You get to know a lot about a town when you step beyond the beaches of Cha-am. The seaside resort is a great place to spend your holidays but there is so much more to this holiday destination than just white sandy beaches. For one, it is home to Mrigadayavan Palace, a seaside royal residence built by King Rama VI. Although it is over a hundred years old, the history of Cha-am can easily be seen to be linked to the lives of local residents of today.
Walk Through a Seaside Royal Residence
Built by King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) as his seaside summer palace, Mrigadayavan Palace was designed as a holiday home and features 16 buildings erected over high wooden pilings and interconnected by long verandas and walkways. In a conservation effort currently under way by Thailand’s Fine Arts Department three of the buildings Abhisek Dusit Hall, Ponchorn Sala and Niramsuksa hall are shut to the public. For the time being visitors can view the other thirteen and hope that by the time you read this more of the complex will have been opened up.
Visit Temples and Discover Their Community Ties
Wat Neranchararam. A place of religious value located some kilometers north of Cha-am Beach. A unique ordination hall of the temple is built in Indian architectural style, depicting highly revered Buddha images. The name of this temple is associated with the legend of the Buddha’s story as referenced in the story of Mrigadayavan which is located in this very town of Cha-am.
On the other side of the seaside town, a few kilometers inland from the beach, the Khiri wood built Ordination Hall of Wat Cha-am Khiri is home to a fine meditation cave with images of the Buddha in various poses. Full details for visiting and with any restrictions on visitors can be found on their website. The beautiful wooden building of Wat Bang Sai Yoi’s Ordination Hall dates from the same era as the other sites, Rama VI’s time, and is located near Bang Sai Yoi, on the coast of Cha-am.
Hear Stories of the Sea from Fishing Communities
The Pu Chak–Saphan Yok is referenced at the beachfront seafood market off the canal. Fishers of the locale kept fresh blue swimming crabs in this manner in order to have them lowered into the water in mesh bags and pulled back up after a suitable amount of time for purchase by retailers. When visiting the beachfront, this area gives the appearances of good historical accounts of the local culture above and beyond a simple overview of what seafood market-types sell at any rate.
For information on the activities of the local fishing communities in order to sustain the marine resources of their habitat, see the blue swimming crab banks at Ban Khlong Thian and Bang Sai Yoi. This is also how Cha-am Municipality lists support of these two local groups in its local development plan with a view to fisher participation and to the crab nursing he or she can do. It’s best to contact the communities in advance because they are mostly work spaces.
Pause at a Place of Historical Remembrance
In the northern area of the beach is the King Naresuan Monument. Tourism Authority of Thailand information describes it as a monument commemorating the account of King Naresuan’s travels through the southern regions of Thailand and his stopovers here at the seaside town of Cha-am. Other historical sites around Thailand related to the king can also be visited.
You do not have to visit every place. You can select the places you are interested in, read about them when you arrive, observe them closely, and even speak with local people and get other perspectives of the history and culture of Cha-am that are behind the tourism image of a beach resort.
