On the Road Again

November - December 2022
Revisiting North Thailand 2022
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  • Day 2

    Home from home - Baan Thai, Ayutthaya

    November 29, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Actually, the reason you come to Ayutthaya is to visit its historical park, which boasts a vast number of ancient Siamese temples and Buddhist monasteries dating from the 14th - 18th centuries. I have dozens of magical photographs from former visits to prove it.
    And then there's a boat ride you can do on the canals and a floating market, which has dropped in standard since Corona, apparently, but nevertheless now charges a relatively high entrance fee.
    However our night had been shortened by 6 hours and we hadn't had a wink of sleep, plus there had been several minor hiccups before arriving at Baan Thai, a collection of very sweetly furnished tourist bungalows that we discovered on our first trip to Thailand.
    So when the sunshine disappeared and the thunder began to roll in the distance, we could not face a historic stroĺl in the mugginess of the afternoon. So we decided to spend a lazy afternoon at our little resort to recuperate.
    A pad thai and a pad see ew revived us somewhat. Birdsong, the playing of several fountains and the rippling of water in the river behind our Thai style "villa" lulled us into complete relaxation to recompense for the non-existent night on the plane.
    You always get a warm welcome at Baan Thai, a bit of home from home.
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  • Day 3

    Surprise, surprise!

    November 30, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    What a day! To break our long journey from Ayutthaya to the very UNtouristy Kamphaeng Phet, (planned only to break the even longer journey to the Burmese border), we called in to Nakhon Sawan, where the origins of the Chao Phraya are advertised for miles on the AHI.

    There was supposed to be a monument there. Google maps navigated us into the town on a modern road that passes the university and a series of small lakes and then down a muddy track fringed by modest homes and not much else. And suddenly there were a few snack bars and an official in a prefab office who signed us in. The monument was an amazing piece of architecture in honour of the greatest river in Thailand. We were gobsmacked!

    After a brief visit to the banana market on the edge of Kamphaeng Phet town, which also sells brooms and basketwork and plants and pottery, where we watched crisps and banana chips being made and bought a couple of bags to keep the business going, we found our boutique hotel and quickly signed in.

    There was just enough time to drive to the historical park and photograph a few chedis and three gorgeous Buddhas before the sun went down. We finished the evening in a fantastic restaurant on the banks of the River Mae Ping, where we enjoyed the most delicious meal for 17 EUR including 2 huge bottles of Singha beer.

    We hadn't expected much of a day at all, but this country is full of surprises.
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  • Day 4

    Across the river from Myanmar

    December 1, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌧 29 °C

    We seem to have caught the tail of the monsoon season and woke up to a comfortable 25° following the torrential rain in the night.

    Our first stop was only about 18 km away from Kamphaeng Phet. We were curious about the Phra Roang hot springs and were certainly not disappointed. There are foot baths and hot and cold wells dotted around lovely gardens with plenty of pretty places to enjoy a picnic or just relax. We took the time to bathe our feet and took photographs with a pleasant Thai couple doing the same.

    There was little traffic, but a lot of rain on the road as far as Tak. From there a broad, well maintained road takes you up into the hills to the border town of Mae Sot. It's a sinewy road, rather steep in places, fairly challenging owing to the heavy lorries who do not stick to the left. But the rain stopped and the clouds cleared and Mae Sot greeted us with a sunny sky.

    Having checked in at the Monte Hotel into a modern, functional room, we headed towards the Friendship Bridge, expecting to find Burmese and colourful hill tribe folks milling round the market. Instead, the bridge was closed and the border to Myanmar was shut off with rolls of barbed wire. Friendship my foot! The market was noticeably quiet and the storekeepers half asleep.

    So we decided to visit the Burmese style Wat Thai Wattharam, a serene temple complex glittering with gold, which immediately raised our spirits. This was one of the most elaborate temples we have ever seen and soooo photogenic in the bright sun.

    But being even more fond of natural beauty, we wanted to find the Mae Kasa hot springs while it was still sunny. Alas, we were not sufficiently prepared to find the place. Instead we enjoyed a rural drive along the Burmese border, parallel to the Mywaddy River, where school children were returning home in funny little open taxis and the farmers were busy emptying their dried rice crops into huge plastic bags to await collection for the rice mills. Single villagers were pushing stroppy water buffaloes along the roadside. This was Thailand as we love to experience it!

    Back in town we called in at Wat Mani Phra Son, which previous visitors had described as out of the ordinary. It was a complete contrast to the first temple of the day. A bit scrubby really, with many flea-bitten soi dogs and a few plump, uncommunicative monks sitting around. The architecture was simpler. We had read that the temple is equipped with a sauna, which sends off whiffs of lemongrass. We did not find this, but there was a sort of outside gym.

    Outside the temple we had a short stroll round the narrow streets, all one way these days, teeming with small shops and businesses, but the traffic was pretty heavy, so we gave up. Our evening meal was s simple affair in a basic restaurant near the hotel.
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  • Day 5

    In and around Lampang

    December 2, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Lampang was our destination for today. Before we reached the city, we called in to Wat Prathat Lampang Luang, a magnificent Lanna style temple dating from 13th century and a place of pilgrimage. The temple complex is amazing with its intricately decorated buildings mainly intact. The traditional horse carriages were ferrying people in from the city nonstop and the atmosphere was very festive.

    We checked into our simple room at the back of a back street, where Kanecha explained where we could eat and what there was to do in town.

    Our walk along the River Wank took us to the Clock Tower and from there we fell upon two lovely temples and the city pillar shrine. Here we noticed an elderly man, evidently a dance teacher, coaching a group of ladies, who, unknown to us, were about to perform a dance in the square. We showed interest and in no time the delightful man had me leading the dance troupe onto the "stage". A bit of fun and a great way to communicate!

    Later we found the much praised Aroi One Baht restaurant where we had 3 large Chang beers ( we were pretty dehydrated by then!) and stirfried vegetables, pork and veg and cashews in peanut sauce and rice for about 9.50 EUR.

    We are now relaxing on a wooden terrace on the River Wank, thoroughly satisfied with our wonderful day.
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  • Day 6

    At the Elephant Conservation Centre

    December 3, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After a breakfast snack on the open common room at Kanecha's overlooking the river, we headed for the Elephant Conservation Centre. It took us a while for the people at the ticket office to find our booking, but eventually we were able to drive to the accommodation building.

    We were delighted to find a functional but spacious room in a very new building that gleams with cleanliness. We appear to be the only guests here. It took us a while to understand that we would be able to order our food at the restaurant in the park and that our breakfast would also be delivered from there to the hotel.

    The park itself is a little disappointing to be honest. It was part of our deal to be allowed to drive anywhere in the park and to attend the show, in which about 10 elephants show the work instructions they have been taught to carry out. All a little contrived, but it was lovely to see families enjoying themselves. The environment is very natural and quite pretty. We had a pad thai lunch and Willi treated himself to a ride and we watched the show twice, which turned out to be rather clever as they were not identical.

    Apart from those activities, there is not an awful lot to do here, but we were quite grateful for a bit of peace and quiet after the past few days. There are plenty of mosquitoes around, so although it has cooled down, we'll be spending our evening inside.
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  • Day 7

    Temples and a waterfall

    December 4, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    A couple of elephants came to join us for breakfast. We would have appreciated a Thai breakfast, but instead there was a Thai version of a cooked English one, which was not brilliant.

    However we left the TECC feeling rested and ready for new adventures. We found our way to the Wat Phra That Haripunchai in Lamphun easily and within minutes we had a parking space, too. It was around 10.15 and already the temple was teeming with visitors, mainly Thais.

    The temple complex is colourful and the visitors were in a holiday mood, dressed festively, clutching iced grass tea and plastic glasses with fruit juice. There was a sweet smell of pancakes in the air. The flower and candle vendors were doing good business and the worshippers were also buying plastic bottles containing jasmine water. This was poured into a vessel shaped like a boat and is apparently used for washing the Buddha statues . Some people were buying small bells and others gifts to offer to the monks. A mother was writing a message on a roll of golden material in her neat, intricate Thai handwriting.

    The buildings here were so different from one another and there was do much to see, that combined with the heat, it made you feel giddy. So we opted to walk through the cooler back streets and a covered market to reach the Phra Chamadevi monument. This was a small park decorated with thousands of brightly coloured lanterns and a magnifucent statue of the bold queen who founded the city.

    To visit the temple which bears her name we took the car. The temple itself was almost deserted compared to the previous one and much more serene, much simpler. It contains a chedi which reminded us of some of the Hindu architecture we have seen in India.

    You can't visit temples all day, so we then made our way into the hills to check out our homestay and met Pansa and Kevin, our hosts. They recommended that we should take a trip to the nearby Mae Ya waterfall before dinner. This was an excellent idea, giving us the opportunity to get a little exercise. Besides the waterfall was really quite spectacular.

    Dinner was a really good chicken curry with a Singha beer and Kevin and Pansa were very good company.
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  • Day 8

    On the highest point in Thailand

    December 5, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    After a genuine Thai breakfast which included fish soup, we went to admire Kevin's pizza oven, built himself and his dream of the past 3 years, and the remarkable cacti collection that Pansa has grown this year. We said our goodbyes and left to see what treasures Doi Inthanon had for us.

    The first waterfall was a treasure indeed! A huge powerful cascade of foaming water that drenched anyone who came anywhere near the viewing point. There were several rainbows to boot.

    We missed the turning for the second waterfall, but carried on regardless ready for number three. We entered a minor road that turned into a narrower mountain road. This became very steep and increasingly remote and I felt a little uneasy. Especially when the brakes light came on, indicating that the brakes were overheated! There was no suitable place to turn, so we carried on at snail's pace until the road broadened a little at a place where a friendly young Mong gent was building a house. And beyond the few houses around his was a pretty rice terrace, the first of it's kind that we have seen in Thailand.

    By this time the brakes had gone off. We managed to turn our vehicle, decided to skip the waterfall and drive on to the summit and the cloud forest. The cloud forest walk was lovely. At the end Willi noticed a number of Thais with cameras and incredibly long lenses hanging around. They were apparently waiting for the lalin, the silver-eared whistling thrush to appear. And suddenly, there they were, two of them, flying in and out of two trees in a flash of yellow, teasing the photographers. I managed to catch one on my Lumix and Willi got a good shot on his mobile phone.

    The brakes lights came back on, so we returned very cautiously. There was yet another waterfall just outside the national park and on a whim really we decided to try our luck. What a good job we did! The fall itself was beautiful, but what was outstanding was the number of families picnicking and even dining on the river. Several restaurants serve people on carpeted rocks and ledges on tiny tables, the waiters crossing rafts and bridges and hopping from rock to rock.

    Our destination for the evening was a boutique hotel in Lanna style in Chiang Mai, which we saw on our last visit and vowed to stay at if we ever returned to the city. We were given a royal welcome at the Tamarind Village in the centre of town, complete with a ginger-infused ice cold sauna cloth and a chilled ginger tea. We spent a delightful evening here, trying out North Thai specialities and a delicious Burmese fermented tea leaf salad.
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  • Day 9

    Chiang Mai - culture pure!

    December 6, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I was a little ashamed of myself for having a European breakfast this morning, especially when the Thai food looked equally tempting, but having had a rather spicy dinner, I thought it might be sensible.

    This splendid hotel offers a morning walk to three minor temples and we naturally accepted this offer. Tanna, our guide, is a lovely slim and agile Chai Mai resident with a good command of English and a fantastic sense of humour accentuated by a little giggle that made her seem younger than the 60 years we estimated. After a short introduction and a most interesting potted history of the city and the Lanna culture she marched about 10 of us off to the first of three temples, taking care to keep us in the shade whenever possible.

    At the Duang Dee temple, which has a richly decorated ubod, she explained what every Buddhist does when they enter a temple and gave an insight into the differences between the Lanna and the Siamese depictions of Buddha. We then entered another building to offer food for the monks from the hotel, which a rather grim monk in a red robe took and blessed, singing in a monotonous tone into a microphone.

    On the way to the second temple we passed a street full of local eateries and Tanna recommended a few of the best. Wat Saden Muang, which was the next place of interest, has a particularly beautiful facade, in front of which we all posed for a picture. Here you can purchase a bronze leaf according to the Chinese year in which you were born to improve your karma. We spent time discussing the advantages of the Chiese horoscope signs and the significance of the day on which you were born.

    Tanna then pointed out a 3D map of the city and took us to see the Three Kings Monument, which depicts the peaceful period of history when the kings of Chiang Mai, Sukothai and Phayao built an allegiance against the Burmese. There were another couple of restaurants that she recommended, including one which specialises in mango with sticky rice.

    We were now on our way to the third temple, which was actually a sort of meditation school with a chedi that was supposed to have an escape tunnel built underneath in case of war. This, in fact, is fake news . Here Tanna explained the colourful murals depicting the life of Buddha and the lessons to be learned from it.

    And finally we examined the hotel gallery, a fascinating collection of pictures depicting the Lanna way of life some 2 millennia ago.

    After a good rest by the pool and, in Willi's case, a refreshing swim, we had the good fortune to get engaged in a lively conversation with Marini and Amal, a very charming young couple originally from Sri Lanka, who live in Melbourne. We bonded straight away and quickly became Facebook friends, as you do.

    Later in the afternoon we set off to visit three major temples not too far away. The first was Chiang Mai's most famous temple, Wat Phra Singh. This temple is always busy but a delight to visit with its ancient, mainly wooden buildings and a golden pagoda decorated with elephants.

    As we were climbing up the steps to visit a wihan full of wax monks sitting on benches and kneeling before the altar, I heard a bird which always reminds us of our time in Kenya and which is jolly hard to find. Willi went off in search of the colourful coppersmith barbet and found it perched right at the top of a tree. We have lovely photos on my camera to prove it.

    It was getting quite dark when we eventually found the main entrance to Wat Chedi Luang, which houses the old city pillar shrine in a building that is accessible to men only, since legend has it that menstrual blood near the shrine could cause a disaster to the city...... a very long story!

    In addition to the shrine there is an ancient Lanna chedi on the premises which has seen better days.

    For the Wat Pantao we could not have chosen a better time to visit. The very old wooden main hall was empty last time we came. It has been restored and is now complete with a dark wooden open roof. The interior is also dark. A large, brightly shining Buddha reigns over the temple, particularly impressive st this time in the evening. I was extremely moved.

    We have now had dinner. My choice was a khao soi, chicken with noodles in a creamy curried gravy, THE dish to try in this city. It is still quite balmy, the musicians are playing oldies on two electric guitars, there is a sweet, flowery scent in the air and all is well.
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  • Day 10

    Chiang Rai and Two Legends

    December 7, 2022 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Before leaving Tamarind Village, we ran into Marini and Amal and Marini was eager for us to have a photo taken together so she could show her Mum. We were naturally flattered and eager to comply!

    It took us over 3 hours to reach Chiang Rai . It was relatively cool and we were instantly pleased with our The Legend boutique hotel, even though it had grown a tiny bit shabby with its years.

    Within minutes we were on our way to Wat Rong Suea Ten, otherwise known as the Blue Temple, situated across the river. The name means " temple of the dancing tiger " and legend has it that on this spot years ago there was a temple over which tigers were free to roam.

    The temple was completed in 2016 by a student of the architect of the famous eccentric White Temple situated about 15 km south of the city. The sapphire colouring makes for a lavish-looking temple complex in which glass balls, some of them with hagar holographs in them, play a major role. We loved it.

    We felt it was too early to return to the hotel , so we parked in town to make a short visit in the already failing light to the King Meng Rai monument. King Meng Rai was the founder not only of this city but also of the Lanna kingdom in the thirteenth century. I also bought some children's books for practising the writing of the Thai alphabet, my New Years resolution being to master it!

    And here we are at happy hour with a Mai Thai in our hands awaiting dinner.
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