Sai Yok (, ) is a district (amphoe) in Kanchanaburi province in western Thailand and is located northwest of Bangkok.
History Prasat Mueang Sing, in tambon Sing, has been identified with Śrī Jayasiṃhapurī, one of the cities named in the Preah Khan inscription of 1191 as receiving an image of the Buddha from Jayavarman VII. David K. Wyatt gives the ground for the reading: taking the list to run in rough geographical order, the place must be the Mueang Sing of Kanchanaburi rather than the Singburi north-west of Ayutthaya. Chris Baker and Pasuk Phongpaichit caution that without corroborating evidence of military or administrative power the sending of the images is better characterised as cultural diplomacy than as rule.
Geography The district is in the valley of the Khwae Noi River in the Tenasserim Hills area. It borders Myanmar to the south. Along the river the Death Railway runs to Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi.
Sai Yok National Park was created on 27 October 1980 and covers an area of about 500 km2. The most famous sight in the park is the Sai Yok waterfall.
Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Thong Pha Phum, Si Sawat, Mueang Kanchanaburi of Kanchanaburi Province and Tanintharyi Division of Myanmar.
Administration Provincial administration Sai Yok is divided into seven subdistricts (tambons), which are further subdivided into 57 administrative villages (mubans).
No. Subdistrict Thai Villages Pop.1.Lum Sum1110,8672.Tha Sao1114,4323.Sing65,3184.Sai Yok811,2355.Wang Krachae99,8226.Si Mongkhon88,1097.Bongti46,950 Total 57 66,733
Local government Municipalities As of December 2024 there are: three municipal (thesaban) areas in the district: Sai Yok subdistrict municipality (thesaban tambon) consists of the whole subdistrict Sai Yok, Nam Tok Sai Yok Noi subdistrict municipality () covers parts of Tha Sao subdistrict and Wang Pho subdistrict municipality () consists of parts of Lum Sum subdistrict.
Subdistrict municipality Pop. LAO code website Sai Yok 11,235 05710205 Namtok Sai Yok Noisubd.mun. Pop. 05710201 Tha Sao 3,914 Wang Pho subd.municipality Pop. 05710202 Lum Sum 2,120 Subdistrict administrative organizations The non-municipal areas are administered by six subdistrict administrative organizations - SAO (ongkan borihan suan tambon - o bo toh). Subdistrict adm.org - SAO Pop. LAO code website Tha Sao SAO 10,518 06710203 Wang Krachae SAO 9,822 06710207 Lum Sum SAO 8,747 06710204 Si Mongkhon SAO 8,109 06710208 Bongti SAO 6,9502 06710206 Sing SAO 5,318 06710209
Education Mahidol University Kanchanaburi campus 44 primary schools 3 secondary schools
Healthcare Hospital Sai Yok district is served by two hospitals: Sai Yok Hospital with 58 beds. Somdet Phra Piya Maharat Rommani Hospital with 30 beds.
Health promoting hospitals In the district there are twelve health-promoting hospitals in total, of which; 1 Bongti 1 Lum Bum 1 Si Mongkhon 1 Sing2 Tha Sao 2 Wang Krachae 4 Sai Yok
Religion There are sixty-eight Theravada Buddhist temples in the district. 3 Bongti 8 Sing 9 Mongkhon 11 Sai Yok11 Wang Krachae 13 Lum Sum 13 Tha Sao Christians have their thirteen churches and muslims have one mosque.
Popular culture Sai Yok was the location of shooting the Vietnam scenes of the 1978 film The Deer Hunter. Sai Yok was mentioned in the song "Mon Sai Yok" (มนต์ไทรโยค - "Magic Of Sai Yok") by the Thai pop rock band The Innocent from an album Yu Hor (อยู่หอ - Stay Dorm) in 1982. The song is about a delightful time in Sai Yok.
Sights
Apart from the nature of the Kwae Noi River valley, the other main attraction is Mueang Sing Historical Park, which shows the westernmost Khmer-style temple complex.
References