Ayuthaya to Chiang Rai

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Our first stop on the way to Chiang Rai was Ayuthaya. We took a tuk-tuk round to see all the sights - ancient temples and "chedi", bell-shaped treaure troves where kings and past rulers have been buried inside.


We then took a bus from here to Sukhothai (rising happiness) - it was only a six hour journey so not too bad. We were the only non Thai people on the bus - a grandmother was walking her restless grand-daughter up and down the aisle, when she reached us the little girl wanted to get up on my lap, where she was smiling and touching my face..she then noticed Sam out of the corner of her eye and promptly burst into tears! Sukhothai has an old town consisting of many temples and historical sites which we biked around on 70's style "choppers". It was very peaceful and calming - there were lots of monks going about their daily routines.


From here we took another bus to Chiang Mai - as we were planning on being here for 3 nights we decided to splash out and have been very frivolous and spent 8 pounds (there's no "pound" sign on this japanense keyboard!) on a room. It is more like a hotel with cable tv and a swimming pool - the hardships of backpacking! Chiang Mai has a nice feel to it - there is a night market at which you can purchase anything that you could possibly think of as well as a weekend market which we stumbled upon last night (Saturday) - this was filled with musicians, street performers and lots of delicious food stalls..we both ate for under a pound. We were going to go trekking from here but decided to save that for Laos as they do lots of eco-friendly treks - we also didn't want to waste precious time that could be spent laying by the pool! We did go for our first (and last for me) Thai massage yesterday - it was an hour long full body massage that basically works by the lady trying to forcibly remove each of your digits and limbs from your body whilst you lie there pretending to be relaxed! It was one of the most painful things that I have experienced - it turns out that Sam is actually quite a natural masseuse as this is the type of torture that he has been saying is a massage for years! The massage culminated in the lady sitting on top of you with her knees in your buttocks twisting your arms behind your back at the same time - why!?!


We arrived in Chiang Rai today but are only spending a night here and heading for Laos tomorrow. It is very relaxed, with a chilled out atmosphere here - most people only use it as a base for exploring the northern border with Myanmair and Laos as there is not a huge amount to do in the town itself. There is a night food market that we'll go to this evening and then head off ealry tomorrow to get across the border - looking forward to kicking back in Laos!

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Photos

Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol
in Ayuthaya

Wat Phra Mahathat
Buddha head entangled in tree roots in Ayuthaya

Wat Ratburana
The old palace in Ayuthaya

Wat Mahatthat
This time in Sukhothai

Comments

[vicky,colin and girls]

HI
looks and sounds amazing you are brightening up the dreary damp days here in Glasgow.Glad to hear that you are not roughing it too much!v+c