Kwanjai Bamboo Garden @ Pa Phai Sang Suk Market Phatthalung 28 Dec 2019

After our trip to Napokae Rice Learning Centre, we headed to Pa Phai Sang Suk Market.

The journey to Pa Phai sang Suk Market was quite a distance. May be due to we were going to a more rural place.

I believe it is a very famous market among the locals. When we arrived, there were a few men directing the traffics in front of the entrance of the market.

They were directing visitors to the parking area which is located at the opposite of the road. We paid a small parking fees.

This rural market among bamboo forest, called “Pa Pai Sang Suk”. “Pa” in Thai, means “Forest”, “Pai” in Thai, means “Bamboo”, and “Sang Suk” in Thai, means “Create Happiness”.

So, the whole market name means “bamboo forest creates happiness” or “create happiness from bamboo forest”.

The market is divided into 5 zones; namely, Pa Phai Sang Suk Market, a relaxation area, children’s activities, a learning zone of the Kwanjai Bamboo Garden, and a pleasant bamboo forest.

It is open every Saturday during 7.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. And the market is open only one day a week which is on Saturday.

The bamboo forest much helps the local people and visitors feel refresh while walking around the market to buy the things they want and it did create a beautiful scenery.

It is one of a unique experience that we have as we did not encounter walking under the shades of such a nice bamboo forest area.

The green market where people in the community bring local food, rare local desserts, fresh vegetables, fruits as well as handmade products for sale at a reasonable price.

There are many interesting stalls shops which were built by natural bamboo. Most of them are presented in ancient Thai foods styles which are very interesting. This is one of them – ice cream wrapped with banana leaf.

There are various kinds of Thai foods selling at “Pa Pai Sang Suk”. We do not know what is this call, but it seems like the Bánh Cuốn or steamed rolled rice pancake that we ate at Saigon.

It is better known here as Chu Cheong Fan, eat together with the homemade sauce. Different is it is incredible delicious and yummy!

We came to a stall which crowded by a lot of people, and we were curious about what good food that was selling. It is actually pan fried steamed sticky rice pancake.

Surprisingly it is really delicious! It is just a simple and normal ingredients – steamed sticky rice and beans, turns out to be very delicious snacks.

We passed through a stall selling worms and insects for snacks. Well… this is not the first time we see this but this is the first time we see in bulks!

The stall next to it was selling some sort of Thai locals made sambals. We did try some and it is indeed nice but so spicy!

We did not buy it because we were thinking that we still be travelling and cannot keep it.

Then we came to the famous stall selling “Khao Yum”,or it is better known as Nasi Kerabu in Malaysia. Mat Salleh called it as Rice Salad because the dish is mixture of various variety of raw vegetables with rice.

I like “Khao Yum” better because the portion of vegetables are more than the rice compared to Nasi Kerabu whereby it is a rice dish and the rice is more than the vegetables. And it taste really yummy!

We came to the drinks stall. The unique part is that they use the bamboo as the container to serve the drinks.

Besides all these that we tried, there are so many stalls selling local Thai foods with reasonable price starting at only 1 Baht!

All these are some of the food that we saw at the market, namely Thai coffee, Thai traditional desserts, rice or noodles with curries, and so much more.

And of coarse I saw some exotic Thai food too. We really don’t dare to try it! I just took some photos only.

At end of our stroll in the Kwanjai market, we came to the area which are handicrafts and art stalls. There are various handmade and art pieces for sale.

There is a small lane filled with various types of bamboo species at both side of the lane. It is a popular spot for photo taking. We did the same thing that everyone will do here!

It is such a nice place to visit. One should never forget to come here to experience something nature and difference!

Napokae Rice Learning Centre Phatthalung 28 Dec 2019

We checked out from Varni Homestay a little bit late as we had our satisfying breakfast at Varni Homestay and we would want to enjoy the cosy environment there before we leave.

Our first destination of the day was Napokae Rice Learning Centre. It is actually quite near to Varni Homestay. We were there around 11.00am. The place has a small parking area in front of the centre.

Napokae is a newly landmark of Phatthalung, in the South of Thailand. It’s considered as one of beautiful tourist attractions of Phatthalung.

 

Napokae is Phatthalung language means rice field of grandfather or ancestor. ‘Na’ means rice field; ‘Po’ means grandfather and ‘Kae’ means ancestor. As you can see the name "Napokae" in Thai white letter on the first photo.

One would never forget once you enter the car park area. There is a huge buffalo which was handmade with straws stands in front of the entrance. The entrance fees is any amount you can pay.

This is a popular point that most people love to take photos with. The name of the cow is Ai Khao Chao Muang (Khao means white in English). 

We took a photograph with the scarecrow. The farmers use the scarecrow to chase crows not to come close to the rice fields and eat the rice. It is wisdom of the ancient farmers.

We can see some equipment that farmers use in the process of rice production; i.e. turbine baler, plow, etc. Very interesting!

We can also see “Kong”s in Thai. It is for containing fish, shrimp or frogs, etc. It is made of bamboo. It is normally small one that one can take with to the rice field or canal where the farmers can find fish, shrimp or frogs, etc.

This one is the giant “Kong” for us to take photos. We were quite fortunate that there was an Orang Asli dressed like and we took the opportunity to take photo with.

We came to a hut which is in the centre of the paddy fields. There is a live band there singing the authetic local Thai songs.

This is a place where you can learn the way of life of Phatthalung’s farmers. You can learn how to plow, how to plant rice, how to train buffalo to plow, and other knowledge of agriculture such as organic fertilizer, etc.

And you can plant the rice in the rice field by yourself, if you would like to try. In the old days, buffalo is the most important assistance to farmers. It is unfortunate that we seldom see them nowadays.

Apart from those things, we can ouch the charm of natural green rice fields closely. And here we are among very nice atmosphere; everywhere is green, green and green.

The green rice fields that are surrounded by natural wood or bamboo huts are spectacular as well.

If you love nature and want to learn the way of life of Thai farmers in Phatthalung, you must not miss this place.

There is a little pond of lotus and water lilies that we can see lovely blooms of them.

There is also a small retro theme cafe at the centre that serve food and beverage as it was a hot day and a cooling drink would definitely refreshing!

At our way out towards the exit, we came to the souvenir shop which sell so many things from clothing, handbags, local snacks, craft items and local products.

We were so happy with our visit here and we depart to our next destination – Kwanjai Bamboo Garden Market.