Cambodia & Thailand Day 10
Cambodia & Thailand
DAY 10 - December 5, 2003 - Kanchanaburi to Phitsanulok
We were able to sleep in a bit, the alarm went off at 6 AM. We finished packing and had our bags out on the porch and we were on our way to breakfast at the main lodge by 6:45. It seems many of our group are not feeling well today.
After breakfast we identified our bags, turned in our keys, and got on the bus to leave at 7:30. When we got on the bus, we found it to be very clean, our bus boy cleans the floor everyday as well as during the day if we stop at a field and track in dirt. He also empties our personal trash every time we stop.
We have a long drive today heading northeast so Anya talked to us about the Thai language and family customs of her people.
Our first stop today was at a rice field where we watched two women using a hand sickle to cut the rice stalk. We also saw snails that eat the rice, open billed storks who eat the snails, cobras who eat the storks and rats who eat the cobras. The Thai people eat all of them.
After another 20 minutes more on the road Anya suggested that we stop at a shop selling lunch. Our stop was to see a family grilling RATS and selling them along the road side. They also showed us two cobras and a mongoose in cages. The cobras are very dangerous as they are found in the rice fields so families keep the mongoose to kill the snakes.
Our next visit was to a blue china manufacturing center where we watched the process starting with the molding of the class, polishing and cleaning the greenware, firing and then hand painting each piece.
Many of our group went into the showroom and bought beautiful pieces of tea sets, mugs, and decorative vases. Many of the men are concerned as we are not stopping to see “guy toys”, that is a disadvantage of having a woman as our tour guide. HA!!!
Our next challenge was at the market. Anya gave us all the name of an item written on a piece of paper and our assignment was to pronounce the Thai word(s) and to go to a city market and shop for the correct vegetable.
Many of us succeeded right away but others had a difficult time making their purchases. Those of us who accomplished our task quickly, were rewarded with time to watch the local men and women sell fresh fish, fruits, vegetables, and other delicacies such as frog legs, snakes, and fresh water eels.
We then boarded the Khiri Nava, a large traditional wooden rice barge. We gave all of our purchases to Anya who turned these over to the cook; imagine our delight when all of our treasures were turned into our Thai lunch.
For dessert we had Jack Fruit, Tapioca with Coconut milk, and Sapidola, a pear like fruit. We cruised past peaceful scenes of river life, seeing the Thai river people in their river homes, fish farms and speed boats. After two hours on the river we docked on a river ferry and all of us used it to disembark where we found our bus awaiting us.
The driver took us to the Wat Ta Sung to visit the temple, a huge mirrored temple dedicated to the Buddha with a special shrine honoring the first abbot whose remains are venerated by the local Thai people. We spent about 45 minutes there and then we left to make our journey northward.
The remainder of the afternoon was spent on a bus - our longest yet - as we had to get to our hotel, 140 KM away. We drove through the countryside, seeing fields of rice, with egrets and storks. Many places we were able to see the water buffalo that are used for the heavy work.
The road was usually 4 lanes, but there was a great deal of construction that narrowed it down to 2 lanes. People tried to pass the slow moving vehicles and at times it was frightening to see how vehicles pass one another. Keep in mind that there are motor scooters also on the road, usually occupying the shoulder. These are ordinarily found with two to four people hanging on.
By 5:45 we had arrived at the hotel in Phitsanuloke and we were told that dinner was going to be at the main restaurant at 7 PM. I had enough time to send the two previous days on the hotel internet connection ($1.50) and then rushed back to the room to take a shower.
Gennie had gotten everything organized so in 25 minutes we were ready to go. Dinner was quite good, buffet style, with a band playing oldies for us. Very enjoyable time.
We returned to our room to process our pictures and to write the journal so we could send it out tonight - we do not always know if we will have and internet at the next hotel.
Accommodations:: Phitsanuloke Thani Hotel - Laundry
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