Ko Kret
From Imakoopedia
Ko Kret (also Koh Kred) is an island in the Chao Phraya River, just 20km north of Bangkok in the province of Nonthaburi, Thailand.
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Understand
The island dates only to 1722, when a canal was constructed as a shortcut to bypass a bend in the Om Kret branch of the Chao Phraya river. As the canal was widened several times, the section cut off eventually became a separate island. The island continues to serve as a refuge to the Mon tribes who dominated central Thailand between the 6th and 10th century and have retained a distinct identity in their flavor of Buddhism and, particularly at Ko Kret, their pottery.
Get in
The easiest way to reach Ko Kret is to take the Chao Phraya Express Boat's once-weekly Koh Kred tour (http://www.chaophrayaboat.com/TouristBoat_KohKred.php), which leaves the Central pier (BTS Saphan Taksin) at 9 AM on Sundays and returns at 3:30 PM, visiting a number of attractions along the way. The cost of the cruise and guided tour is 300 baht (no lunch). Many other companies also offer similar tours, often just as a stop on a longer upriver trip to Ayutthaya.
Independent travel to Ko Kret is a little more challenging. Most people start by traveling to Nonthaburi pier, the last stop (pier N30) of the normal Chao Phraya Express Boat; the trip from Central takes close to an hour but costs all of 10 baht. From here, you have the following options:
- The cheapest option is to take the aircon van service (10 baht) or public bus 32/506 to Pak Kret, then head to the ferry pier serving the island. The catch is, there is no signage in English, so finding your way can be tricky.
- An option that many touts will try to convince you into is hiring a river taxi, quoting prices like 500 baht. With enough haggling this may be a reasonable option for a group.
- If you can't get a return trip for less than 200 baht (and you probably can't), it'll be cheaper to take a taxi to the temple of Wat Sanam Neua (80-90 baht) in the neighboring district of Pak Kret, from where ferries shuttle across the river to the island pretty much non-stop for the princely sum of 2 baht (return). Just tell the cabbie "Ko Kret", they will understand.
Getting back is more interesting still, the easy way out again being the river taxi, plenty of which lounge about near the pier. If not, take the ferry back to Wat Sanam Neua, then take a moto or samlor out of the soi (5 baht) to the main street. From here you can easily grab a taxi back to pier, or try your luck with the many buses, minibuses and songthaews heading back to central Nonthaburi and Bangkok. The pier you want to return to is Tha Nam Nonburi or simply Tha Nam Chao Phya ("Chao Phraya pier") in Thai.
Note that the green flag express boats going up the river from Nonthaburi pier directly to Ko Kret, mentioned in some guidebooks, stopped running in 1998 after the economic crash. There have been plans to restart operations, but at time of writing they remain only plans.
Get around
Compared to getting in, getting around is easy: the only option is your feet. The island is roughly square in shape, each side measuring about two kilometers, and a footpath runs around the entire island.
While the locals speak little English, there's a useful multilingual map of the island near the ferry pier. There are occasional distance signposts along the footpath, and most sights around the island have been labeled in English.
See
Ko Kret is another world compared to Bangkok and much of it retains the air of a rustic village, with wooden shacks propped against palm trees and the occasional dilapidated temple slowly crumbling. The main attraction is just walking around, browsing the merchandise in the many pottery shops.
- Wat Poramai Yikawat is the main temple on the island, at the northeast corner right next to the ferry landing. The main feature is several white marble pagodas, carved in the Mon style. There is also a small museum showcasing the temple's treasury.
- Wat Chimplee is on the east coast, about a kilometer south of the ferry landing and a good point to turn around if you're not planning to make the full circuit.
Buy
Ko Kret is renowned above all as a center for kwan arman, a style of Mon pottery, which is fundamentally just baked unglazed red clay carved with intricate patterns. Prices for the simplest and smallest pots start from as low as 5 baht a piece, but can go up to hundreds or even thousands of baht for large ornamented pieces. Particularly popular among visitors are candle and incense holders with ornate patterns of holes to let the smoke or light out, averaging around 200 baht.
There are some 20 pottery workshops around the island and you will see many kilns as you walk around, but the primary shopping districts (perhaps too grandiose a word) are the imaginatively named:
- Pottery Village #1, on the east coast south of Wat Poramai Yikawat
- Pottery Village #6, on the north coast to the west of the wat.
Eat & Drink
- There is a food market near the ferry pier featuring the usual suspects, but also including a local specialty best described as Mon tempura: deep-fried vegetables, fish, shrimp and such served in a large banana-leaf krathong (leaf-shaped bowl). A number of stalls also serve chaa yen (Thai iced tea) and other drinks in red clay cups with carrying handles, which you can keep as a souvenir for a few baht extra.
- For a more relaxing lunch, try the pleasantly airy blue-tiled riverside restaurant just past Pottery Village 1. Thai basics (noodles, som tam, etc) cost around B30 a dish, no English menu or sign but some English spoken.
Sleep
There are no hotels or guesthouses on the island. Most visitors visit the island as a day trip from Bangkok.
- Baan Dvara Prateep (http://www.baandvaraprateep.com/) (53/3 Moo 5; tel. 02-538-4212) is the sole exception of sorts, a low-key retreat offering yoga and meditation courses with accommodation included. Prices vary but expect to pay around 5000 baht for a 3 day/2 night course, including meals and transfers to Pak Kret. Reservations required.
