhon Khiri Fair gets under way. Wat Yai hosts a lavish six-day festival of homages, traditional entertainment, and dance and theater performances.

Daytrip From Phitsanulok: Phu Hin Rong Khla

Park headquarters located 125km northeast of Phitsanulok. To reach the park, take a bus to Nakhon Thai (2hr., every hr. 5am-6pm, 50-70฿) and then grab a songthaew 32km to Phu Hin Rong Khla (1hr., 3 per day, 80฿). Private transportation is necessary to see much of the park. Charter a songthaew for the day for 2000฿ from Phitsanulok, less from Nakhon Thai. Direct drive from 2hr. Phitsanulok. Take Rte. 12 from Phitsanulok, then take a left onto Rte. 2013 to Nakhon Thai. Turn right onto Rte. 2331, follow signs to Nakhon Thai or National Park about 70km out on Rte. 12. Contact the Forestry Department in Bangkok (☎02 579 7223) or Phu Hin Rong Khla Park (☎05 523 3527) for more info. Park headquarters open daily 8am-4pm. 200฿, students 100฿.

The area that is now Phu Hin Rong Khla gained notoriety in the late 1960s as the stronghold of the communist People’s Liberation Army of Thailand (PLAT) and was the site of their clashes with the Thai army for almost 20 years. From 1967-1982, PLAT survived in the Phu Hin Rong Khla forests near the Laotian border. Recruits poured in after the crackdown on student demonstrators in Bangkok in 1976, but in 1982, the government struck a decisive blow to the movement by offering amnesty to all students who had joined after 1976. In 1984, the area was declared a national park.

Today, the park offers not only hiking trails, scenic views, and waterfalls, but also provides a close look into the scattered air-raid shelters and military barracks that survive from its embattled past. The most visited sight in the park is the flagpole, near the old Communist headquarters. A 3.2km nature walk leads to the flagpole, where the Thai flag now flies; here on the ridge of the mountain range, one can enjoy the panoramic view of the valley below. The start of the walk lies 2km from park headquarters along a marked and paved road. A map of the natural and historical attractions of Phu Hin Rong Khla is available at park headquarters.

Phu Hin Rong Khla’s park headquarters offer some cheap accommodations. (Tent rental 100฿. Camping 30฿; bungalows 300-2500 ฿ .) Those traveling with their own transportation will want to explore the many waterfalls that lie off Rte. 12. The best is the three-tiered, 40m drop of Kaeng Sopha Waterfall, 74km outside of Phitsanulok. The dry-season flow will leave you unsatisfied, but the large alley boulders entwined with trees warrant exploration. The turnoff to Kaeng Sopha Waterfall is 3km beyond the turn off to Nakhon Thai, and it’s 2km from the main road to the waterfall. TAT has a regional map noting the relative positions of waterfalls along Rte. 12. All turnoffs are well-marked.

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