Visitors looking for a cool winter experience can also bask in the glow of millions if light that take the form of illumination art.

Widely known as the City of the Jar, Ratchaburi’s most notable landmark has been a giant jar with a dragon painting. However, the NaSatta Thai National Park is emerging as a new tourist attraction in Bang Phae district. A cultural learning centre, the place educates visitors on the roots of Thai society and the inheritance of beautiful Thai art.

The place will become even more special in December, when the “NaSatta Light Festival: Inspiration 2019” presents the beauty of millions of colourful light displays by expert designers who specialise in lighting using projector mapping, interactive light art and interactive display techniques, which will allow you to walk around in amazement at night.

The 7 highlighted spots to take photos are:

1. Maha Raja Kasattha is a light display with the sculpture of the three statues of the saviours of Thai independence. With the illuminated brass decorated with lights like a flower field in front of the sculpture courtyard In the background, the lights are set in red, white, and blue to represent the Thai flag.

2 Na Suthanuson is a building that exhibits fibreglass images of important persons, known as the good figures of the land, such as the late Princess Mother, Professor Mom Luang Pin Malakul, Professor Sanya Dharmasakti, Professor Puay Ungphakorn, MR Kukrit Pramoj, Sueb Nakhasathien etc. There will be a walkway in a small forest park before the building with blue decorative lights along the entire path, both on the ground and on trees. The garden is decorated with mirrors on the right side of the paths, creating beautiful reflections.

3. Chandelier lighting with orange fish. After leaving the fibreglass figures building, you enter a walkway decorated with arches of white and aquamarine chandelier, long lines descending from a height. When passing through that arch, it feels like watching a hundred thousand stars. Meanwhile, the walkway is a swamp with orange fish lights above the surface.

4 Na Suthapathima, the exhibition of the three Buddha sculptures, each of which will be displayed separately. The first Buddha image is decorated with lights in a beautiful pink lotus blossomed in front of the Buddha image. The other Buddha statues have spherical lights of various colours including yellow, orange, golden, and blue.

5 Sukhothai period shrine. This is the highlight of the Na Suthas Thai Park, which is located in the zone of Na Suthapathima. This building enshrines Buddha images in the Sukhothai period. There is a story about the journey of Buddhism to Thailand during the Sukhothai Kingdom through light, sound and images on the walls and Buddha images using short mapping techniques. The story can be told via interactive light art for approximately 10-15 minutes.

6 Food zones and waterfall lighting. Tourists will be able to relax and have dinner from many restaurants with your choice of meat and vegetables (skewers), Tom Yum noodles, BBQ pork noodles, grilled chicken etc. Decorative lights at the waterfall can be viewed from some areas.

7. Magnificent golden light tunnels, approximately 300-400 metres long, is another highlight of this event. There are many tourists crowding around, standing, taking pictures in this tunnel, more crowded than at other spots. In addition, once they pass through the light tunnel, tourists will also find another decorative light garden as well-decorated as in a science fiction movie.

Night-time viewing of decorative lights is from 6pm to 10pm with activities scheduled every Saturday-Sunday and public holidays. Admission tickets range from Bt300 to Bt2,000.

Wat Mahathat Yuwarajarangsarit Rajaworamahavihara

Better-known among Thais as Wat Mahathat or Wat Saluk, this is one of the 10 main temples in Bangkok. Built in the Ayutthaya leriod and renovated during the reign of King Rama I, Wat Mahathat is at the foundation of the history of Buddhism in Thailand, as the Buddhist Tripitaka was convoked here in 1788. Among the highlight features are the Vihara Pho Lanka, or Vihara Noi, where King Rama IV resided when he was a monk, and Akarn Watthu, or Red Building, which once housed Bangkok’s first library. In the reign of King Rama I, he intended the temple area to be an important religious site to divide the space between the royal palace and the deputy king’s palace. In olden days, Thai-Chinese people lived around the temple area and the community expanded to the Sanam Luang area, becoming a large Chinese community. Later, when the Grand Palace was built, the Chinese migrated to the south of the river to what is now known as Yaowarat or China Town.

Hall of Sculpture

A distinctive tourist attraction when passing the old deputy king’s palace fence, the Hall of the Sculpture is located near the Fine Arts Department. It was originally used as a sculpture workshop. However, since it was located in a crowded area, the department received complaints about pollution, especially when melting metal and gold. The new workshop is now in Nakhon Pathom province while the old one became the sculpture museum or Hall of Sculpture. It shows the process of sculpting and the works of many important artists to inspire the younger generation.

Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan 

From the Grand Palace when you cross the Chao Phraya River for a Bt4 fee, you reach another temple — Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan — also known as the Temple of Dawn. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions, and is a part of most foreign travellers’ itinerary. The highlight of the temple is the central prang, built in the complicated Ayutthaya style.

Wat Arun has been associated with the monarch as the Temple of King Rama II.

Wat Kalayanamitr Varamahavihara 

Access the shortcut around Klong Bangkok Yai bridge to the Kudeejeen community where the millionaire owner of the area was once friends with King Rama III. Wat Kalayanami [Temple of True Friendship] is located near the west bank of the Chao Phraya River and has been built as a monument to their friendship. The most distinctive feature is the large chapel with the Buddha Tri Rattanayok statue or ‘Sam Poo Kong’ as it is called by Chinese-Thais around the area. The temple combines Thai and Chinese art.

Kian Un Keng Shrine

Walking along the river from the Temple of Friendship, the ancient Chinese Kian Un Keng Shrine in the Kudeejeen area has welcomed visitors for a 100 years. The shrine interior contains a rare image of the Chinese goddess Guanyin and is decorated with murals and paintings of scenes from the classical Chinese novel, “Romance of Three Kingdoms”.

Santa Cruz Church

Beaides Buddhist attractions, visitors can also admire the Santa Cruz Church [Holy Cross church]. The Roman Catholic Santa Cruz Church was built in 1834 as a place of worship for the local community of Portuguese merchants and missionaries who had settled in the Kudeejeen area. The building has a magnificent semi-circle dome tower and a graceful arch with the red roof, which is lit in blue light and stands out in the dark.

About 1,000-2,000 visitors visited the park every day during the last five days, particularly at the weekend. Most of them enjoyed immersing themselves in the hot springs for relaxation and boiling eggs for fun.

The park has announced that it will be temporarily closed from 8am to 9am on December 17 and 18 to clean the hot springs area and bathhouses and requested visitors not to bring any kind of plastic and foam to the park.

On Wednesday (December 11), the generally quiet station was bustling with tourists taking photos on the railways track, the old abandoned train, and the vintage station.

For many it was a trip down memory lane, as the station is a part of their childhood memories.

Nakhon Ratchasima locals invited tourists nationwide to visit the station before the building is demolished and suggested to take photos at 7am to 8am and 3pm to 5.30pm for the best lighting.

Sui Tang camping ground is perched at an altitude of 1,390-1,395 metres in Chai Prakan District, while Doi Lang is higher at 1,700-1,720 metres and located in Mae Ai District. Both are part of Doi Fha Hom Pok National Park.

Facilities in both camping grounds include bathrooms, toilets and parking lots, while each can support up to 150 people. Visitors can enjoy beautiful views of the sunrise, sunset, and sea of fog, hike to the summit of Doi Ang Khang mountaintop or follow the clearly marked bird-watching trails.

For information, call (052) 080 801, (084) 4834689, or email: doiphahompok.np@hotmail.com.

Former deputy prime minister Suwat Liptapanlop, who presided over the opening ceremony this week, encouraged members of the public to come and enjoy the flowers and take lots of photos. Visitors can also enjoy a field of colourful cosmos flowers, a deer enclosure, a sheep farm , a mushroom house and an organic vegetable demonstration farm. Admission is free and the 100 Rai will remain open through January 5.

Kwan Phayao – the word “Kwan” means means “lake” or “large swamp” in the northern Thai language is shaped like a half-circle, and is the largest freshwater lake in the northern region and the fourth largest in the country. It is 1.5 metres deep, and covers an area of about 1,980 hectares.

Some 50 species of fish are found in the lake, Phayao is about 691 kilometres from Bangkok and covers an area of 6,335 square kilometres. Temperatures is the area are currently hovering around 10 degrees Celsius.

The department’s director-general, Thanya Netithammakul said that this campaign aimed to encourage families to participate in recreational activities, as well create awareness of conservation towards natural resources, environment, and wildlife.

“We would like to ask for tourists’ cooperation in not using plastic bags and foam packages in order to maintain cleanliness of the area, and keeping wild animals away from plastic waste. Drinking alcohol in these areas is also prohibited,” he said.

“Tourists can contact the department by phone at (02) 562 0760-2 during office hours, while the reservations can be made anytime at the website http://nps.dnp.go.th/reservation.php.

Perched on a hill, the temple aims to simulate the environment of the mythical Himmapan forest. The outstanding feature is the golden chapel that stands right on the top of the hill. When dusk falls, the temple will glow in the dark especially the painting of a Kanlapaphruek tree [Pink Cassia].

Flowers blooming in the fields of Nakon Ratsima’s Pak Thong Chai and Wang Nam Khiao districts are a special attraction to both tourists and local residents.

 Pictures show the Suan Kaset 66 garden in Pak Thong Chai district, owned by Chonladda Saengaroon, 40.The field grows both cold-climate flowers and rice, she says.

The garden will be open to the public from December 5, 2019 to January 12 2020, from 05.00 am to 18.00 pm daily. Admission fee is set at Bt30 per person.