General Information
Samut Prakan, also known as Pak Nam, is located 29 kilometres south of Bangkok, around the area where the Chao Phraya river flows into the Gulf of Thailand. It is a town of the Ayutthaya period. Samut Prakan is home to countless historical and cultural sites. It occupies an area of 1,004 square kilometres and is administratively divided into 5 districts (Amphoes) and 1 sub-district (Ging Amphoe); Amphoe Muang Samut Prakan, Amphoe Phra Pradaeng, Amphoe Bang Phli, Amphoe Bang Bo, Amphoe Phra Sumut Chedi, and Ging Amphoe Bang Sao
Thong.
How to get there
Car
By car: You can use the old Sukhumvit Road and also Highway Number 303 to get there. The distance is only 29 kilometres to Samut Prakan
town.
Bus
By air-conditioned buses (of the BMTA – Bangkok Mass Transit Authority) Line No. 2 (Sam Rong - Pak Khlong Talat), Line No. 6 (Pak Kret - Phra Pradaeng), Line No. 7 (Sam Rong - Tha Phra), Line No. 8 (Pak Nam - Tha Ratchaworadit), Line No. 11 (Pak Nam - Khonsongsaitai), Line No. 13 (Rangsit - Pu Chao Saming Phrai), Line No. 23 (Sam Rong – Thewet via Expressway), Line No. 25 (Pak Nam - Tha Chang), Line No. 102 (Pak Nam - Chong Nonsee), Line No. 126 (Nonthaburi - Sam Rong), Line No. 129 (Thang Duan - Kasetsart University - Sam Rong), Line No. 142 (Wat Lau - Samut Prakan), Line No. 145 (Suan Chatuchak - Samut
Prakan)
By non-air conditioned buses Line No. 2 (Sam Rong - Pak Khlong Talad), Line No. 6 (Phra Pradaeng - Bang Lamphu), Line No. 13 (Rangsit - Phu Chao Saming Phrai), Line No. 20 (Pom Phra Chun- Tha Nam Din Daeng), Line No. 23 (Sam Rong – Thewet via Expressway), Line No. 25 (Pak Nam - Tha Chang), Line No. 45 (Sam Rong - Ratchaprasong), Line No. 82 (Phra Pradaeng - Bang Lamphu), Line No. 102 (Pak Nam - Chong Nonsi), Line No. 116 (Samrong - Sathorn), Line No. 129 (Kasetsart University - Sam Rong via Expressway), Line No. 138 (Chatuchak - Phra Pradaeng via Expressway), Line No. 145 (Suan Chatuchak - Pak
Nam)
Festivals
Luang Pho Pan Worship Fair
Luang Pho Pan Worship Fair It is the Bang Bo people’s annual fair, held on the eighth day of the waxing moon in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar to commemorate and celebrate Luang Pho Pan’s
virtue.
Pak Lat Songkran Fair
Pak Lat Songkran Fair (Phra Pradaeng) It is held yearly on the first Sunday after Songkran Day (April 13th). The townspeople in cooperation with Amphoe Mueang Phra Pradaeng celebrate the Songkran Day according to the local Songkran Festival of Raman (Mon) people. Songkran beauty pageants parade, freeing birds and fish, and traditional folk entertainment such as Saba (a pitch and toss game), Thayaemon (a musical composition of Mon) and Mon dancing are included in this
fair.
Phra Samut Chedi Worship Fair
Phra Samut Chedi Worship Fair This is the great fair for which people from all over the country come to worship the revered chedi. The fair is held annually for 9 days and 9 nights, starting from the fifth day of the waning moon in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar. During the festival, there are contests held for the best-looking procession in presenting the cloth to cover the Phra Samut Chedi. The procession will be run through the streets around the Pak Nam Market, then be brought onto boats going down the Chao Phraya River until it reaches the Phra Pradaeng District Office and return to Ong Phra Samut Chedi. There are also the walk around the Phra Samut Chedi (wian tian – walk, while holding lighted candles, around a temple), boat racing in the Chao Phraya River, local entertainments, and many local products on sale. Getting there: from Samut Prakan town to Phra Samut Chedi, there are daily boat ferries in front of Wibunsri Market around the
clock.
Yon Bua Festival is a festival
Yon Bua Festival is a festival which goes back a long, long time for the Bang Phli people and which have been followed by generations after one another. It is held yearly on the thirteenth day and the early morning of the fourteenth day of the waxing moon in the eleventh month of the lunar calendar. The festival consists of worshipping and parading of Luang Pho To, both on land and by boat, competitions of local activities such as arranging a lotus tray, boat decoration contests, and folk entertainments such as Phleng Rua (traditional singing in boats). In the early morning of the fourteenth day, the Yon Bua Festival is held, people will toss lotus onto the boat bearing the Luang Pho To Buddha image. They also toss lotus to the people from out of town in boats who also come to join in the festival as a sign of making merit together.
TRIPS
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