It was a much less exciting day due to largely being a travel one, but I figure it’s still worth mentioning. My next destination was Khao Sok, another national park in the area famed for its beautiful landscape with dramatic limestone mountains and the oldest evergreen rainforests in the world. I’d arranged a van to take me there.
In the morning I ordered breakfast at the hotel (a little extra charge but figured it was worth it). Some eggs, toast, and sausage (though every time I had sausage in Thailand they were more like hotdogs, which was fine with me). Then I got a Grab car to take me over to the van station in town. The van picked me up and we drove for about three hours, stopping every once in a while to let people off at various stops. I was a bit surprised, as in Europe most buses I’ve taken that don’t have a bathroom will do a stop or two along the way at a rest stop or gas station. That didn’t happen, but thankfully it wasn’t a long enough drive to be a problem.
I just enjoyed listening to some podcasts and staring out the window. It was a very pretty drive, especially once we neared the park.
I arrived at the van station outside of Khao Sok. It was only like a kilometer and a half to the hotel, and the road was actually in decent condition, so I opted to walk.
I stayed at Khao Sok Jungle Huts resort, a little place with guest houses outside of the national park. At the hotel I was shown to my little jungle bungalow. It’s pretty cute, up on stilts with a little porch area. Mosquito net around the bed and AC, which are both good to have.
I scheduled a full day trekking tour the next day to go through the jungle looking for wildlife. But the resort didn’t really have anything else I could do for today. The lady at the desk suggested I just “relax” until tomorrow. But that’s not really my style. I asked about a night tour that evening, but she said it would be the same route the next day so she didn’t recommend it.
I was a little disappointed, but honestly figured it might be for the best.
I went and walked around a little bit instead, had some snacks and water. I used the hiking app I have on my phone (AllTrails) to see if there were any trails outside the park I could do on my own. There was one listed nearby that was short to the monkey temple. I opted to try that.
It was basically just following some dirt roads down to the temple. Not really a “hike” but it was a good opportunity to enjoy some wildlife, take some pictures, etc. Saw some monkeys along the way who got super close to me, but seemed uninterested thankfully. I enjoyed taking some pictures of them. They were long tailed macaques, so a different variety than the ones I’d seen earlier in the trip.
I arrived at the monkey temple and it looked like it was being repaired, and also wanted me to pay to go in. I just opted to look through the gate and snap a few pictures of some monkeys I saw before heading back.
I did a little more wandering down to the main gates of the park and exploring the tiny town, but eventually headed back to my place.
I had a leisurely afternoon having some coffee on the porch, and cleaning up from getting all sweaty on my walks, and then eventually went to find dinner.
Had some Thai food not too far from my hotel at Pawn’s Restaurant. Most of the food around the park area was European… I mean it’s a very touristy area so maybe they just assume that’s what people want. I went ahead and just had Pad Thai, and it was the most mediocre of the trip. Unfortunately in an area so dominated by tourists I think they can get away with not making the food quite as good and flavorful.
I had some pineapple fritters to finish off the meal which were delicious. It began pouring rain, but thankfully slowed down a bit around the time I was done eating. I headed back to the hotel to get an early night’s sleep excited to go jungle trekking the next day.
So I had a leisurely morning at my hotel in Chiang Mai eating breakfast and everything. I checked out and left my bags with the hotel. I had a flight in the evening to head down south to get some beach time, but I plenty of time to kill before going to the airport.
I decided I wanted to go to the temple up on the mountain, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. The Spanish guy I’d talked to at the elephant sanctuary mentioned he’d hiked up but said it was a little slippery in places. I initially thought about hiking it. My phone said it would take about 2 hours… but since I no longer had access to a shower, I decided maybe that wasn’t the best idea to get super sweaty and gross.
So I figured, I’d get a ride up to the top and then walk down. Sounded like an easy idea.
The driver who picked me up immediately started negotiating about picking me up on the way back too, but I told him I was going to walk back. He was in disbelief, but told me I could just pay him 280 for the one way.
As we drove up the mountain, I wasn’t seeing any clear pedestrian trail. I think there is one, but it just wasn’t obvious. The road was very narrow and it didn’t seem good to walk up and down. It also had several long curves to get you up to the top, so was longer than the distance my phone was indicating. I decided to be smart and just not do that to myself.
Sure enough, the driver asked me a few minutes later if I was sure I wanted to walk down. I told him as it was further than I thought, yes I’d appreciate him taking me back. Could he wait an hour and would it be the same amount?
He told me he’d come back in an hour and a half. I thought he said yes to the same amount, but I think there was a miscommunication somewhere (yay language barriers). I had just enough money to be right at 600 baht, so a small tip on top for him.
Up at the temple I climbed the huge stairs up to the very top and wandered around. It was very pretty, very peaceful and had good views. I definitely didn’t feel like I needed an hour and a half, but went ahead and sat down for a mango smoothie and then looked around for some wildlife.
I went and waited where the taxi driver had indicated. The time he’d told me rolled around, and then five minutes, and then ten.
I noticed there were kind of open back trucks heading down the mountain that would take you to the downtown area for 100 baht. I gave him a few more minutes and figured I could take one of those if needed.
Thankfully, just about the time I was about to get one of the trucks, the taxi driver appeared, apologizing profusely for being late. He drove me back down to the town. Unfortunately, I guess because he’d waited he now wanted 800 for the round trip. I did not have that much in exact cash so had to just give him 1000 for the whole thing (about 30 dollars). I was pretty miffed, but just let it go. What could I really do?
I went ahead and found some lunch in the city, determined to make the rest of the day better. Had some fried rice and Thai milk tea.
Then I headed over to one of the museums I’d wanted to try called the Lanna Folklife museum. It was in an old city courthouse, so a fun building, and just gave an overview of the people who had lived in the area. It was originally the Lanna kingdom before Siam took over.
It was a good museum, fun building, good exhibits in English as well as Thai. But it didn’t take me very long. I’d planned to be back at the hotel around 5 to collect my bags and everything, but it was only about 2.
Looking online there was another museum not too far away (literally across the street), so I headed over there. This was the Chiang Mai City Arts and Culture Center. Essentially just a museum dedicated to the city itself.
Again, it was a good museum in a beautiful historical building. It was somewhat small, but overall I enjoyed it. I still had to time to kill, so I sat down at the museum coffee shop for an iced coffee. It actually was probably the best coffee I’d had the whole trip, so that was something at least.
I still had time so walked down to the 7 eleven near my hotel and bought some snacks. I wasn’t sure what options I’d have for dinner at the airport, so thought I’d at least make sure I had something (just wasn’t hungry enough for real food at 4 PM. I ate by the moat around the city and started noticing the traffic was getting pretty bad, so I figured I’d go ahead and head over a little earlier than I’d planned.
Got my bags and took a Grab car to the airport. Compared to most cities the airport is not actually not way out in the middle of nowhere, so the drive didn’t take super long even with traffic.
At the airport there were definitely limited dinner options so I had a ham and cheese panini just to get some protein and carb. I had figured the plane might give me a snack, but it actually ended up being one of those really budget airlines that makes you pay for everything. So thankfully I was not super hungry anyways and just skipped that.
We arrived in my next destination of Surat Thani about thirty minute early. I was very surprised by that, but I figured the process of getting my bags and using the bathroom and all that would take time. I figured I could maybe buy some water at a shop so I’d be set for the night (wasn’t sure what all would be available where I was), and could find an ATM and get a little more cash to be ready for the next day
However, bags came out within like 3 minutes. I’ve literally never seen baggage claim go so fast. I went to the bathroom, and came out into the lobby only to find the airport started shutting down after 8:30 PM. No water to be bought, no ATM in the immediate vicinity. However, it was just about when I’d told my hotel, Inn Khun House I’d arrive when I’d booked a shuttle service ahead of time so I started looking around.
No sign of anything in the lobby area. Went outside, no immediate sign of anything out there. The hotel had referred to it as a shuttle service, so I kind of expected an official “shuttle”. A lady working for the airport asked where I was going and tried to pass me off to a taxi driver. I turned him down and told him I already had a ride scheduled.
It was getting well past the time I’d said, so I went ahead and called the hotel to ask where I should meet them. My phone had terrible service and I could barely hear anything, especially in all the hustle and bustle of everyone leaving. All I could hear was the man telling me the price for airport pickup. I told him I’d already asked to be picked up, would that not work.
Unable to hear anything else I gave up and hung up. Started to call for a Grab car, but nothing was in the immediate vicinity.
At this point there were maybe ten people left outside the airport.
Thankfully, the hotel managed to message me on the booking app and say they could be there in 15 minutes if that still worked. They asked if I was okay, since I guess I sounded a little frazzled.
I agreed to wait the fifteen minutes, though almost everyone else was gone at that point.
Finally the driver did show up in a car and drove me back to the hotel. I guess he did remember scheduling but must have figured he didn’t need to be there right at the time I’d said figuring it would take time to get bags and everything. I actually had neglected to say what flight I was on, so he definitely didn’t know I was early, but even so apparently had just thought showing up late was okay.
Anyhow, I will say it was the one time the whole trip I was uncomfortable and wished I hadn’t been by myself. Definitely learned my lesson to not fly into small towns late at night even with a transportation plan in place. I’m just thankful it all worked out.
We arrived at the hotel. It was very basic but okay for the night. I turned in as I was super tired from the long crazy day, and just grateful to have arrived safely.
My morning started off with a rushed breakfast at my hotel. I had scheduled to visit an elephant sanctuary and my confirmation had said I’d be picked up between 7:30-8. Of course at 7:28 someone was looking for me already, so I was glad I’d brought all my things down from the room and was ready to go.
We drove around the city picking up two more groups from hotels. One lone Spanish guy, and an American family of five (didn’t catch where they were from). We drove off into the mountains to the elephant camp.
Elephant sanctuaries are tricky. While elephants that have been raised in captivity can’t necessarily be released back into the wild, they still sometimes end up being exploited at so called “sanctuaries”. In particular riding them is supposed to be something that is very bad for them, so any place that is offering rides really lacks an ethical approach. Likewise some of the places don’t have enough space to truly allow the elephants to roam and live their lives. It was important to me that if I was visiting a sanctuary it actually was helping elephants rather than just using them to make money.
This was the reason I chose Chang Chill. They were supposed to be one of the more ethical elephant rescues. In particular they didn’t allow any human interaction with their elephants (no bathing, touching, or riding) and allowed the elephants to roam on a large swath of land with a keeper nearby to keep an eye on them.
We headed up into the mountains for the day and started out by hiking around the camp looking for the elephants. There are four of them in the camp, all female adults (one mom and daughter and two others who weren’t related). We quickly found one eating and hiked down into the brush to get a better view. We watched her eat for a bit, and then headed back up to the road. The other three were all along the main road. Mom and daughter apparently like to stay very close together since they were separated for 10 years. Sounded like some of them had been giving rides to tourists prior, and a couple worked in the logging industry hauling stuff. Either way it was good to see them be happy and free enjoying life as much as they could outside of the wild.
After maybe an hour and a half of admiring them in their natural habitat we headed back down to the camp. We helped prepare their lunch for them (sugar cane and bananas). Got to use a machete to hack up the sugar cane as one of them is getting older and her teeth don’t work as well, so it needs it a little easier to chew.
Then we had our own lunch. A vegetarian Thai food buffet (rice, curried potatoes, noodles and tofu, vegetables, and watermelon).
The Spanish guy and I sat and chatted for a bit exchanging travel advice and talking about what we were doing in Thailand. There were also a few other groups there, but they seemed like they were all together, maybe some kind of college trip or something.
After our lunch we headed down to load up the feeding stations for the elephants. We waited for about twenty minutes and finally the four elephants appeared. They were very excited to eat (I guess they have some pretty big sweet tooths so sugarcane and bananas are some of their favorites).
We got to watch them eating for a bit before loading up the van and heading back to Chiang Mai.
The weather was supposed to be stormy, but thankfully held off so I just had a relaxing afternoon by the pool before cleaning up for dinner.
I found a cute place to eat called Dash. I had Gaeng Phet Phed Yang (duck in red curry sauce), a watermelon smoothie, and a mango cheesecake to finish. It was all very tasty.
Then I walked over to the Night Bazaar to at least check it out. It was basically a big market that takes place after 7 PM most nights with food, music, artists. It was huge and very fun, though I didn’t see anything I really wanted to buy.
By that point I was exhausted. Opted to get a Grab car back to my place. As it was after dark I felt a little anxious getting into a stranger’s car, but thankfully Grab offers an option of women drivers for women, so I opted for that. She dropped me off at my hotel and I packed up my stuff for the next day and set about getting a good night’s sleep.
I’m attempting to get these Thailand posts done so I can update on my latest adventures. Most of them are thankfully written out just need to be edited and have photos added. Stay tuned for the last couple days about Thailand and then on to South Africa!
Day nine was actually my most unplanned day. Anyone who knows me is aware that my travel tends to be extensively planned. I not only book all my accommodation and transportation ahead of time, but often have a daily itinerary planned out.
However, day nine kind of ended up falling apart.
I’d booked a caving tour outside of Chiang Mai. But the night before I looked and realized I had accidentally booked the wrong day. I was able to cancel for no charge, but unfortunately by the time I realized, it was too late to book for the next day.
Therefore I woke up and had a day with nothing planned. Which actually was a nice change of pace.
I had a very lazy morning at my hotel. I let myself sleep in a little before grabbing some breakfast downstairs.
I don’t think I had any hotels with bad breakfast, but this one definitely stood out. They had a huge variety, both typical western fare of eggs, toast, yogurt, but also some pineapple fried rice, passion fruit, and some kind of Thai dessert (I never did find out exactly what it was but it was sweet and sticky, pictured below as the pink rose).
I had a leisurely breakfast, finding an app for my phone to be able to make my own walking tour of the city. I used GPS My City, which worked well for putting in destinations that looked interesting to explore and then looping them into a logical walking route.
Before I left the hotel, I also decided to make a plan for my afternoon. I decided to book a Thai massage.
Anyone who knows me well is aware I really am not a fan of touching. Only really close friends and family are allowed to even hug me. I’ll tolerate cuddling with a significant other, but most of the time I just prefer to have my own personal space bubble. For that reason, it has never really occurred to me to book a massage. But, it really was something I’d heard people speak highly of, and the prices were so low (about $10) that it was difficult to resist. Besides, Thai massage was supposed to be very different from traditional western style massages. I’d seen things that described it more like assisted yoga.
I planned to be back in the late afternoon to enjoy some time at the pool and then get ready for my massage. But in the meantime I was determined to take off and see as much of the city as I could.
I followed the route the map suggested, stopping at a few temples including Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Samphoe. I admired both of them, snapping pictures, reading a few signs and reading what the app had to say about each location.
I was a little surprised at the second temple to see a sign saying women weren’t allowed in certain parts. There was a sign explaining that it was to avoid the possibility of a menstruating woman entering the temple and thereby making it unclean. There was plenty else to see, but it was my first encounter with something like that before and it definitely had me surprised. There will always be some downsides to being a female traveler, and unfortunately this was one. Places that will never be accessible to me simply because I’m a woman.
I walked past the Tha Phae Gate and then onwards through a market and to a Chinese temple the Pung Thao Kong Shrine. It was actually fun to get to see the different styles of a temple built by those who weren’t Thai.
After that it was just more wandering, mostly admiring some very beautiful flowers. I stopped at Katam Corner, a remnant of a fortification wall from the 13th century.
Then it was over to Wat Sri Suphan, the silver temple. I paid a small fee to get in and then wandered around, admiring the beautiful shining temple apparently made of silver, nickel, and aluminum.
My final stop was Nong Buak Haad, a public park with beautiful flowers. I took some pictures and a little break, but then decided I needed to head onwards.
I was getting hungry and quite warm, so I decided to stop and get some lunch. I ended up at the Phordee Bistro and had chicken with cashews and a mango smoothie. Absolutely delicious. As I was heading out, I had one of the servers run after me because I’d somehow forgotten my phone. I definitely would have noticed pretty quickly, but I still was glad of the kindness in making sure I didn’t have to come back.
The day was getting later so I headed back to the hotel. I spent a little time in the afternoon in the pool before getting ready to head to the massage area.
I was led into a darkened room with a couple of massage tables and a couple of other people already in the middle of massages. I was given some loose clothing to change into and then brought over to a table.
What followed was one of the most painful experiences of my life. This small Thai woman started with some kneading. I definitely wouldn’t call it gentle. She made sure to work pretty much every part of my body. On top of more of a typical massage, she also did pull my body into some different positions, some of which were quite painful. Nonetheless, I persevered. I knew no massage would really be my thing, but this at least was something different and unique and I hoped maybe it would help me feel a little bit better the next day.
The masseuse did tell me I was “very strong” when she was done. I wasn’t quite sure if that was a compliment or she was remarking on me resisting her movements, but either way I thanked her and tipped her before changing back into my clothes and going back to my room.
I then headed out to find dinner. I ended up at a casual restaurant called Kat’s Kitchen. I started with spring rolls and a passionfruit smoothie before moving to a yellow curry. I was asked my spice level and asked for medium. I often don’t think of myself as very good with spice, but then I meet people who tell me things they find spicy that make me just laugh. So I figured medium would probably be just right and it was.
After that I did a quick night walk, going back to Katam’s Corner to admire it all lit up and then past a couple of the temples as well.
All in all a great day, but I turned in early to be ready for more adventures on the next one!
With school starting back up, I’m unsure if I’ll actually be able to finish these posts, but I’ll certainly do my best.
My eighth day in Thailand was one of my transition days, so not spent doing quite as much as adventuring. Nonetheless, there were still some fun experiences I’d love to share.
My next destination for the trip was Chiang Mai, which is a city all the way up in the north of Thailand. I’d heard lots of good things about it, so in spite of it being a little further away, I opted to make it a priority.
Many people take the night train to get up there, but looking at prices I noted there were cheap flights from Bangkok, and with that I’d only spend a shorter time traveling for a similar price. The train was more than twelve hours, while flying was under an hour (though it would take a little more time to get a van back to Bangkok and then to the airport).
I woke early in the morning in Ayutthaya, had some breakfast at my hotel before calling a Grab Car to take me to the van station. My ticket had suggested showing up 30 minutes early, so I did so. This meant I actually ended up catching a 30 minute earlier van, and getting on the road earlier than I’d intended to. The van was pretty crowded, so I was crammed in a back seat with my backpack on my lap. Not the most glamorous ride, but cheap and effective to get back to Bangkok.
I arrived at Bangkok plenty early, called another Grab car to get to the airport.
Since I’d given myself plenty of leeway in my flight times (accounting for possible delays on the road, traffic etc), I had time to kill in the airport. So I had a coffee at a shop and relaxed for a bit and then even went to do a sit down meal for lunch (some kind of noodle dish and milk tea). I also wandered around a bit, as I hadn’t seen much of the place when I was coming in on my first day.
I had to admit it was very interesting to me that in the Bangkok airport for domestic flights you don’t go through security until you’re headed to your gate. I saw people with stickers saying they’d cleared security so they could then go back out and eat, but I opted to just wait until I was ready to go to my gate rather than coming and going. A short bit before my flight I went ahead and headed through a quick security line and headed to my gate.
The flight was very easy, and as it was so short I chose a window seat to really get the most of the views. Bangkok was fun to see from overhead, but I was most interested in seeing more of the North which I’d heard was lovely. Sure enough, the beautiful lush green surroundings to Chiang Mai were beautiful overhead.
When I’d booked my hotel on Booking.com it came with a complimentary taxi service, so I opted to use that for convenience. My driver picked me up and took me straight to my hotel, making things very easy.
I had opted to stay at the Twenty Lodge, a boutique hotel in the heart of the old city of Chiang Mai.
I checked into my hotel. They gave me some kind of refreshing tea that I really enjoyed and then showed me to my room. I set my stuff down before taking off to do a little exploring.
I enjoyed walking around a bit, mostly looking around some of the temples in the area, and admiring the canals surrounding the old city. I also spotted a few fun pieces of street art. Feel free to look through some pictures in the slideshow below.
Then I went back to my hotel and lounged by the pool for a bit.
At last I was ready to get some dinner. I cleaned up and then headed to find a restaurant.
I ended up settling at The House by Ginger, this lovely little restaurant in an old colonial home. I ordered a Chiang Mai Sling (white spirit, coconut liquor, lychee syrup, lime juice, white sugar, and pomegranate) and some fried rice with crab meat for my main course.
Everything tasted delicious, but what I loved the most was the atmosphere of the old house. It was just so fun, such a lovely romantic space with candlelight and an eclectic mix of couches and chairs at tables.
I was unable to resist dessert as well. I went with a brownie and ice cream, which was delicious and decadent. Definitely the perfect thing to end a busy day of traveling.
After I was finished eating, I headed back to the hotel. I’d been told the pool was open twenty-four hours so I opted to take one more swim before turning in for the night.
And that concluded another amazing day. Follow along to read about the other amazing days!
I woke up in my hotel in Ayutthaya and went to grab some breakfast in the courtyard before starting out on my explorations. My hotel had a nice breakfast with toast, juice, coffee, and fruit and then a main course of your choice (either more traditional Thai fare with rice etc. or more Americanized options). I went ahead and had eggs and sausage as I figured the protein would fill me up for a busy day.
Once I’d had my fair share of food, I took off towards the historic city. I started at Wat Ratchaburana . I bought a ticket to be able to get into all of the different archeological sites in the city and then headed into the first one I’d chosen to visit for the day.
Lizard spotted on the way to the temple
As with the day before, I wandered through the ruins, getting pictures and admiring everything there was to see. Wat Ratchaburana actually ended up being one of my favorite sites. One of the phrangs was actually open to go up inside. There were even some bats up in the corners of the chamber and you could admire the view of the temple from the top.
It didn’t take too long to see everything there was to see. Temperatures were heating up so I took off to the next site I’d planned to visit as quickly as I could, stopping a couple of times along the way to see other interesting things.
So as I mentioned in my last post, Ayutthaya is very spread out. Which is why a lot of people visiting more than one site choose to rent a bike. Unfortunately, overconfident person that I am, I looked at the distance and figured “oh I can just walk it”.
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson the day before of realizing Thai streets are not always built for walking.
Still, I went ahead and walked down to Wat Thammikarat, another site that was open for no charge.
Next was probably my biggest priority, heading to the site of the old palace (Wang Luang). I started by visiting Wat Mongkol Borpit. Much of Ayutthaya is in some amount of ruin, bases of buildings, crumbling phrangs, and chedis that are just exposed brick. This temple was a little more modern (1500s rather than 1300s), but it was also in a restored state and is still currently a working temple.
Picture of the temple before restoration
When I was done seeing the inside of the temple, I decided it was time to take a little break. Temperatures were continuing to rise. I know the hottest temperature I saw in terms of “currently feels like” was 109 degrees F (42 degrees C).
So I had a milk tea and some water and relaxed in the shade for a little bit.
Finally, I felt refreshed enough to continue, so I went on to visit the old palace. I wandered through, taking breaks in the shade of some trees as needed.
When I finished up seeing everything there was to see at Wang Luang, I headed over to Wat Phra Ram. I did stop to admire the elephants doing rides outside of the temple. Sadly, modern research shows that riding elephants can be harmful to them. So while I definitely would have loved to ride one in theory, I made a conscious decision not to participate. Still, I snapped a couple photos of the elephants walking by. They are definitely beautiful creatures. I hope one day Ayutthaya will get rid of their elephant rides, but sadly that’s probably a long way in the future at this point.
Still, I headed into Wat Phra Ram and saw everything there was to see there.
It was getting to be almost noon, so I hastened my pace a little, determined to see everything on my list before the heat became unbearable.
So, as quickly as I could, I made my way across the river to Wat Chaiwatthanaram, another ancient temple right along the Chao Phraya river.
I had thought about stopping for lunch, but again just felt any long break would only let the heat continue to increase. So with that in mind I grabbed some snacks at the 7 Eleven and then continued on my walk to the temple.
Some might feel like “well it’s just another crumbling temple, if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all” but for me, I enjoyed the uniqueness of each one I saw. Wat Chaiwatthanaram had several very detailed parts, and several terracotta impressions of stories from the Buddha’s life. There was some restoration work being done, so there was some ugly scaffolding on a couple parts, but otherwise it was still impressive to see.
As I was already on the other side of the river, I opted to head down to Wat Phutthaisawan. It was one of the few temples that wasn’t completely destroyed during the collapse of Ayutthaya so it is actually still in beautiful condition and still used today. Unfortunately, it too was having some restoration work and had scaffolding, but it was still interesting to see what the former city might have looked like in its full glory rather than the crumbling archeological site that it is today.
The temperature was reaching its peak, and in order to get back across the river to my hotel, it would be a long walk. I opted to have a Grab car pick me up and take me to the Ayutthaya Historical Study Center on the other side of the river.
The study center was a small museum talking more about the history of Ayutthaya and giving more information about the various archeological sites. I particularly enjoyed that it was airconditioned so I could start to cool down after so much time out in the sun.
After I’d seen everything there was to see inside, I headed back out. I debated if I wanted to go elsewhere, but honestly I was exhausted. I’d walked about 14 miles (22 km), so I needed a break.
I headed back to my hotel, had a cold shower and otherwise just relaxed for the remainder of the hot and humid afternoon.
I was definitely getting pretty hungry though, so I soon mustered my strength and went back out to find some food. I ended up at Malakor Kitchen and Cafe.
I sat on their porch as the inside had open windows as well, so wouldn’t be much cooler. They did have lots of fans at least, so that definitely helped with the heat.
I had a passionfruit smoothie, some spring rolls, and a curry with pork and betel leaves (a leafy green kind of like spinach). Everything was delicious.
After finishing up dinner, I took a few more pictures of the temples lit up at night before heading back to my hotel. I needed to get packed as I would be taking off for my next destination early the next morning. However, I definitely had enjoyed what Ayutthaya had to offer. I saw so much beautiful history and it’s not a place I’ll forget anytime soon.
I had a lazy morning around Greenleaf Guesthouse to start my day. But, as much as I wanted to stick around Khao Yai National Park a bit longer, I had other parts of Thailand to explore. So I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast before getting ready to go.
In the late morning, a driver took me and three others to the train station. We were all catching the same train, one heading to Bangkok but making a stop first in Ayutthaya.
I had never heard of Ayutthaya before I started researching places to see in Thailand, but it’s a pretty popular tourist destination, especially for those interested in history. Ayutthaya was at one point the Siamese capital, founded in the 1300s. Today there are ruins in varying states of decay of the once great city.
My train ride was a lot less pleasant than my first one was. I had chosen to sit in third class, as apparently second class (the best for regular trains during the day) was all booked up.
Though the second class car was definitely nothing fancy, third class was much more cramped and had no AC, just fans and an open window. You could tell people are used to being crammed on at times, as there were handles like they have on buses and subways. I did find it very interesting that there were reserved seats for Buddhist monks that clearly are set aside at all times.
Thankfully it wasn’t a very long ride, maybe an hour and a half to two hours. I did my best to just look out the window and admire the countryside. At last, we finally arrived at the small train station.
I bid farewell to the other two people who’d been in my group at the guesthouse with me before setting out to my hotel.
My phone said it was less than a mile to the hotel. I’ve walked more than that before, even with a heavy suitcase, so I waved off taxi drivers and set off walking.
Maybe three minutes later I realized what a mistake this was.
While I’ve struggled with suitcases on cobblestone streets and the like in Europe, I found Ayutthaya to be lacking in pedestrian spaces. If there was a sidewalk it often was crumbling, blocked by bins, bikes, cars etc. I was ending up in the street quite a bit and also noticed I’d have to take what looked like a freeway overpass to get over the train tracks. I was a bit dubious that there would be a proper walkway across that. On top of that it was over 100 degrees F (37 C). So, I parked myself in the shade on a corner, pulled out my phone and requested a Grab Car.
My ride was there a few minutes later, taking me to my hotel in blissful air conditioning.
Sure enough, it was a very short drive, but I was relieved to be out of the heat and felt this was a safer option to walking overall.
I arrived at my hotel, Luang Chumni Village. It was pretty much a large house in traditional Thai style with some modern amenities. I spent a few minutes in the AC in my room, drinking some water and laughing at the “No Durian” signs on the fridge. For any who don’t know, Durian is a very smelly fruit, so I did see several signs asking people not to have it in hotels and other public spaces, but this was my first encounter.
Finally, I gathered my day pack and set out to go explore.
The remains of the historic city of Ayutthaya is quite large, spread out across the city, though concentrated on an island in the middle. Still, I knew being mid afternoon I probably would only see a small part and could concentrate on seeing more the next day as I was staying two nights.
Some ruins close to my hotel (free to wander around)
I grabbed a few snacks at 7 Eleven and then took off to Wat Maha That, the remains of an ancient temple. As Ayutthaya is spread out, you can buy a ticket to get you into all the sites for one day, or just individually buy ones for the sites you want to visit. There are also some parts that are free, but the more elaborate structures all charge. I went ahead and just bought an individual ticket, figuring it was unlikely I’d see more than one part with so little of the day remaining.
Sure enough, I wandered through the temple and found myself dripping sweat. It’s pretty exposed out in the sun. They provided free umbrellas for people to shade themselves, but even that only did so much. I also had noticed signs asking women to cover up, so I had slipped some lightweight pants over my shorts, warming me further. I’m not sure the rule was actually being enforced, but I would rather be safe and respectful.
I just meandered through the various temple structures, admiring crumbling phrangs, old pieces of statues, and everything there was to see.
I finally wrapped up my wanderings and headed out of the complex. I noticed there was a park behind the temple, Bueng Phra Ram Park, a large green space with some ponds and shady trees. I sat under one of the trees to eat a snack and rehydrate.
As I was doing so, and debating what I wanted to do next, I noticed a beautiful bird flying by.
I mentioned in my last post, but for any who don’t know I’ve become very interested in birding in the last year. I read a book about the intelligence of birds called The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman and every since I’ve been hooked. It’s pretty budget as far as hobbies go and makes for good motivation to get out into nature. So, needless to say seeing some new birds had me intrigued.
Turned out the bird was a Common Hoopoe. But as I watched it fly away I was beginning to notice more birds gathered around the large ponds.
Since I knew the day was drawing to a close, not the best time to go explore the other sites, I figured this might make for a good conclusion to my day. I’d stick to the shade of the park and see what beautiful new birds and other animals I could spot.
So I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering, taking photos, listening and looking for birds. I wandered over bridges and looked at a few free ruins in the mix. I recorded a number of new species I had never seen before. I also was surprised by alarge Asian Monitor Lizard in the waters of a pond. He disappeared into the lush aquatic plants before I could snap a picture.
At last, I was tired and ready to be done for the day. I headed back to the hotel, bought some cold water on the way and then took a cold shower to refresh before dinner.
For dinner I ate at a place called Earl Thai. I know I had some kind of a chicken and rice dish which I enjoyed. I had wanted to do one of the curries but unfortunately it was unavailable the night I was there.
On my way back to my hotel I took some pictures of the temples in the evening light. I also stopped by the night market. I’ve seen my fair share of markets in Europe, but definitely haven’t visited one at night, so that was a fun new experience. I didn’t buy anything, but enjoyed wandering a bit.
As I was heading back to the hotel, I realized I was still a little hungry so I grabbed some chocolate ice cream at a local parlor called Duca Tim. They did soft serve, two flavors for the day. You could get one or both flavors in a swirl and then pick your cone flavor. It was very fun and colorful experience!
Finally I headed back to the hotel, determined to get a good night’s rest before another eventful day.
I began my morning in Khao Yai National Park with breakfast at my guest house. Greenleaf Guest House has a small restaurant attached, so they offered food you could order. I had eggs, toast, fruit, and coffee.
After filling up, our group hopped on the back of the truck and took off for the park with our guide, a different one than the day before.
We stopped at the park gates. Apparently they need names of anyone entering the park submitted ahead of time online, and our guide had done so, but technology being what it is, it hadn’t gone through. We entered our names in her phone again and waited before finally being granted access.
The roads wound up into the mountains through beautiful lush jungle. Even as someone who had visited beautiful tropical locations before, I was in awe of the gorgeous scenery.
A few minutes up the road, we stopped pretty quickly, our guide noticing a snake in some bushes on the side of the road. Somehow she’d managed to see it from her spot in the passenger seat. We were all quite impressed with her skills.
It was an Oriental Whipsnake, named for its slim body and crested eyes. Our guide tried to pull it out of the bushes to look at more closely but eventually had to just let it continue on its way as it had slithered out of her reach.
We continued driving onwards, keeping our eyes peeled for more wildlife.
At the top of the mountains we stopped at a viewpoint. Our guide passed out leech socks. To anyone not familiar with leech socks (I definitely wasn’t before this trip) they are small cloth sacks the size of your foot that you slide on like a sock over your socks and the bottom of your pant leg. You then fasten them to keep them tight around your leg, thereby preventing leeches from crawling under your pant legs and finding a place to feed. As it was becoming the wet season in Thailand, leeches were more of a problem so it was important to take precautions.
After some pictures at the viewpoint and securing our socks in place, we continued driving. We stopped at the visitor’s center and had a look around and a short break. Our guide gave us some mango sticky rice in banana leaf as a snack to prepare for our upcoming hike. Then we were back on the road again.
We stopped for a view of a Great Hornbill. As someone who’s gotten into birding lately, I was definitely thrilled to get to add such a beautiful species to my life list.
We did a little more driving and looking for species from the car, but sadly weren’t able to see much else. Our guide then had us stop at a trailhead and we began walking into the jungle.
Our first animal spotted was a Cardamom Mountains Pricklenape, a very unique looking lizard. Our guide kept joking about him wearing eyeshadow since he does have a dark coloring around his eyes.
We kept walking further into the trees. I was at the back, but suddenly the entire group froze. Everyone ahead of me was open-mouthed. As I crept a bit closer, I caught a glimpse of a large black furry form. Before I could even think to raise my camera, it bolted into the trees.
At first I was unable to even comprehend what I’d seen. My brain was trying to register monkey, but I knew the largest monkeys in the area weren’t that big.
Our guide, who was also still in some shock, said it was a juvenile Sun Bear. In all her years at the park, she said she’d never seen one that close before.
We waited for a bit while our guide called her boss and told him. He was nearby and came to look around and see if he could find the bear again. Sadly no luck.
Our guide had calmed down some, but she was still a little shaken. Admittedly to come face to face to such a large and dangerous animal, had to be a shocking experience. As I hadn’t gotten as good of a look and hadn’t even realized what I was looking at until after it was gone, I wasn’t quite so scared.
We continued on our walk, stopping to look at some different insects and bugs. We also spotted some claw marks left from a Sun Bear in the area.
We took a break at a large tree… well I say tree but really it was just where a tree had been before vines had strangled it. Now the vines remained like a giant cage. We climbed through them, amazed at how large they were.
The group sat and ate some snacks. Our guide had gone to scope ahead, leaving us alone. We sat chatting for a bit before we became intrigued by something inching along the ground. It looked like a little dark colored worm, moving in a strange manner, inching and wriggling and then standing on one end and stretching towards us. We were all quite curious.
Our guide returned and we asked her about the strange creature. She told us to move away as that was a leech and the reason it was moving towards us was because it could sense us and was looking to feed.
Thoroughly freaked out we all backed away and followed our guide onwards. It definitely wasn’t like leeches I’d seen in movies.
A few minutes later while looking at something I felt a strange sensation on my finger. It felt like playing with a straw as a child, pressing it to your skin and sucking. Sure enough when I looked down there was a leech clinging to my hand.
I immediately began to panic. I’ll admit, it was not my finest moment.
My guide flicked the leech away and looked at my hand. The little beast hadn’t broken the skin thankfully. She said it was unlikely they would as finger pads have pretty thick skin on them.
Needless to say I kept my arms closer to my body from then on out, worried about brushing against vegetation and having another tiny hitchhiker join me for a ride.
The jungle soon cleared and we came into a large grassland type area. We saw some elephant footprints and dung, but sadly no elephants.
In the middle of the grassland was a watch tower to look for animals. So we climbed up and took a look around. No luck at spotting anything big, though we did admire some swift nests built under the tower.
At last, we came to the end of the trail. The truck met us there and drove us to a restaurant in the park where we had lunch. I went ahead and ordered Pad Thai again, though it wasn’t nearly as good as the day before. Our group enjoyed our food and some fresh watermelon, chatting and sharing pictures with one another. Sadly, no one had managed to get a picture of the Sun Bear before it took off.
With some time remaining for our lunch break, we wandered around the restaurant area a little. I ordered an iced milk tea. I also admired a Sambar (a type of deer) lying near the rest area.
Our guide had set up her scope near a bird nest up front, keeping an eye out for the mama bird to come back. Sure enough, a Long Tailed Broadbill soon showed up. We admired her colors through the scope.
As we were getting pictures of the bird, there was a commotion behind us. Turning around, we saw a monkey with something in his mouth quickly climbing up to the roof of the restaurant. Apparently the sneaky macaque had snuck down, grabbed someone’s food and then quickly headed back up to hide on the roof out of reach.
We had a good time sitting and watching him for a bit, before our guide told us it was time to go. The monkey we’d seen earlier sat at the exit, seemingly watching us leave. He really was prime entertainment.
On the road we drove around a little bit, seeing a juvenile Red Muntjac and its mother. We also saw a large Asian Water Monitor Lizard, though our guide assured us it was actually more of a medium size.
We stopped at a waterfall, hiking down into the canyon to get a better look and take some pictures. Sadly, there is no swimming allowed in the park, but it was still beautiful.
After that the leech socks were finally able to come off as we would be spending the remainder of our trip in the back of the truck.
Apparently evenings are a good time to spot wildlife, so the tour concluded with a drive along some of the roads keeping an eye out for monkeys and elephants.
But after only a short time of driving, our driver pulled over and our guide asked us to hop out quickly. The driver went and grabbed something out of the road using a piece of cloth. He came over to where we were standing on the side of the road and put down the biggest scorpion I’d ever seen. Looking it up later it was a type of Giant Forest Scorpion. Thanks to their large size and bright green color they are very a bit easier to spot crossing the road, so our guide thought it would be a fun thing for us to see, and we’d save it from being run over too.
Our guide let us get some pictures, even turning it around so we could get a better angle. She’s definitely a braver woman than I.
After we were done photographing the scorpion, we hopped back in the truck and continued driving. And before too long we started spotting monkeys. Lots and lots of Pig-Tailed Macaques hanging out along the road. Most of them know that tourists often have food and make easy pickings. Our guide had warned us ahead of time to have food and even sodas tucked away if we didn’t want monkeys in the truck stealing from us. We got to admire them from a safe distance, especially laughing at one larger male who would block traffic to check if there was anything worth taking.
The sun was beginning to go down, so unfortunately we did eventually turn around and head back towards the exit of the park. No elephants spotted.
I was at the back of the truck, so I was staring down the road behind us. I noticed a fuzzy black head poking out of a bush towards the side of the road. My mind immediately jumped to a dog based on the size, and knowing there were plenty of feral dogs in Thailand, I just assumed one had made its home in the park. But as I started to laugh about it to the group, I watched a bear look both ways before heading out of the bushes. And behind the bear were two little black cubs. Sadly by the time I realized, I didn’t get a picture, and only one other person in the group saw it. I apologized for not realizing sooner it was a bear, as I’m used to American bears which are much bigger. Still, I was thrilled to know I’d seen not one but four sun bears in my time in the park. I missed a porcupine others spotted at the front of the truck later, so it was definitely luck of the draw sometimes on spotting wildlife.
We headed back to the guest house for the night. As most of us had to pack or were leaving by train that night, we didn’t hang out as long in the evening, but did enjoy dinner together before heading back to get working on packing our bags, ready for another adventure in the day ahead. I would miss Khao Yai, but definitely looked forward to something new the next day.
After getting up and having breakfast at my hotel in Bangkok, I called for a Grab car to take me to the train station. My next destination for the trip was Khao Yai National Park.
I had booked a train to Pak Chong, the town nearest to the main park entrance.
I’d heard all kinds of rumors about Thai trains always being delayed, having problems, slower than driving, etc. I had none of those problems, so I was actually pretty happy with my first train experience.
Now, I love national parks, but unfortunately they are one type of tourist destination where you really need to have a car. I did manage to visit a national park in Croatia without a car… but from my research, this just really wouldn’t be feasible for Khao Yai. I already hate driving in my own country, and can’t even fathom what it would be like to drive in Thailand with crazy traffic and the fact they drive on the other side of the road from what we’re used to in the states. So, since renting a car or motorbike was not something I was willing to consider, I opted instead to hire a tour company to take me into the park. I knew there were trails you weren’t supposed to access without a guide anyways (I guess some tourists got lost in the jungle at night at some point and sadly ruined it for everyone). So it seemed like a good option to go with that.
Settling on the tour company option, I ended up hiring Greenleaf Guesthouse and Tours. Initially I was just going to use them to do the tour, but I ended up deciding to also use their accommodations for simplicity’s sake. This would be a little change from my usual type of place though, as the guesthouse was less of a hotel and more of a backpackers retreat. Very basic, only a bed and small bathroom. No AC. No hot water.
Still, the driver picked me up at the train station and took me and a few others over to the guest house. When I’d contacted the guest house a couple weeks before they’d said no one else was signed up to tour on that day, and I might end up having to pay more for a private tour just by myself. But thankfully a few others did end up signing up last minute so I was able to do a half day and full day tour for a much lower price and with other people to adventure with. Though I love solo travel, it does get a little lonely sometimes, so a group tour can be a nice change of pace.
We were dropped off at the guesthouse and had a little time to get ready for the half day tour. Once I’d gathered my stuff and made sure I was appropriately dressed in long pants and closed-toed shoes, I headed to the restaurant area out front of the guesthouse. I went ahead and ordered lunch before we took off, doing chicken and cashews with rice which was really delicious.
Having been fed, we loaded onto an open-backed truck and set off down the windy roads. We stopped briefly at a huge golden statue of a monk. Apparently he had turned salt water on one of the Thai islands into freshwater and therefore was very revered and had the statue built in his honor.
Back in the truck, we were offered some chips as a snack and then headed to our next destination: the Ban Tha Chang spring.
Everyone shed their clothes and jumped in the water to enjoy cooling down after time out in the heat. Our guide even built a makeshift changing room for anyone who needed it and most of us spent the time just relaxing and cooling off.
The water was so refreshing and felt amazing. Our guide pointed out a few more natural wonders to us such as a golden orbweaver spider in the trees (too far away to get a decent picture) before we hopped back in the truck again.
In the parking lot, our guide had found a huge millipede and had fun showing it off to us. He let those who felt brave enough hold it. My appreciation of bugs and insects has come a long ways, but I still am not fond of critters crawling on me so I opted to pass.
Before too long we pulled over at a temple called Wat Sa Nam Sai. We walked around the grounds a bit, and our guide showed us some local insects such as the weaver ants that build their homes by sewing leaves together. Our guide then handed us masks to put on our faces and flashlights and led us to some stairs heading deep into the earth.
We passed hanging tree roots and descended into the dark depths. At the bottom of the stairs, we saw several branching caverns and a Buddha statue, and we heard some squeaking noises.
This Buddhist temple also had a cave as a part of their complex. The monks use it to meditate, coming down and sitting in the complete darkness and relative silence and using it to empty their minds. But other residents have made themselves at home alongside the monks. These were thousands of small bats.
Our guide showed us various bats, two different species. He explained more about them to us while we wandered through the caves. He did at one point lead us back into the furthest depths and asked us turn off our flashlights and fall quiet, seeing what the monks must experience when they meditate. It truly was pitch blackness, darker than anything I’ve experienced before.
The bats kept fluttering around us. Our guide did mention that sometimes the young ones will bump into you. I didn’t personally have any hit me, but they definitely came pretty close. I’m not a person who’s scared of bats, so personally I found it to be an amazing experience.
Back out of the cave we removed our masks. Apparently sometimes there’s fungus that grows in bat guano, so it was just a precaution. We jumped back on the truck and headed off down the road.
We stopped at another cave, though our guide warned us we weren’t going in, and certainly wouldn’t want to even if we could. Apparently while there had been a hundred thousand bats in the previous cave, there were more than two million in the current one.
Instead, we took woven mats and went and sat in the nearby fields. Our guide offered some fresh pineapple and binoculars and we waited as the sun went down. Hawks were beginning to gather, knowing what was coming. And indeed as the sun sank lower, bats began to emerge from the cave from two separate entrances. Millions upon millions poured forth, flying in clouds through the sky.
I’ve put pictures below, but truly they can’t capture the experience. The noise of millions of wings flapping, of little bat sounds, the hawks swooping down to get dinner. It was a marvel to experience and something I’ll likely never forget.
After the clouds of bats were beginning to disperse, our guide had us go and stand along the road facing some trees. The sun had almost fully sunk at this point, so it was getting very dark. We stood very still and quiet, and then sure enough a few bats began to fly out towards us. One girl on the tour freaked out a little and had me trade places with her so I was more in the middle of the fray. I stood there letting the bats fly past me, hearing their wings flap and their little squeaks as they avoided colliding with me. Apparently these were the same ones we saw earlier. They take a route out of the cave and through the trees every night and our guide has memorized their route and enjoys putting his groups in that experience.
At last, our guide called it a night, though one of our members realized she’d dropped her phone somewhere. We formed a search party and combed the field we’d been sitting in and thankfully were able to find it.
Our guide made two last stops, one to show us the fireflies, and another at the local 7 eleven to pick up any needed supplies for the next day (apparently a couple people didn’t have good insect repellent).
Back at our guesthouse we had dinner together. I ordered the Pad Thai. I’d been putting it off, not wanting to be too much of a stereotypical tourist. It actually ended up being the best Pad Thai I had on the trip, so I was very glad I had it when I did.
Me and a couple others chatted for a while before finally heading to bed. The guesthouse rooms were indeed very basic, but after a tiring day like the one I’d had it didn’t really matter. I took a cold shower, turned on my bedroom fan and collapsed into bed, ready for the next day, and looking forward to even more adventures.
Day three of my Thailand adventure was my last full day in Bangkok before I’d take off elsewhere (I would have one final half day in Bangkok at the end of my trip, but it wouldn’t be quite as much time). So I was determined to make the most of it.
I again got up early and had a delicious hotel breakfast. I was not feeling quite as warm that morning for some reason, so I opted to get in a swim before taking off. Since the weather hadn’t cooperated the evening before, I was definitely craving some pool time.
After my swim, I took off for the day towards the river. My goal was to go to Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn, which was on the other side of the Chao Phraya River and a ways down from there. I’d read one of the easiest ways to get there was to take the local ferry so opted to do that.
The ferry ended up being very easy to use. Bought a ticket from the booth on the pier and then hopped on when it arrived. It took me down the river a little further where I got off right in front of the temple.
I was realizing maybe I should have skipped the swim and taken off a little earlier. It was boiling hot out in the direct sun and there was limited shade around the temple.
Still, I wandered around and enjoyed the sights (and the complimentary small bottle of water) before stopping at a coffee shop nearby to refresh. I had a strawberry mango tea which was so delicious.
I could feel my energy fading in the heat. After all the walking of the day before my body just couldn’t quite handle it. I’d been wanting to maybe do a museum in the afternoon anyways, so I headed to the National Museum Bangkok. I took the ferry back across the river and then walked over, though I ended up running into road closures that made my route take longer. I was in Thailand right during the queen’s birthday, which is a huge to-do in Bangkok, so they’d closed off some roads around the palace.
Purple ribbons were everywhere to help celebrate the queen’s birthday
I actually ended up enjoying the museum pretty well. There were a couple of different structures on the grounds, a house and temple. It also had several different galleries featuring artifacts and art from Thailand. Feel free to peruse the gallery below.
The museum itself was airconditioned, though to get to different galleries you did have to walk outside. And I could tell I’d just kind of exhausted myself and was feeling a little dizzy and dehydrated after an hour or so.
Knowing I needed water and maybe some food, I opted to go eat at the museum café. Now, normally I avoid cafes at touristy spots other than for things like coffee or beverages maybe. But I definitely didn’t want to walk any further, and besides, I wanted to finish up the museum after I’d refreshed and wasn’t certain I could come back in after I left.
So I sat down at the cafe. It was outdoors, but shaded and had lots of fans. Honestly, AC is nice, but fans are really what you need when it is that hot and humid. The air circulation just feels so good and helps zap the moisture away from your body.
At the cafe I had Thai basil fried rice with chicken. It was actually super tasty. They brought the chilis on the side, but I went ahead and added them. The first two days I had been careful with my stomach adjusting so hadn’t indulged in much spice yet, so it was good to finally get to experience some of the heat Thai cooking is famous for.
I seriously was impressed by the food quality, especially because the prices weren’t super inflated like they sometimes are at tourist stops. I went ahead and had two bottles of water and an ice cream, and by the time I was done was definitely feeling much better.
I finished up at the museum, seeing all of the galleries. I was glad I’d chosen to refuel so I could enjoy the rest of the place. One of my favorite parts was the “garage” that housed some of the royal chariots which were incredibly ornate and impressive.
Having seen everything the museum had to offer, then walked back to my hotel to have another lazy afternoon by the pool. Honestly, I figured I should make the most of my pool space as the next two hotels I’d stay at wouldn’t have one.
After relaxing for a while, I headed back out to find some dinner.
I saw good reviews for a place called Steve Cafe and Cuisine on the water. The name made me chuckle a little, and made me think maybe it was overly touristy, but sitting along the river sounded perfect, and they had pretty good reviews.
So I walked over, admiring temples and other sights along the way.
At the restaurant I was asked to take off my shoes. In my research on Thailand I’d been warned some restaurants might do this, but I still was a little surprised at first. I stowed my shoes in a locker they offered and then headed in.
Barefoot I walked over to my table along the waterfront. Once again the restaurant was outdoors, but shaded and had good fans. And the views were lovely.
I watched as the sun sank down, though the sunset wasn’t great since clouds were starting to roll in.
I started off with a Thai milk tea, which was so refreshing and delicious. Then for my dinner I had the soft-shell crab with black pepper. I realized after ordering it I hadn’t tried soft-shell crab before, only traditional crab removed from its shell. I’m not a fan of eating things like shrimp tails (I know some people don’t mind it but it’s a texture that really bothers me). I was a little nervous, but I told myself to be brave, and that I wouldn’t know if I liked it or not until I tried it.
It actually was really delicious. The shell wasn’t quite as crunchy as a shrimp tail, though still probably not my first choice of texture. Still it was fun to try something new and it was flavorful and different.
Since the sunset wasn’t spectacular, I didn’t linger too long after finishing my food. I opted to walk back to my hotel. One of the roads I’d walked up on the way there was pretty deserted, so I was a little nervous walking in the dark. I took a different route, a little longer but sticking to more major thoroughfares. There were plenty of other people still out though, so at no point did I really feel unsafe.
At my hotel the weather was actually still behaving to my relief so I went for one last swim before concluding the evening.
Join me next time for more details of my trip, and my next destination… Khao Yai National Park!
To Roam the Roads of Lands Remote 