Thai Buffalo Racing (วิ่งควายไทย) Samnak Bok, Chonburi (สํานักบกชลบุรี)

I saw the following on facebook so ran it through Google Translate and added it to my calendar.

I have some stuff going on so was not sure I would want to go this far for only a few days but decided to make the trip.

I stayed in Pattaya and made going to the races a day trip. I found this a bet funny because when I lived in Pattaya and went to the buffalo races for the firist time I spent 3 nights in a hotel and now I do it as a day trip.

I found the event without any problems. I thought it might be hard to find with only knowing the area it was in Samnak Bok and that the races would be next to an abandoned temple. I never did notice a temple but rode right to the event site.

I thought that the info I had said the event would start at 8 AM and I was only a little late arriving around 8:30. I didn't know there would be speeches before so think it would have been better to arrive at 10 AM or after since I didn't understand any of the speeches.

This was a much smaller event than the buffalo races I have attended before and seemed to be only local people. It went a bit slower than the big event that takes place every October in the center of Chonburi City but I enjoyed the lack of a crowd. There also seemed to be a lot more running of a single buffalo with rider down the track than at the major event. I enjoyed watching these single rides that I considered practicing.

I should have stayed at the event longer but with spending about 6 hours in the heat and knowing I had an hour ride to get back to the hotel I left when racing was still ongoing. I am glad I made the trip and it was a good way to spend a day.

Following are the videos I put together of the event. The first I did when I returned home and the 2nd was the one I uploaded when I was at the event. I found the clip where the guy just jumps on a buffalo real impressive and I know I would kill myself just attempting something like that. At the start of the races they have at least 2 people trying to hold the buffalo still before the rider attempts to get on so I was very impressed with this in motion mount, that is in the firist video.

Songkran 2026 (สงกรานต์ 2569)

I really enjoy Sonkran or the Thai New Year. This year was not different and I went out and took part in the big water fight again this year.

I have a phone now that is water proof so got a lot more clips than I have got in the past but don't feel I can really capture the full joy of the water play. I am either joining into the water fight or I am trying to catch it on the phone but can't do both at the same time.

Following is the video I put up on YouTube.

Thai Tractor Races Wat Khlong Khwang, Nonthaburi (การแข่งรถแทรกเตอร์วัดคลองขวางนนทบุรี)

On Sunday I hopped on the bike and rode about 100 kilometers to Wat Khlong Khwang in Nonthaburi to watch the tractor races. I posted about the tractor racing a few weeks ago and said I wanted to attend one of these races that was through a wet field and that is what I got to see this Sunday.

I think the videos shows what is going on at these races better than I can describe it so check it out. I only captured the guy in the air in my video but found and stole a video from Facebook that captured where a race went wrong.



This is the short I uploaded at the event.

Salt Harvesting, Beaches and Temples

After a full day of watching very fast boats I seemed to have taken the very long way to reach Samut Songkhram (สมุทรสงคราม) where I found a hotel. After a long hot day it's wonderful to get a shower and much needed air conditioning.

I have blogged about Samut Songkhram (สมุทรสงคราม) in the past in the Visit Train Market and Floating Markets posts. My hotel was within walking distance of the train market and I didn't even visit it this time and just used it as a pit stop for a night's rest and to cool off.

The following morning, I headed south going through the area of Phetchaburi (เพชรบุรี) where they do Salt Harvesting. It was interesting to see the fields that are setup to collect the salt and then the cones of salt and then seeing men harvesting it. They had sheds or barns with huge piles of salt.

While riding in the salt harvesting area I noticed Wat Nok Pak Ta Le (วัดนอกปากทะเล) which is a temple that looks like a boat. I stopped for a few minutes and took a few pictures.

These statues made me think of the cherubs which I think is defined as "an angel that is represented in art as a beautiful, fat, naked child". Not sure what they are called in a buddhist temple.

My next stop was at the attractive Chaosamran Beach.

My next stop was at Had Puek Tian beach to see the statue of the Phisuea Samut sea ogress (รูปปั้นนางผีเสื้อสมุทร). Don't think any of my pictures turned out well but this was the best one of the few I took. I sat in a coffee shop at this beach and enjoyed a coffee and the view.

I then stopped at Bo Rai Beach (หาดบ่อไร่). It was just a dirt road down to the beach with nothing around. I only saw a few people wading in the water and doing some type of fishing. It was a really pretty looking beach but no places to stay or shops to even buy a bottle of water. If you are looking for a deserted beach you can have all to yourself, this might be the place for you.

My last stop of the day was in the town of Cha-am (ชะอำ) which also is a popular beach mostly with Thai people. I did not do a lot here and didn't take any pictures. I have visited Cha-am in the past and did a blog on Maruekhathayawan Palace.



The following day I took a ride out to Wat Tham Chaeng (วัดถ้ำแจง) and took some pictures of the big Naga statue.

After visiting the Naga statue I sort of rode the back roads going back to my home in Kanchanaburi. It is not really that far but with the temperature around 40c or 100f and humidity around 60% I can't say I really enjoyed the ride. I was happy when I arrived home and took a shower and then had a nap under the AC.