Ang Thong

Ang Thong (Thai: อ่างทอง) is a city in the Chao Phraya Basin region of Thailand. The city and its surrounding area are noted for its huge reclining Buddha, courageous heroes, court dolls, wickerwork, drum-making, and double-reclining Buddha.

Understand

Ang Thong, originally known as Wiset Chai Chan, is on the Noi River and the low-lying land of Chao Phraya River. It was a frontier outpost of Ayutthaya when fighting with the Burmese. It appears in several parts of the Ayutthaya chronicles, especially prior to the defeat of Ayutthaya in 1767. Later during the Thonburi era, Wiset Chai Chan was moved to a new site on the left bank of the Chao Phraya River at Ban Bangkaeo and was named "Ang Thong" since its location was a fertile basin similar to a water and rice bowl of the country.

Ang Thong is a small province of 968 square kilometres at the lower part of central Thailand. Topographically, almost all of the Ang Thong area is low plain with two important rivers crossing the province, i.e., the Noi River and Chao Phraya River. Ang Thong is administratively divided into 7 districts: Mueang Ang Thong, Wiset Chai Chan, Sawaeng Ha, Pa Mok, Pho Thong, Chaiyo, and Samko. Borders are Singburi to the north, Ayutthaya to the south, Ayutthaya and Lopburi to the east and Suphanburi to the west.

Get in

By car

Three options from Bangkok are:

• Take the Phahonyothin Highway (Hwy 32) from Bangkok and turn onto the Asian Hwy, passing Bang Pa-in, Bang Pahan in Ayuttaya and then Ang Thong. Total distance is about 105 km (65 mi).
• Take the new road and cross Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge until you reach Talingchan. Then turn onto Hwy 340, passing Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Ayutthaya, Suphanburi, until you reach Ang Thong. Total distance is about 150 km (93 mi).
• Take the Bangkok-Pathum Thani Hwy, passing Pak Kret. Then take Hwy 3111, passing Bang Sai, Sena, and Ayutthaya. Then take Hwy 3263 and Hwy 309, entering Pa Mok until you reach Ang Thong. Total distance is about 140 km (87 mi).

By bus

The Transportation Co., Ltd. provides daily transportation between Bangkok-Ang Thong. There are both air conditioned and non-air conditioned buses leaving Northern Terminal Bus Station on Kamphaeng Phet II Rd. For more information, contact +66 2 5378055, +66 2 936 2852-66, or +66 2 9363603.

See

• 1 Great Buddha of Thailand (พระพุทธมหานวมินทรศากยมุนีศรีวิเศษชัยชาญ), Located off route 3195, Pai Cham Sin Subdisrict, Wiset Chai Chan District. 09:00 - 17:00. The largest statue in Thailand, standing at 92 meters, constructed in 2008. The statue is located in Wat Muang which has many temples and exhibitions of hell and heaven. There are also many shops that sell food and other things around the area. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• 2 Wat Sang Kratai (วัดสังกระต่าย). A 400-year old temple that was abandoned after the Second Fall of Ayutthaya. Today, the banyan trees grow and cover part of the temple, similar to Ta Prohm (although much smaller) in Cambodia. Some vendors around the area food during the weekends. Free. (updated Dec 2024)
• 3 Khun Inthapramun (วัดขุนอินทประมูล), ☏ +6686-981-5615. 06:00 - 18:00. Massive reclining Buddha built during the Ayutthaya period that is 50 meters long, the second largest in Thailand. Free. (updated Dec 2024)

Do

• 1 Boat ride along the Noi River, ☏ 035-669-241NOCC. Boat trips along the Noi river, a tributary of the Chao Praya river, can be arranged at the Red Cross Center in Ang Thong (ศูนย์สภากาชาดไทยเวชพาหน์เฉลิมพระเกียรติ) during the weekends to see the livelihoods of the local communities along the river. There is also an opportunity to view the baya weavers that migrate to the area in May. One boat costs 1,000 baht and can fit five people. To arrange a boat, contact the local sub-district authorities in advance at either 035-669-241 หรือ 084-540-8351. A trip takes around two hours and there are four routes to choose from, some ending further up north while others end in Ayutthaya in the south. 1,000. (updated Dec 2024)

Buy

• 1 Ban Bang Sadet Court Doll Center (ศูนย์ตุ๊กตาชาววังบ้านบางเสด็จ), ☏ 035 661 157NOCC. 09:00 - 16:00. Located inside Wat Tha Suththawas, this is a museum and shop showing traditional Thai dolls mirroring the palace life in the past. The project was created as part of a way to provide the local community, at the time affected by flooding, with an alternative source of income. (updated Dec 2024)

Eat

• Unknown (Behind Wat Thong Khong on the Chao Phraya River). If you like adventures and good food, try to find this place (and when you do, enter its info here). This is an old restaurant known for its pad Thai made the old-fashioned way, with the noodles fried in a mixture of tamarind juice and sugar over a wood fire that is not too hot. Once the cooked noodles are on the plate, pieces of sour star fruit or raw mango are sprinkled on top. Besides its well known pad Thai, the shop also offers Thai-style kui tio moo, which contains only ground pork, either in a sour-spicy tom yum broth or "dry", without broth. (updated Jul 2019)

Go next

• Sing Buri
• Nakhon Sawan