Sore Bums but Happy Days

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March 23rd 2008

Published: April 11th 2008

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nezca

Wat Mahatat

Day number two of our photo adventure! We were both thrilled to have found a travel companion that was also concerned about positioning the diagonal and fighting the bright white sky. Small pleasures for creative minds I guess. LOL!

We rode a local bus to Si Satchanali and the bus trip was hilarious. It was us and some local women, several who appeared to be carting items to market. About halfway through our journey, someone took a vote and it was decided we were going to stop for breakfast because everyone was hungry. Nik and I were not included in this vote, but the women were all very concerned that we should eat and kept encouraging us to get off the bus with them. I couldn't bear the thought of food as my stomach was still not 100% and it was simply too early for me to deal with whatever was being served. Nik had been pulling out little snacks from the bottom of his rucksack all morning - bananas, peanuts, oranges - so he was pretty much all set. So we waited. And waited. And eventually, everyone trooped back on the bus and we continued along.

An hour

Nick scrambles for the top

and a half after departing, we got dropped on the side of the road, rented bicycles from a perky old woman who kept pinching me and insisted on giving me kisses, passed through an archway, and faced a rickety suspension bridge. I refused to ride across so I got off the bike and walked it. While it was only wide enough for two people to pass, scooters thought nothing of driving their way across the bridge and squeezing pass the crazy tourist walking her bike. Look at the pictures! Would you have ridden it?

What we found was an enormous fair going on. It didn't appear to be a normal market, although maybe Friday is the day for selling and buying. However, there was a small ferris wheel and the wat near the entrance was draped in colorful cloths, there was music blaring from each corner, and a man speaking over the sound system that was being piped all around the temple. We lingered there for a bit and then pushed our way through the very crowded market and struck out for where we hoped the historical park would be.

Let me be clear with you about one

Standing Buddha

at Wat Mahatat

thing: I have no idea what anything is called. Nik had (has?) the map and I never jotted any of it down. Quite frankly, I'm not even overly concerned with the names of each of the ruins. I really enjoyed being in the historical park and spending a leisurely day seeing some new things in a quiet and peaceful setting. I'm not sure which I prefered more, but both Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai were definitely worth the visit.

Enjoy the pictures and know that it was one of the better days of my trip so far.

After a full morning and giving up on the light and heat, we made our way back to a beer garden we spied along the way where we got some seats by the river and ate a decent lunch while sucking down an ice cold beer.

Another very hot day probably close to 100F and no matter what we did, we just couldn't cool down.

Lucky for me, Nik had already convinced me that I should move guesthouses and enjoy one night of slightly more luxurious accomodations at Lotus Village. Sitting on my balcony, overlooking a lotus pond, listening to

Offerings

at Wat Mahatat

crickets and geckos, praying for a breeze to come, helped ease the pain of a VERY sore bum and exhausted body.

Late in the evening we rallied and made arrangements to meet at Dream Cafe for an incredible dinner. We let our eyes get the best of us and ordered way too much food, but I must say we put a dent in all of it: ginger salad with shrimp, wontons stuffed with pork, pad thai, an incredible soup with wild vegetables & shrimp served in a heated clay pot on our table, and chicken with basil. I had to roll my way home. HEAVEN!

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