Thursday 26th Feb.
Slept like a log, probably as a result of the ninety minute massage last, superb, and probably one of the best Spa’s I have seen.
My bitten feet feel better after a coating of tiger balm.
So, at breakfast, sandwich man, was bit upset as all the butter was in little balls on a plate, he had been waning some packs for his bread and ham !!
Outside the hotel, on our way to the bus I saw our second “Lady Boy” who was a bit more obvious than the one we saw last night, who was pretty good looking.
So northwards again, past lots more paddy fields, many now ripening and nearly ready to harvest , and on to the ancient / modern city of Sukhothai. The ancient past of the city is now a World Heritage Site and all the residents were moved out and relocated in the new city which was built, although they are still allowed to farm with the city area.
Here we had a tour round the site on an open tram, stopping off to look at specific areas,
At one part where a tree had fallen and damaged the ancient wall workmen were restoring it, so never stuck, our resident bricklayer, William, stopped and lent a hand – the locals were mega impressed with his handiwork.
From that site we travelled just a short distance to the outside of the city moat to another Buddha temple, where teams of experts from Tokyo University are experimenting on methods to prevent the plaster on the monuments from deteriorating and discolouring - it was a bit like the work being done to protect Rosslyn Chapel.
One vendor had small cages with tiny birds in them, you paid for the box, released the bird to heaven, then she no doubt went out and caught it again, for the next punter to buy and release!!! Good business if you can get it.
Next stop was for lunch , again a buffet out in the wilds, but not as god as yesterday – soup, curry, noodles, chicken and beanshoots.
Onto the bus for a long run northwards to Lampang River Lodge, at Lampang - up through the mountains which took us off the coastal plains with elevations of up to 1000ft to over 3000 ft - not quite as high as Sparky who should by now have reached the top of Killimanjaro by now.
Big change in the scenery , but still lots of rice fields, sugar cane and now vegetables - BUT – amazed at the standards of the roads, the cleanliness of the villages and towns we are passing through. Shrines and small temples everywhere as these people really take Buddha to heart.
Our final temple of the day was the Partart Ampangluang Temple , here in Lampang - it is a bit different as the Buddha statue is only seven inches high, of emerald and behind a heavy steel fence. The wooden buildings on site are seven hundred years old and the oldest of their type still standing in Thailand.
Reached our hotel at 4.30 p.m., great panic, no TV and no refrigerator, for us we are struggling to cope with warm drinks !! but should we survive tonight we will be in a good hotel for the next three nights, before we head south .
Our rooms here are little chalets, so turns out we are next door to the Johnston’s of Egham , bit of a coincidence. We can knock through the wall, but they seem to be paying no attention. Is it us or what are they up to.?
We have had to cover ourselves in anti mosquito cream as this place is within a jungle setting and next to the river.
Just a bit disappointed with Travelsphere / Cosmos / Archers , on this trip compared to China as some of our accommodation and stop offs have been well below those we can now see are readily available. Sandra is “gutted” , no hair drier - . Me also, no wi-fi. So perhaps no “blog”.
Tonight , three full body massages and a foot massage all done in “Ayuravedic” style, different to Swedish and Thai, but still painful at times, however our skins are now beginning to benefit , just unfortunate they cannot rub away my stomach.. The staff were excellent and even William who had a male therapist was really impressed. He now knows how I felt when I had eight days of treatment under the caring hands of our friend Chandana in both Sri Lanka and latterly Prague. The staff were delighted to pose for a team photo.
Slept like a log, probably as a result of the ninety minute massage last, superb, and probably one of the best Spa’s I have seen.
My bitten feet feel better after a coating of tiger balm.
So, at breakfast, sandwich man, was bit upset as all the butter was in little balls on a plate, he had been waning some packs for his bread and ham !!
Outside the hotel, on our way to the bus I saw our second “Lady Boy” who was a bit more obvious than the one we saw last night, who was pretty good looking.
So northwards again, past lots more paddy fields, many now ripening and nearly ready to harvest , and on to the ancient / modern city of Sukhothai. The ancient past of the city is now a World Heritage Site and all the residents were moved out and relocated in the new city which was built, although they are still allowed to farm with the city area.
Here we had a tour round the site on an open tram, stopping off to look at specific areas,
At one part where a tree had fallen and damaged the ancient wall workmen were restoring it, so never stuck, our resident bricklayer, William, stopped and lent a hand – the locals were mega impressed with his handiwork.
From that site we travelled just a short distance to the outside of the city moat to another Buddha temple, where teams of experts from Tokyo University are experimenting on methods to prevent the plaster on the monuments from deteriorating and discolouring - it was a bit like the work being done to protect Rosslyn Chapel.
One vendor had small cages with tiny birds in them, you paid for the box, released the bird to heaven, then she no doubt went out and caught it again, for the next punter to buy and release!!! Good business if you can get it.
Next stop was for lunch , again a buffet out in the wilds, but not as god as yesterday – soup, curry, noodles, chicken and beanshoots.
Onto the bus for a long run northwards to Lampang River Lodge, at Lampang - up through the mountains which took us off the coastal plains with elevations of up to 1000ft to over 3000 ft - not quite as high as Sparky who should by now have reached the top of Killimanjaro by now.
Big change in the scenery , but still lots of rice fields, sugar cane and now vegetables - BUT – amazed at the standards of the roads, the cleanliness of the villages and towns we are passing through. Shrines and small temples everywhere as these people really take Buddha to heart.
Our final temple of the day was the Partart Ampangluang Temple , here in Lampang - it is a bit different as the Buddha statue is only seven inches high, of emerald and behind a heavy steel fence. The wooden buildings on site are seven hundred years old and the oldest of their type still standing in Thailand.
Reached our hotel at 4.30 p.m., great panic, no TV and no refrigerator, for us we are struggling to cope with warm drinks !! but should we survive tonight we will be in a good hotel for the next three nights, before we head south .
Our rooms here are little chalets, so turns out we are next door to the Johnston’s of Egham , bit of a coincidence. We can knock through the wall, but they seem to be paying no attention. Is it us or what are they up to.?
We have had to cover ourselves in anti mosquito cream as this place is within a jungle setting and next to the river.
Just a bit disappointed with Travelsphere / Cosmos / Archers , on this trip compared to China as some of our accommodation and stop offs have been well below those we can now see are readily available. Sandra is “gutted” , no hair drier - . Me also, no wi-fi. So perhaps no “blog”.
Tonight , three full body massages and a foot massage all done in “Ayuravedic” style, different to Swedish and Thai, but still painful at times, however our skins are now beginning to benefit , just unfortunate they cannot rub away my stomach.. The staff were excellent and even William who had a male therapist was really impressed. He now knows how I felt when I had eight days of treatment under the caring hands of our friend Chandana in both Sri Lanka and latterly Prague. The staff were delighted to pose for a team photo.
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