Kamphaeng Phet is nowadays a provincial capital with approximately 30.000 people. It is located 293 km north of Bangkok in the west of Thailand. Centuries ago it was part of both the Sukhothai and Ayutthaya kingdoms. Ruins and artistic remains of both empires are to be found in Kamphaeng Phet. Kamphaeng Phet literally means “Diamond Wall”. The strong city walls served as a prospective barrier for the Thai kingdoms against attacks from Burma and the Lanna kingdom.
Together with Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns”. Kamphaeng Phet is not very often visited by tourists. So if you go there you have the chance to have the park almost for yourself. Most foreign tourist prefer to go to Sukhothai for their share of ancient temples. Mostly as a one or two day stop on their way to Chiang Mai.
All together foreigners are still something of a novelty in this provincial Thai city. This makes Kamphaeng Phet an excellent choice for (independent) travellers who want to experience the real, authentic and untouched Thailand.
More background information and travel stories:
Full text on Wikipedia.
Travel information on www.wikitravel.org.
Travel information on www.travelfish.org.
Travel information on www.thaisiamtravel.blogspot.nl.
Travel story on www.thailandredcat.com
Kamphaeng Phet: The Thai town that tourism forgot by www.globetrottergirls.com.
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