Bangkok Oct 2017: Khao Yai Day trip

I've heard a lot about Khao Yai, which is about 2-3 hours drive from Bangkok. It has European-themed landmarks, National park, vineyards and animals. So after researching and reading, like a pile of blogs (I will leave some links below), I narrowed down the places I would be interested to visit. I found this link very helpful as it has all the information on the hours and entry fees so you can plan the budget for the trip.

Being a LOTR / Hobbits fan I initially wanted to visit Hobbit House (Baan Suan Noi), but after realising that it would take another additional 2 hours drive to get there, I decided not to go after all.

First, to get to and around Khao Yai, we decided to engage a driver and I followed Xavvylicious' recommendation. And I must say that Ms Khemika (Neck) was a really safe driver and she also helped with some recommendations along the way, making our trip quite a fruitful one. It is also possible to have a self-drive option, by car rental.

As I mentioned, I only chose a day trip, so considering the travelling time (4-5 hours 2 and fro) and my interests: food and animals, I selected Granmonte Vineyard, Primo Piazza and The Chocolate Factory as the must-visits. We set off at 7 am on a Tuesday and the traffic was quite smooth. We reached Khao Yai in slightly more than 2 hours.

Granmonte Vineyard

Our first stop was the Granmonte Vineyard. Khao Yai is home to the Granmonte and PB vineyards due to its cooling weather and higher altitude. Unfortunately we visited in late October, which is already past the harvest period and there was no processing in the winery. Therefore we opted for the wine-tasting instead.

We got to taste a selection of 4 wines and experienced the different tastes of wine that were aged in steel vats and oak barrels. Other than that, the shop also sells some home-made produce such as grape and starfruit jams. 

Primo Piazza

When planning for this trip, I was choosing between Primo Piazza and Palio as they seemed to have the same type of Italian vibe. There are farm animals at Primo Piazza and of course that's what won me over. The entry fee also includes the feed for the farm animals so we just have to exchange the ticket.

Once we entered we found ourselves in an open piazza / plaza with cobblestones and Italian architectures, overlooking a Tuscany farm setting. It's really quite picturesque, like a painting.

At the barn, we got to feed sheep, alpacas, donkeys and a couple of horses. Look, they are waiting eagerly for food! The horses and donkeys were more shy though, they just busied themselves with the hay in their troughs. But after waiting a while more they nibbled some grass I was holding.

Before going to our next stop, the chocolate factory, we stopped for an early lunch at the recommendation of Ms Khemika. There are more famous eats such as the Midwinter Green and Thames Valley, which are often recommended on websites and sell mainly western cuisines. But we were eager to explore the more authentic Thai cuisine and 'off the road' restaurants, there are quite a few which locals go to, along the way so we went with her recommendation. 

The Chocolate Factory 

Initially I wanted to go for the chocolate workshop at The Chocolate Factory but I was told I had to make reservation 3 days in advance. So if you are planning to attend the chocolate workshop, perhaps ask your local guide or driver to help you make a booking first. 

Anyway since we were already there we tried the chocolate layer cake and hot chocolate. The cake was quite rich and the ganache was creamy and chocolatey. The hot chocolate was not overly sweet and had a chocolate square in the middle. There were also a variety of chocolate goods (biscuits, chocolates, bread) that were available from the gift shop area. 

Just as we were about to leave The Chocolate Factory, I spotted a dirt path leading to the back and it led to a group of farmhouses and living quarters.

Midwinter Green and Thames Valley

After visiting the Chocolate factory it was still early around 1-2 pm, so we were free to visit other places and we dropped by Thames Valley and Midwinter Green for some photos before going on our way back to Bangkok.

Some useful links / references:

https://thailand.tripcanvas.co/khao-yai/best-things-to-do/

http://xavvy-licious.blogspot.sg/2016/12/explore-khao-yai-day-1.html

http://vinadaytravel.com/khao-yai-a-little-italy-in-thailand.html

http://res.klook.com/image/upload/v1494216691/AttractionsinKhaoYaiNationalPark_vdyvzo.pdf