This rising Thailand holiday location is fast gaining a reputation as a great weekend break from Bangkok

Chanthaburi, about 250km to the southeast of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border, is an ideal short holiday location for those looking to escape the capital

It’s an ideal size for those who like to get acquainted with a place on foot, but also offers some real gems for those prepared to wander further

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Chanthaburi at night. The town in Thailand’s southeast is fast gaining a reputation as a short holiday spot for people looking to escape Bangkok for a weekend. Photo: Thomas Bird

Published: 6:15pm, 9 Jan 2023

The gem dealers’ quarter in the Thai town of Chanthaburi is a warren of jewellers, stonecutters, wholesalers and retailers.

Midweek visitors to the area – south of the old centre, around Trok Kachang and Thanon Sri Chan, the latter signposted as “Siam Gem Street” in English – browse gems piled in porcelain bowls like confectionery in a sweet shop.

Jewellers examine stones through magnifying loupes while pretty, if bored-looking, shop assistants try to court business with promises of discounted wedding rings. “Thirty per cent off, ka!”

“You should have come on the weekend,” a gem-cutter tells me, his eyeglass fixed in place like an appendage. “It’s much busier then.”

Gems piled in porcelain bowls in Chanthaburi’s gem dealers’ quarter. Photo: Thomas Bird

Chanthaburi, about 250km (155 miles) to the southeast of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border, is gaining a reputation as a weekend retreat from the capital, but I am happy to be visiting while only a few tourists stalk the sites.