Pai - Chiang Mai - Lamphun - Sukothai

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So after lots of research Steve and I decided instead of Laos we would use the last part of our trip to travel back to Bangkok with stops along the way in another part of Thailand we didn't know. The central plains. First we had to get back to Chiang Mai. Remember the road with 762 bends! The alternatives were fly by Cessna, 25 mins. All booked. The local bus. Painfully slow. The VIP minibuses. Faster but not good for motion sickness. We decided on the minibus. The bends come thick and fast without straight bits in between so you are thrown left to right to left to right over and over. So I spent 2 hours wearing my eye mask, with my eyes closed holding Steves hand trying not to think how high up we were! I love roller coasters but not this one!!!

The one night we were in Chiang Mai we went to Muay Thai boxing. Very interesting especially the ceremony that accompanies it. All taken VERY seriously. On the way home to bed Steve spotted an Arsenal game on in a small bar so we stopped for a drink while he watched it. Far more entertaining was a Thai man, obviously an Arsenal fan, who was also watching. He didn't speak English but jumped up and down, pointed at the screen and chattered excitedly away to us in Thai as if we understood each other. Hilarious!

So our plan was set. The next day we left Chiang Mai for a small town 26kms south called Lamphun. Mode of transport. Train. After a short journey we arrived at a very small station in the middle of nowhere. We hadn't on this occasion booked our accommodation ahead so after a walk, songheau and chat with a very friendly Thai lady we found a very nice family run guest house. We went off to explore. Lamphun is not on the tourist trail and we didn't see any other tourists as we walked around. Had lunch at a roadside soup kitchen with help from elderly Thai lady who didn't stop giggling at us and lots of pointing. Lamphun was a quiet town with a lot of history. It is the oldest town in Thailand and has some amazing temples. Some of the most beautiful we have seen anywhere and weve seen a few. So we spent our days wandering around the town, visiting the temples, people watching. The evenings, we found an amazing street market where all the locals would come out to do their shopping from the usual amazing array of fresh produce. We also found the usual square where all the food vendors surround central tables and tempt with an amazing array of freshly cooked food. it was here that we had the best roti we had had. Its sooooo bad. Crispy pancake on the outside, soft in the middle and filled with banana. Then condensed milk drizzled on the still hot roti and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Absolutely delicious!!!!

A very enjoyable two days and time to move on to our next destination, Sukothai. So back to the station for a 6 hour journey south. A very enjoyable and comfortable journey it was. The trains are old, worn but solid. We had large reclining seats that were comfortable. Each carriage had a 'hostess' to look after the passengers. We had only been on the train a short time when she came round with coffee and juice. We were then surprised at lunch time to be given three pots and water. They contained chicken noodle soup, curry and rice. All included in the ticket price of less than £10 each. Amazing service. We then had an hour on a crowded local bus to our destination. We had chosen a slightly dearer accommodation in Sukothai and when we arrived at Mountain View Guesthouse we were greeted by the owner Thai Meou who is married to Brit, currently back in UK. We were very surprised to find that we were the only guests. Meou cooked us a very good green curry washed down with a cold beer before we were tucked up in our comfortable bungalow for the night. So for the duration of our stay we had our own personal chef, Meou and had the pool just outside our bungalow to ourselves. It was a peaceful sanctuary to laze around the pool after the mornings which we would spend touring the amazing ancient ruins that Sukothai is famous for. For this we needed to hire a moped again. This time I wasn't quite such a backseat driver. Steve might not agree! One thing we did find Sukothai didnt have was some good places to eat. We had the worst meal of our whole trip and were pleased we had Meou to cook for us. We did however find a small roadside stall that made gorgeous papaya salad, a favourite of ours. Not with the addition I was offered on one occasion. Giant water beetle (there is a pic). Yuk!

There was only one thing that spoilt the peace and quiet of Mountain View. We were woken at 5.30 one morning to loud music, singing and drumming from a nearby temple. Meou explained to us at breakfast that a monk had died. The tradition on the death of a monk being that for three days morning and evening this tradition was carried out. So it was ear plugs!! We learnt a lot about Thai traditions, medicinal uses of plants and foods and history from Meou. A lovely lady. All too soon we were moving on. Hugs and goodbyes with Meou who gave us a lift to our VIP bus for the next part of our journey.

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