Phitsanulok

• Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat: this is the major temple in Phitsanulok and it houses one of Thailand’s most important Buddha images.
• Wat Ratburana: this temple was the royal residence of King Boromtrailokanat, an ancient monarch who reigned for a quarter century.
• Sergeant-Major Thawee Folk Museum: a collection of household implements and instruments.
• Buranathai Buddha Casting Foundry: a workshop where you can see how brass Buddha images are cast.
• Phitsanulok Riverside park: a narrow green space for evening exercise.
• Phitsanulok Night Bazaar: a cluster of vendors’ stalls and bars open up when the sun goes down.
• Garden Birds of Thailand: some birds you might see in Thai gardens, here locked in cages.
• Wat Chulamani: the scant remains of Phitsanulok’s oldest temple are for archaeology nuts only.

Phitsanulok experiences the same three seasons as the rest of North Thailand: the cool season from November to February, the hot season from March to May, and the rainy season from June to October. The only difference is that Phitsanulok City is not as elevated as other northern towns, so the cool season drop in temperature is not so pronounced. However, this is the ideal time to visit the province’s national parks as they enjoy much higher altitudes.

Phitsanulok’s main attractions are its two riverside temples that are located virtually side by side on the east bank of the Nan River, beside the Naresuan Bridge. Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat is by far the most visited, with swarms of people arriving to make offerings at any time of day.

Wat Ratburana is quieter but has several quirky features. Just north of the temples are a couple of ‘dangling leg’ noodle shops, where you can join locals dangling their legs over a platform while slurping down a lunchtime bowl of noodles.

The riverside is also the focus of activity for locals in the evening, when they converge on the riverside park to exercise and chat. Just south of the riverside park is the Night Bazaar, where after dark you can shop for clothes and accessories or enjoy a drink at one of several music bars.

The city’s other attractions - the folk museum, Buddha casting factory and bird garden, are all more or less next to each other at the southern end of town. In January each year, there’s a big festival in honor of the Phra Puttha Chinnarat Buddha image at Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, and in early October, the annual dragon boat races on the river bring the city to life.

Phitsanulok operates a minor airport with regular nonstop service to Chiang Mai and Bangkok. Flights are operated by Nok Air, a subsidiary of Thai International Airways, and take about 40 minutes. The other major conduit is by train, with comfortable sleeper-class service to Bangkok (8 hours) and Chiang Mai (6 hours). Buses to or from either destination take about 5 hours.

You can get to Phitsanulok by plane, train or bus. Nok Air operate daily flights between here and Bangkok or Chiang Mai; the airport is a few kilometers south of the city center. Several trains arrive daily from both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and the station is right in the city center. You could also take a bus coming from either north or south; the bus station is about 2km east of the city center off Highway 12.

Most of the city center can be explored on foot, but if you need to go further afield, you’ll need the services of a tricycle or tuk-tuk. This is best arranged through guest house or hotels staff so that you are not charged an unreasonable fare.

To make sight-seeing a bit less stressful, there are a couple of alternatives. Firstly, some of Phitsanulok’s tricycle riders, many of whom decorate their vehicles in colorful style, can offer an hour tour of the city after sunset, taking in the Night Bazaar; arrange this through your guesthouse or hotel.

Also, in high season, there is a tram that trundles across the river to some less visited sights; it leaves when full from the car park at Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat and takes around half an hour.

There’s a good range of accommodation in Phitsanulok, and much of it competitively price compared to nearby Sukhothai. In fact, many tour groups use Phitsanulok as a base for a visit to the Sukhothai Historical Park, which is only an hour’s drive away.

Though there are several resorts in the hills around town, our recommendations here focus on downtown properties which are more convenient for seeing the sights in the city center.

There are several top-end places and lots of mid-range alternatives, plus several, good-value budget options. Most are located between the Nan River and the railway line, though there are also a few attractive places to the east of the railway.

There’s some fantastic food to be found in Phitsanulok, but since the city receives few foreign visitors, not many restaurants go to the trouble of printing their menu in English. For this reason it’s useful to carry a phrase book with you in case you pass an appealing place when you’re hungry.

Two quirky aspects of eating in Phitsanulok are ‘dangling leg’ noodles, so named for the way diners dangle their legs from a platform while enjoying a bowl of noodles, and ‘flying morning glory’, which involves flash-frying morning glory with chilli and garlic, then flinging it through the air for a waiter to (hopefully!) catch on a plate. We recommend one ‘dangling leg’ place here, and for flying morning glory, head just south of the Night Bazaar after 6pm and get ready to duck.

There are a few floating restaurants moored to the riverbank that tend to specialize in seafood and are popular among locals. They are much of a muchness, so it’s difficult to recommend one over another, but if you try one, make sure that prices are displayed clearly as some of these places can give you an unpleasant shock when it’s time to pay the check.

A good way to kick off the evening in Phitsanulok is to take a tricycle tour, which will take you round the city’s main streets, including the Night Bazaar, for an hour or so. This can be arranged through your guest house or hotel.

Most of the bigger hotels in town have some kind of nightclub, often featuring live music, though they are geared much more to Thai than Western visitors, which means lots of out-of-tune karaoke.

For something a bit more intimate, take a stroll by the riverfront on the east bank south of Ekathotsarot Bridge, where a dozen or so music bars in the Night Bazaar serve up beers, cocktails and loud Thai music, sometimes live. On the other side of the river are a couple of huge rafts that also specialize in booze and music, though the great majority of their customers are local.

Woodstock may be on the wrong side of the tracks, but it’s worth bumping east across the railway line to visit this popular bar, which always seems to generate a party atmosphere.

Unless you are tempted to splash out on a Buddha image at one of the Buddha shops in town or while visiting the Buranathai Buddha Casting Foundry, there’s no special item for which Phitsanulok is famous that would make a good souvenir. If it’s department stores you’re after, head for Topland, right in the center of town where Highway 11 crosses the railway.

For an alternative shopping experience, take a look at the stalls in front of Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, where you’ll find baby turtles, eels and fish hanging in plastic bags. We’re not suggesting you take one home, but buy a bag and release its contents into the river (which is right next to you), giving a happy life to some creatures and accruing merit in the process.