Sleepy Sao Hai dreams

Monks make their daily alms rounds. Nation/Phoowadon Duangmee

There are a fewer and fewer places around these days where you can wake up in a bucolic setting beside a river, make a contribution to monks paddling past in sampans and then go for a swim in absolutely clean water.

Sao Hai clings on. Edged by Ayutthaya's provincial border on the west and the urban reach of Saraburi's Muang district to the east, Sao Hai on the Pasak River is named after some mysterious "weeping pole".

The fertile land produces the uniquely scented, tender white rice revered throughout Thailand as khao sao hai, and lately the district's lovely riverside communities, from Tha Luang to Wat Tanod, are becoming known among weekend travellers.

Many of the unpretentious, ethnically diverse locals have opened their homes for shortterm guests - traditional houses on the Pasak's banks go for Bt150 a night.

From such idyllic bases you can cycle the roads, nosh at the food stands and stop by the marketplace and the temples.

An elderly former monk guides us to the even more venerable Buddhist chapel in sparsely peopled Muang Kao.

"This area used to be a town," he notes, "but the town centre was moved. Unfortunately there are few things left here except for the old chapel of Wat Chanthaburi."

A stone's throw away is a glittering new church, but it's hard to believe the chapel even manages to remain standing. Built in the 18th century, it's black with grime and thick with vines.

Yet inside, beyond the cloud of mosquitoes, are beautiful, 300-year-old murals that relate such tales as "The Meeting of the Deities".

"Sao Hai has been a mixed bag of ethnic groups since the Thonburi period, like a small melting pot," says our guide. "When the armies of Siam returned from the wars, they often brought back prisoners and put them to work.

"Wat Chanthaburi was built by Lao Wiang people - natives of Wiang Chan, the Lao capital. They settled here, built this temple and gave it a name to remind them of Wiang Chan."

Further along the river is Wat Samuha Pradittharam, dating to 1861 and housing even grander murals. The small, white-washed temple has on its southern side a cluster of ruined pagodas.

"This temple is a must if you're interested in the Thai Yuan people," says my travelling companion Jane, a Sao Hai native. The murals inside are recognised as some of the finest portrayals outside the North of the Lanna way of life.

In 1804 Siamese troops rid northern Chiang Saen - now part of Chiang Rai - of the occupying Burmese. They returned with captives, who settled in Sao Hai and became known as the Thai Yuan.

The murals depict bare-chested young men seemingly trying to win girls' hearts with bouquets, and the tarnguay salark procession, a typical Lanna merit-making ceremony.

As you admire the vivid paintings, you sink back in time. You can almost hear the folk music and share the energy of the dancers.

"Take a close look at the mural showing the women," says Jane. They're dressed in red sarongs that are unique, she points out, for their multiple horizontal stripes. "You won't see them anywhere else - not even in the ancestral homeland in Chiang Saen."

Lanna weavers, we're told, come here to study the old fabric patterns.

If you want to be completely "wrapped" in the local history, stop by the Thai Yuan Weaving Centre in Baan Tontan. Thai Yuan women demonstrate the craft, wearing sarongs identical to those in the painting.

"We're reviving the good old-fashioned floating market at Wat Tontan," one of them announces. "It's there on the first Sunday of every month, with lots of local produce and homecooked food."

Things were a bit clumsy at the floating market to begin with, she admits, since some vendors didn't know how to paddle the boats.

But it's living up to its promise. You can buy a charming sarong in black and red for around Bt140 and much more colourful ones with finer patterns for Bt300.

The district has a good choice of small hotels, but the Thai Yuan Cultural Centre has three traditional Siamese houses on the Pasak River that offer the best place to lay your head.

"The movie 'Pi Kaew Nang Hong' was filmed here," says Songchai Wunnagul, the owner, and several other period films besides.

It's no surprise. Atop stilts on a high riverbank and generously shaded by rain trees, the houses are authentic and full of character, a perfect haunt for ghosts like Pi Kaew Nang Hong.

Songchai, a retired teacher and a social activist, bought the structures elsewhere and rebuilt them here. They were intended to house his collection of antiques and artefacts as a private museum, but thieves made off with the bulk of his treasure.

The homestay is Plan B, allowing Songchai to share what's left.

You can't turn back the clock to the 19th century and try to appease the ghosts, but you can revel in the memories so poignantly invoked.

Outside the cultural centre is a wellpaved road, yet we putter around the river in a small boat, scattering temple dogs and savouring every single bit of the experience.

A weekend in Sao Hai isn't complete without giving alms to the monks. At sunrise Songchai calls the temple on his mobile phone, and 15 minutes later two elderly monks in sampans approach the dock outside.

The serious photographers among us have persuaded an old woman and a few children to dress up in traditional fashion and greet the monks.

One eases his boat forward, but is asked to draw back just a little for the sake of a wellcomposed snapshot. Then the old woman extends her offering, and is requested to hold that pose.

The monk is duly amused by the dithering.

"Let's finish up!" someone says.

I have to agree. We're asking far too much of these good local people - not to mention all the temple dogs waiting for their breakfast across the river.

Peace on the Pasak

Sao Hai is 120 kilometres north of Bangkok by the Phahon Yothin Road. In Saraburi, turn left at the Na Chong intersection, proceed to Highway 3041 and drive another 10 kilometres.

The Thai Yuan Cultural Centre homestay costs Bt150 per night. Call (036) 725 2244. If you're no good in a boat, bring your bicycle for enjoyable outings around the district.

Plan your weekend drive, check it out on Goggle Map