[THAILAND] PALIO Khao Yai, Pak Chong

PALIO was the second most captured Snapchat (first one was Midwinter Green) we posted during the trip to Khao Yai, so here you go: A single post about this lovely place with loads of photos that hopefully can replace the necessity of my writings to describe it. XD

If you’ve seen my recent posts about our Khao Yai trip, you might remember that we went to some thematic attractions there. While Thames Valley is strongly inspired by village situation in England, Midwinter Green takes the German castles idea very seriously, now you can even experience strolling around Italian village without the need of flying to Italy!

Welcome to PALIO!

PALIO is actually a shopping district with lots of shops, stores, restaurants and café situated in a terracotta-colored buildings with combination of nature. The decoration takes a strong influence from areas in Italy, it reminds me so much of alleys in Rome, but the whole area looks somehow more like Tuscany, complete with the Piazza Grande arch which remarks the entrance. Piazza Grande is the most noteworthy medieval square in Tuscany, that once upon a time, was the main marketplace of the city. I believe the idea of building this shopping complex comes from this.

I don’t know if we are lucky or unlucky, since we visited PALIO during a weekday, it wasn’t crowded at all and only few areas had people strolling around and taking pictures. Other than that, we freely used any possible spot to take pictures and do whatever we want, LOL. The downside is, visiting this kind of places on weekdays means not many shops are open (frankly speaking, most all of them were closed, duh!) so it was kind of boring after a while. I can imagine during weekends or public holidays, there are probably many more attractions and events going on, so if you can visit during holidays, I think you’ll be able to experience the place much better than us!

First view from entrance that will make you forget where you are.

Heard that there are more than 100 shops around the complex.

Visiting on weekdays will make PALIO looks like a dead town?

For a glimpse of PALIO in wider, fuller shot, climb these stairs and get yourself entertained! My favorite view is the fountain and the grand clock tower, made me forgetting where I was that time.

Seriously loving the details of this place: red brick walls, cobblestone pavements, hanging street lamps, colorful canopies, even hanging ivy plants! I am seriously impressed by how they make everything looks so real although we know it’s not.

The thing I don’t really like about this place is actually the shops. Some of them are okay because they sell like clothing and accessories in boutique way, but some shops are totally irrelevant and destroying the whole image. Well, that’s just my personal opinion.

Oh yes, inside PALIO complex, there is also a hotel named Palio Inn, which is located right in the center of the complex. I think it’s very convenient to stay there especially if you want to spend longer time there or even going around Khao Yai (Pak Chong) area to visit other attractions like this. Can you imagine waking up in the morning to a view like these and you know you are not in Europe? XD

Honestly, there are many beautiful spots here in PALIO where you can take pictures, of the view or of us. The area is not too big and easily explored within 1 hour, and if you stop at every good spots, probably you’ll take 2 hours to cover them all. I think what’s so captivating about PALIO is the specific themed surrounding that screams Italian from every angles, but also the well-maintained gardens really attracted us so deeply.

Not only shops and restaurants, if you like cats, make sure to drop by the cat cafe (with time limit and entrance fee), we spotted a cute kitten but didn’t stop by.

We visited PALIO during a weekday noon, the sun was so harsh it was difficult to stroll around with no sweat. There is no entrance fee to enter PALIO. Beside the cafe and restaurants inside the complex, you can even find many restaurants outside just in case the ones inside don’t interest you.

Overall, our visit to PALIO was short yet memorable. Whether you have ever been to Italy or not, I think this place shares a good resemblance to the real village. Simply said, PALIO is definitely not to miss when you happen to go to Khao Yai. Hopefully this review is useful for you, and thanks for reading!

Currency Rate: THB 1 = +/- IDR 400 = +/- USD 0.028

** This review is written based on our visit on 12 July 2016.

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PALIO
Thanarat Rd, Mu Si
Nakhon Ratchashima 30130
THAILAND
Ph. +66 44 365 888

Opening Hours:
Sun – Thu 10AM – 8PM
Fri – Sat 10AM – 10PM

Entrance Fee: FREE (THB 20 for parking only)