Blogs from Lampang, North-West Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 2

Lampang Having recharged the batteries in Chiang Mai, we headed for the city of Lampang a few hours south of Chiang Mai. As usual, the bus station was complete chaos, little english is spoken, and notice boards and both (un)helpful passers-by are full of contradictory information! We eventually got tickets and arrived a few hours later in this small, quaint town. Both our reconnaisance and information in the Lonely Planet was poor and in this instance we were booked in at a hotel called the Top Hotel which they equated to a smaller Hyatt. Needless to say, it wasn´t, but we settled in and decided to explore. Our two main reasons for coming to Lampang were to visit the largest and most reknowned elephant conservation centre and to see a paricular teak temple thought to be ... read more

Day Nine...The Munch Bunch!!! If I eat anymore pineapple, I am worried that I am going to turn into a member of the Munch Bunch...not quite sure which one but I am sure Jojo or Miss Kat will inform me of this vital piece of information. Thai food is actually beginning to agree with me, which is a big surprise especially having never eaten the stuff in my life before. Also at this point, I have to mention to The Macsquirrel back in the UK that they lay every table out here left-handed...the amount of grief she gives me back in the UK as a result is untrue! Todays leg of the journey took us from Sukhothai northwards to Lampang whose city is proudly represented by the chicken! We visited several historic sights including those at ... read more

Hi all, How is everyone? Hope you're all doing okay. So after 2 pick-up trucks, 1 taxi, 2 buses and 20 hours later we arrived in Lampang, Northern Thailand. Lampang was a a lot less touristic than all the other places we have visited so far and we were often the only farangs (foreigners) in sight. The town was probably more representative of Thai life but we found that there was little to do here. On Wednesday 19th March we got a taxi to the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre. We had enrolled on a 3 day / 2 night mahout (elephant trainer) course to learn about the elephants and how to ride/command them. I was assigned a 10 year old asian female elephant called Wanalee (which I think was the cutest but I'm biased) and Stu ... read more

I spent the weekend in the sleepy City of Lampang. Almost untouched by tourism, a much more laid back atmosphere. As I had left my computor back in my room in Chaing Mai I was unable to update my blog, but better late than never.... read more

Monday. December 31. Day 7. Phitsanulok to Sukothai to Lampang. Gathering merit. Before we leave town we visit one more temple. At Wat Yai, Anya, who at 16 is the youngest group-member, and I, representing the whole group, make an offering to a monk. On our knees, we place a bucket containing a monk's robe and an assortment of food on a platform in front of the monk. Because we are women we aren't allowed to make the offering directly to him. After he accepts several donations, he blesses us with holy water tossed on to the people in front of him using flexible sticks (made from coconut trees) that he dips in water. Afterward I move to the area in front of the Buddha and sit quietly for awhile. I am almost sure I feel ... read more