Si Racha and Ko Si Chang
Si Racha Waterfront
The small but very busy fishing and refinery seaside town of Si Racha, also spelt Sriracha lies approximately 100 kilometers or 60 miles south-east of Bangkok. Not considered a beach destination of note, the town however is the departure point for trips to the island of Ko Si Chang, the former haunt of King Chulalongkorn. The streets of Sriracha resonate to sounds of spluttering motorcycle rickshaws. They are the local taxi transport which are quite unique to this particular area.
Sriracha Chilli Sauce
Sriracha Chilli SauceThe town has an excellent reputation for some of the best seafood restaurants in Thailand and lays claim to a famous amber coloured spicy chilli sauce called Nam-Prik-Si-Racha. Not only is this popular sauce produced here, but you will also find it in every restaurant and kitchen throughout the whole of Thailand. There are several first-rate open-air seafood restaurants situated at the end of the tentacle-like piers running off busy Jermjompol Road. It's the town's main waterfront street where local delicacies such as fresh oysters, mussels, shrimp, crab and abalone can be enjoyed with the famous thick and tangy chilli sauce.
Thai-Chinese temple of Wat Ko Loi
Sriracha AttractionsOne of the main attraction in Si Racha is the Thai-Chinese temple of Wat Ko Loi connected to the mainland by a long causeway some 400 meters north of the Ko Si Chang Pier and resting on a offshore rocky promontory. Love it or hate it, ostentatious or picturesque, artistic or bewildering, you simply cannot ignore it. A Buddha footprint cast in bronze graces the temple as do picture images of the Monkey God and Kuan Yin, the Chinese Goddess of Mercy. Buddhists are often seen feeding turtles in a pond in the temple grounds as an act of merit making. The Wat Ko Loi temple houses a lifelike golden wax statue of a monk known for his tremendous healing powers and there's a resent story about another monk who after spending many a year on the small rocky outcrop, reportedly stole all the temple's life savings and donations before mysteriously disappearing in 1959.
Looking across the ocean from Wat Ko Loi
Sriracha Tiger ZooEight kilometers east of the town, is the Sriracha Tiger Zoo covering an area of some 40 hectares. Bengal tigers are the main feature here although the zoo also has a vast collection of wildlife and over 100,000 crocodiles. During the months between May and August you could experience the hatching of baby crocodiles. Various live performances similar to that in which you find in any commercial circus are all on offer here. There are crocodile shows, tiger shows, elephant shows as well as pig and ostrich racing. You can watch female tigers nurturing piglets and tiger cubs feeding from grown-up female pigs. Attractions include female performers wrestling with crocodiles and a "Scorpion Queen" who places well over 100 live scorpions on her body. Not advisable to
Sriracha Tiger Zoo
Please note that Sriracha Tiger Zoo has been constantly engrossed in various cruelty issues surrounding the inhuman treatment of some of their beautiful inhabitants. The welfare of the tigers at the zoo in particular are not always at their best as are similar circumstances with some of the zoo's other animals too. Those of you who may consider the welfare of these animals an issue, then you might not want to visit this zoo. Although you as a visitor may not necessary witness these events, I thought it best to mention it here. Hopefully many of these issues have been resolved of late. Check the tiger enclosure photo below.
Tiger Enclosure at Sriracha Tiger Zoo
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