Although Ko Si Chang is the nearest major island to Bangkok, it doesn’t really get that many visitors. Sure, on holiday weekends it can get a little crowded, but not like other tourist destinations. If you like peace and quiet, then just make sure you come here during the week. For 250 baht (about $6) our sky lab driver was giving us a tour of the island. Even if we were going to stay the night, I think we would have still done this tour as it was turning out to be a good introduction to the island. I am sure the driver would have taken us to a hotel first to drop off our bags before continuing with the tour. Then, on our second day, I think we would have probably rented motorcycles (also 250 baht per day or 80 baht per hour) in order to explore the island at a more leisurely pace.

This is a continuation of my series of blogs about day trips from Bangkok. I am aiming to give you at least two new destinations every month. The little island I visited today, known as Koh Si Chang, has been on my list of places to visit for a long time. It is not that I have heard spectacular things about this island. It is certainly no Koh Samet. You also cannot really label it “Unseen Thailand” as you will find it in the Lonely Planet, amongst other guidebooks. However, what intrigued me the most is its attractions of historical importance and the fact that not that many people have been there! Certainly not many of my Thai colleagues have been there.

In Thailand, like other countries in the region at this time of year, people are building sand stupas at their local temple in order to make merit. The people of Bangsaen in Chonburi have taken this to the next step. Every year, towards the end of Songkran, local residents take part in a chedi building competition on the local beach. The results are quite stunning and it is often hard to believe that they are really only made of sand. The contestants started building their sand chedis yesterday and many of them worked into the night in order to have them finished.

In the Christian religion, we have the Ten Commandments. Well, in Buddhism, they have much the same. For lay people they have to keep five precepts. Novice monks keep ten precepts. Adult monks have to keep 227 precepts! I will talk about some of those later. For the time being, I want to show you these pictures I took at Wang Saen Suk last weekend. These are the things that will happen to you if you break each of the five precepts. You have been warned!