And so it comes to pass that we found our way to the weirdest, most bizarre place yet in Thailand. This is not said or claimed lightly — and considering recent weeks have seen the Siriraj Medical Museum, the biggest Buddha in the country, and a bizarre war museum, there’s plenty of weird to go around.
Opened in mid-2012, the place is still new enough to not have a place in the guidebooks. It will in due time, but until then the weirdness is there for anyone to enjoy. This hay bale is just one of the many opportunities to get your cameras out — there are dozens more involving everything from horses to sheep to… picture frames?
Stick your face in a frame and get some more pictures.
Well, there’s a sheep — you’ll have seen a few of them by this point, but this is the only pink one… You can also do the math, I presume…?
Go ahead, ask the all-important critical question: what does a Swiss Sheep Farm have to do with graffiti art? I’m really not sure, either — but it’s about time someone expresses their enjoyment of the furry animals with spray paint.
It’s one thing to have a tiny pony (see right), but the Hulk made of mechanical parts pulling the haycart? The three walls behind the mean green fighting machine are filled with carnival games galore — everything from knock down the cans to shoot some hoops.
Because every sheep farm needs a mechanical bull.
One of these train cars is not like the others….
It’s at this point where you might be forgiven for wondering ‘where the heck are the sheep?’ — well, they’re around. You’d think there would be a bit more information about how many, where they’re from, or even if any of them once munched on European grass…
Your admission includes a free handful of grass, though for 50 baht a bottle of milk is available as a natural upsell (20 baht would buy you a few carrots, in case you were trying to play it cheap). This pen of sheep, some of which actively chased whoever was holding the stalks, was one of the only places in the entire ‘sheep farm’ to actively, actually, get within petting distance of the creatures.
The ones in the pen seemed less free to roam, though a handful stayed close to the fence to score (or snag) some grass from anyone that had some to offer.
A locks of love program… with a combination lock? The cheap (70 baht) lock came in precisely one variety at the souvenir store, along with some practical items like sheep’s milk body lotion (175 baht) and the more decorative sheep-shaped pillow (320 baht).
It’s a bit surreal to see how little of the park is dedicated to enjoying the animals, and how much of the park is intentionally photogenic. The animals seemed fairly well looked after, though the focus was clearly on helping the humans enjoy the animals. The place itself is fairly small, and within an hour you’ll quickly realize you’ve seen and done everything around. Still, for that hour it’s one of the most bizarre places around town. Head there on your next trip down the west coast.
Name: Swiss Sheep Farm (ฟาร์มแกะสไตล์ยูโรคันทรี)
Address: Phetkasem Rd, Tambon Kao Yai, Chang Wat Phetchaburi 76120 (ติดถนนเพชรเกษม ก่อนถึงทางเลี้ยวเข้าชะอำ จ.เพชรบุรี) (GPS: 12.81584,99.941736)
Directions: Starting from Cha-am, you’ll probably find a taxi to be the fastest. Starting from Phetchaburi, bus 420 goes south from Phetchaburi to Cha-am. We paid 50 baht per person for the 30 minute ride.
Hours: 9:30am-6:30pm (on the weekends the park opens an hour earlier)
Admission: 50 baht (same price for Thais or foreigners; includes a small handful of grass to feed the sheep)
Phone: 032–772494
Website: http://www.swisssheepfarm.com
