The Real Thailand

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Wow, we have done so much in a very short time - yesterday morning, we hopped on another songtheaw for 3.5 hours and arrived in Ayutthaya about noon. We were soon taken to a rice barge converted to a tourist vessel and began a relaxing afternoon cruise up the Mae Nam River. What a relaxing afternoon! We stopped once to take bikes to local villages to learn about how Thais really live and work. Our first stop on the bike tour was a brick village. It seems that each village, at least in this area, is comprised of artisans of one craft. I saw signs for a doll-making village on the way to Ayutthaya, and today we visited other similar villages of different crafts. Everything is made im mass quantities by hand by only a few people. Pretty amazing. The brick makers in this village supply much of Northern Thailand and it costs only 20 Bhat (approx. 50 cents) for 100 bricks.

After the brick-making village, we biked to a farm that trained elephants to help them haul palm and other items. They had an area where we could feed the elephants and pet the babies - very neat! If I have time, I will upload a photo 😊

Back at the boat we continued our journey up river. We finally had some time to relax, have a few drinks, and recover from the 3.5 hours sitting in the back of a crowded pick-up with seats. The boat crew prepared an amazing traditional Thai meal for us, but held off on the chilis for us westerners 😉 Then we docked next to a Wat and spent the night on the boat. Local villagers stopped by to give us excellent 1-hour massages for only $4.25. I Then took advantage of the relaxed state I was in and went to bed just after early because I wanted to wake up at 6am this morning to experience a traditional Buddhist ritual.

Every morning, a few monks walk down the village streets where the villagers wait for them to offer food to them as an act of honor and thanks. OUr boat crew prepared rice and vegetables for us so that we could also participate in this ritual if we wanted to. We thus offered food to the monks, then got down on our knees, bowed our heads, put our hands in a prayer-like position, and the monks chanted to us, wishing us long, healthy lives and good luck. This was a very peaceful and enlightening experience.

Back on the boat, breakfast was waiting for us - the most amazing pineapple and watermelon I have ever tasted! So juicy and sweet, nothing like what we get in the States. After that, we went on another bike tour of neighboring villages. First stop, a knife making shop - hand-made swords and kitchen knives. Then on to a dessert shop where they make bars out of rice, nuts, sugar cane, and sesame. Yummy! I bought some to take home, so catch me as soon as you can after Jan. 8 to try a bite! Next stop, a mushroom farm, and then to a high school to visit with some students learning English. This was a lot of fun. The students were assigned to ask us questions in English and then write down our answered and report this information back to their teacher after we left. Amazing kids, not shy at all.

Back to the boat we went and sailed down river back to Ayutthaya where we are now waiting to go on a tour of the ancient ruins of the last capital of Siam. Then we hop on a night train and hopefully sleep for most of the 12 hours it will take us to get to Chiang Mai. Hot showers, laundry facilities, and real toilets, here we come!!!!!!

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Photos

Carmalizing Sugar Cane
A village woman in charge of carmalizing the sugar cane used to make Thai sweets