Samut Prakan

Samut Prakan, a central Thai province on the Gulf of Thailand, sits just south of Bangkok at the mouth of the Chao Phraya River. On the river's east bank is the Ancient City, a sprawling outdoor museum with scaled-down replicas of historic temples, old cities and palaces. Upriver, a huge, triple-headed elephant statue crowns the Erawan Museum, which has fine arts displays and religious relics.