Wed 25th , long bus trip and a jaunt on a bike

Now one week since we left, been hectic and will get worse before it gets better.
Sleepless night due to bad bites and swollen ankles, but, so have some of the other.
Early call again, suitcases out and then down for breakfast, this has been the worst of the three hotels so far - ..

Off we set, short run to the site of the Ruined Grand Palace which was sacked and destroyed by the Burmese many years ago. The site is immense, even bigger than the new Palace site in Bangkok. In its time it must have been amazing. When the main buildings were set on fire they burned for a month – and in the centre was a bronze Buddha which was later taken away and re guilded. It was a nice time for a walk, not too hot - as it has been reaching 37C and very humid..

Next stop was yet another Buddha , then the next one was to see a footprint of Buddha, which the devotees were lining with gold leaf..
We walked through a couple of markets and Mrs.B, bought what she thought was toffee strips, but turned out to be wafer thin cooked fish – Yuk, but the drivers liked it. Next stop was Chinese temple where we found vendors in the market selling coconut sweeties and little samosa type pastries which were stuffed with various fruit filling, lovely.

It was on next to Lop Puri @ Monkey City, where the centre of the old town has been overrun by hundreds of monkeys, so much so that buildings around the Three Pagoda Temple have been vacated and lie empty as the monkeys ransack them.
They even hop on and off the local train and get a “free ride” down the line to the next station, then jump the returning train. There are secondary guides who go round the sites with you to keep the monkeys from stealing your possessions.
Now back in our air conditioned cocoon heading north stopping for lunch and then onwards again – about a four hour drive to the next hotel.
We have a CD of Frank Sinatra playing, just to keep us calm.

Ann is yackking as usual and giving me a load of crap – It may well be that I have a divorce her and come back with a Thai bride, however having suffered at the tongue of a woman for the past 38 years, who wants another woman.

Stopped for lunch at a beautiful restaurant way out in the country, surrounded by banana trees, lakes, and, compared to yesterday’s lunch this was just a real treat, soup, a selection of main dishes , banana and pineapple sweets – what a difference.

Back onto the coach for another two and a half hours, heading north through one city which is a World Heritage site, four lane motorway each direction through the city - this is by no means a poor country, they have brilliant infrastructure – mobiles work everywhere, and beside absolute poverty there is a range of degrees of wealth.

For the past 160 miles we have seen miles and miles of paddy fields, with total mechanisation, combined harvesters to cut the rice , and large processing factories. Sugar cane plantation, banana plantations, and next to them tiny little farms with cows , goats and pigs . In fact a couple of days ago we passed the biggest pig farm in Thailand which has tens of thousands of pigs.

The road north was dual carriageway , nearly dead straight, and really well maintained..
Now at the Topland Hotel, Pitsanulok, and from the 14th floor of the hotel we can see the airport a few miles away, rail station, and lots of activity.

Took ourselves off on the tricycle bikes , four in a row – round part of the City – which this is most definitely. The place is buzzing , lots of good shops and within the hotel complex we have Tesco / lotus ; K f C ; Pizza Hut, etc

One of our group, a man after my own heart !! bought himself a loaf of bread and some cold meat for .25p so that was his evening meal today , and will do him till breakfast.