Country Article / Postcards
A Slice of Old, Quaint Thailand
Date: 08/20/2006
The guidebooks bid you ride on through this sparsely inhabited region, but Uthai Thani is a slice of old Thailand.
Few foreign visitors know where Uthai Thani is, and guidebooks give it short shrift. Yet this sparsely inhabited region, 124 miles northwest of Bangkok, is a slice of old Thailand.
Life in the small villages is sleepy, the markets are colorful, and the fields on the plains of rice, corn, and sugarcane are picturesque. The province’s highlights are Huai Kha Kheng Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Asia’s largest homes to tigers and elephants and a World Heritage Site; and Khao Pla Ra, a cave with Thailand’s oldest prehistoric drawings, at least 3,000 years old. The provincial capital has a quaint old center, an atmospheric market, ancient temples, and a river scattered with floating houses--wooden structures built on rafts and anchored in the water, whose inhabitants travel around in traditional wooden canoes. Being off the tourist trail makes travel in the region more rewarding; it’s a perfect alternative to Chiang Mai. Now, a new hotel has opened--something of a novelty in Uthai Thani.
The hotel re-creates the experience of a cave. I have seen caves converted into luxury hotel accommodation in Andalucia, Spain, and Cappadocia, Turkey, but I have never seen nor heard of rooms that are re-created to resemble caves. The walls, outside and inside, are unadulterated bare concrete. At first I was skeptical that warmth could be created from ash-gray concrete--but the concept works.
There’s no furniture in the classical sense, everything is constructed of concrete and the wardrobe, shoe rack, and mini-bar are recessed. The grayish color scheme is lifted by well chosen splashes of color: red padding on the sofa, reminiscent of the prehistoric paintings in red ochre (the idea comes from a nearby pre-historic cave with wall paintings), the white bed, pools of light emanating from recesses, three voluptuous lampshades, and vases with blade leaves.
The rooms are huge (starting from 750 square feet) and the bathtub is large enough to fit three people--the water doesn’t come from a shower head but jets out of the concrete, like the cascade of a waterfall. The view outside is of the lagoons and ponds that surround the building and the lushly forested mountains beyond.
A double room for one night starts at $490, all-inclusive, for the use of all facilities, including spa treatment, as well as food and unlimited drink. For more information: http://www.avatarspamountainsuites.com.
Victor Paul Borg
For International Living
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