The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) hasn’t used steam locomotives for regular commercial use since the early 1980’s. There are five that are still in good working order and are used during special occasions. They have two Pacific locomotives, two C56 locomotives and one Mikado locomotive.
Each year the SRT organise six steam train trips every year. Tickets cost 299 Baht. You can buy at any station or online a month in advance. The trips alternate between Ayutthaya, Nakhon Pathom, and Chachoengsao.
The trains that are used usually are two Pacific locomotives. Number 824 (imported in 1949) and Number 850 (imported in 1951). These were manufactured by the Japan Association of Railway Industry and there were originally 30 of them in Thailand, Numbers 821-850. They were designed with 4-6-2 wheel configuration. In 2012, they were completely restored and modified. They had a new boiler, electric generator, and genset air compressor fitted.
The train is a great way to spend a day. The reactions from everyone, from the people on the train to locals that line the tracks to see the antique steam engines, is worth the small cost of the ticket.
After arriving in Nakhon Prathom six hours are scheduled to explore the 110 year old downtown market as well as the first class temple and 120 meter tall Nakhon Prathom Chedi.
Wat Nok, known as the Bird Monastery, stands as a restored temple ruin within the heart of Ayutthaya Historical Park, nestled on the southwestern corner of the far larger Wat Mahathat. Its proximity is so intimate that visitors often assume it forms part of the neighboring complex, yet Wat Nok possesses its own distinct architectural character and independent history.
Oriented along an east-west axis, the site preserves the foundations of a preaching hall together with renovated traces of its walls and pillars. Several headless Buddha images in the Taming Mara posture rest upon the altar area.
Nearby rises a substantial prang like chedi that echoes Khmer forms while displaying the multiple redented corners and elaborate eastern portico crowned by a secondary prang that mark the late Ayutthaya style.
This tower retains some of the finest surviving stucco in the city, including geometric patterns, partial standing Buddha figures within niches, a headless mythological figure on one corner, and ...
Port FC and Rasisalai United opened the 2026/27 Thai League 1 season at Buriram City Stadium in a matchup that highlighted the gap between established top flight pedigree and rapid upward mobility.
Port, one of Thailand’s oldest professional clubs, traces its roots to 1967 when it was founded as Port Authority of Thailand FC. Nicknamed the Port Lions, the Bangkok side enjoyed early dominance with multiple Kor Royal Cup titles in the late 1960s and 1970s, along with Queen’s Cup and FA Cup successes, and has remained a consistent presence in the modern Thai League 1 era with strong recent finishes, domestic cup wins, and continental qualifications.
Rasisalai United, by contrast, is a much younger club founded only in 2019 in Sisaket province’s Rasi Salai district. Built on community support and a modest budget, it climbed quickly through the amateur ranks, claimed the Thai League 3 title in 2024/25, and then won the Thai League 2 championship in 2025/26 to earn promotion to the top flight ...
Wat Talat Nuea, also known simply as Wat Nuea, stands as a quiet historical temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand.
Founded on January 6, 1888, and granted its royal consecration boundary on January 16, 1897, the temple occupies ground that once served as a bustling floating market where boats traded goods along the river. Its name, meaning Northern Market Temple, arose because another temple known as Wat Talat Tai, or Southern Market Temple, stood nearby.
Though modest in scale, the site carries a deeper historical weight through its connection to an ancient Buddha image that predates the temple’s formal establishment by centuries.
At the heart of Wat Talat Nuea is Luang Pho Samphao Thong, a bronze Buddha image more than three hundred years old, crafted in the late U Thong style. The figure sits in the Mara-Vijaya posture, its surface lacquered and gilded, with a lap measuring about sixty centimeters.
Local tradition holds that this sacred image...
