Planning on a trip to Thailand, but wanted something more unusual and fun to do other than your usual routine in Bangkok? Why not go on a short 3 hours’ drive away from Bangkok to one of the most picturesque regions in Thailand, Khao Yai! Being one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Khao Yai is Thailand’s third largest and one of the most visited national parks. Not to worry if this is your first time visiting Khao Yai as we have a guide which covers all you need, ranging from places to go, to eat, to snap and to stay too!
Ban Mai Chay Nam Restaurant
You might wonder if you have arrived at the wrong location as there’s no way this place looks like a restaurant because Ban Mai Chay Nam Restaurant is also a museum of antiques too! You will need to walk past childhood favourites such as Superman, Marilyn Monroe, Disney characters and more before you reach the restaurant itself. Well known for its authentic Thai Taste, signature dishes such as the Green Curry, Tom Yum Soup, Thai Iced Milk Tea are available on the menu.
Farm Chokchai
Farm Chokchai is an Agro tour place in Khao Yai where you can experience a standard dairy cattle farm through seeing the real farm life and having hands-on experience with the help of the tour guides! The farm is also known for its excellent restaurants, including its famous steak and burgers. Moo~~~~
Baan Suan Noi (Hobbit House)
If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings, this place will make your dreams come true! Each of the buildings you see here is built and decorated according to the Hobbit as shown in the movie, and you can dress up as one of the movie character and go crazy posing and snapping around here. You can also book a room and stay here for the night too!
Lookkai
Lookkai Khao Yai is a beautiful restaurant in a European-style design. Other than serving two distinctly different types of dishes – French and Thai, they are famous for their mouth-watering waffles, cakes, crepes and ice cream too! Some of the interesting desserts to try includes the Banana Nutella Waffles and Snow Ice with Longan Juice, which is very similar to our Cheng Tng in Singapore.
Midwinter Green
Midwinter Green‘s white buildings resembling German castles are very eye-catching and stand out from the other buildings in the area. It is also one of the best restaurants in Khao Yai too. We had our dinner there and we are extremely impressed with the food! Definitely a must visit if you are here.
PB Wine Valley
PB Wine Valley located in Pak Chong district is one of the biggest winery in South East Asia and is founded by Mr. Piya Bhirombhakdi who aims to produce premium quality wines in Thailand. Register yourself for the professional guided Tourism Award-winning “Vineyard and Winery Tour” with explanation about the various wine and other grapes in the estate. You can also get to sample wines at the end of the tour too!
Piazza Palio
Palio is a huge shopping centre in Khao Yai, themed around a Tuscan village. There’s a mixture of indepedent shops and stalls where you can do your shopping for clothes, gourmet snacks and more. The medieval-styled castle walls and buidlings, potted flowers, baby ferns and creeping ivy makes a perfect location for that Instagramable shot.
Primo Piazza
You no longer have to fly your way to Itatly to experience a remote Tuscan Village filled with classy Italian architecture, cobbled streets and lush greenery. One of the greatest highlight is to feed the sheep and alpacas! Present your admission ticket to exchange for the animal food which will come in handy to bribe the animal for photos.
The Birder’s Lodge
The Birder’s Lodge is another gem found in Khao Yai. It’s aesthetically pleasing with a good blend of greenery and minimalist industrial look. Visitors can book a stay here in their signature European-style wooden cottages. However, we did not spend our night here, but to visit the cafe, which served pretty good coffee with interesting presentation.
The Bloom
The Bloom is the biggest flower garden in Thailand with its 16 hectares of space in Pak Chong district side of Khao Yai national park, Nakorn Ratchsima province. The garden grow and exhibits more than 30 species of beautiful temperate flowers from around the world.
The Chocolate Factory
The Chocolate Factory & Restaurant is an Italian restaurant and chocolate shop to showcase the chocolate making process. Visitors can also participate in chocolate making workshop on weekends as well. Here we are having our lunch at the restaurant located on the second level. Do remember to get yourself a pack (or more) of the chocolate biscuit waffle which taste extremely good!
Dusit D2 Khao Yai
Located just 3 hours drive away from Bangkok, dusitD2 Khao Yai offers a chic take on the modern-rustic theme by taking its cues from the surrounding natural landscape. During our recent visit to Khao Yai, we’re glad to experience nature the D2 way at dusitD2 Khao Yai. You can read more about our stay here.
