Cambodia & Thailand Day 11

DAY 11 - December 6, 2003 - Phitsanulok to Phrae

Both Gennie and I did not sleep well as we thought about Eduardo and RPI’s football game with Ithaca during the night. So at 5:45 we decide to get up, shower and be out of our room to go to the internet and check on any emails from Eduardo.

Even though we had a very bad connection, our first email from him told us that RPI had WON!!! 21-16. They played the game in a driving blizzard and RPI got two early touchdowns and rode those to the win. Now they will be in the NATIONAL SEMI-FINALS against St. Johns of Minnesota next Saturday. Wow, they will have to fly there.

On top of all this, Eduardo became a college graduate last Friday. He finished his classes and all his assignments. As you can tell, we are very proud parents! Double major in 3.5 years. I am glad he got his Mother’s drive and intelligence. It took me 5 years at the nations’ #2 party school.

After a good breakfast we got our backpacks out of our rooms, did a quick once over and went downstairs to get on the bus. Some people are not rotating But that is OK, we sat at the back of the bus and we were fine.

Everyone on our group was on time and feeling much better today. We had several with stomach maladies yesterday. We were on the street early this Sunday morning so the traffic was not too bad. We were able to see the early morning activities around town.

We stopped at a local park and walked a short distance to the Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat, a 14th century temple here at Phitsanulok. This temple is noted for one of the most beautiful Buddhas in all of Thailand.

We walked through the markets and saw local worshipers making offerings of incense, lotus blossoms, water, eggs, and other food that they hold of value for the Buddha to bless. Anya bought a little treat for us, a leaf wrapped around onion, peanuts, spices, shrimp and coconut, all flavored with a coconut ginger sugar sauce.

Some of our group did a little shopping but we were back on the bus heading north to Sukhothai historical park. It is an old capital of Siam, a UNESCO World Heritage.

On the bus, for the one hour that it took us to get there, Anya gave us a reading lesson. Showing us a chart that teachers use to teach reading to young children, she explained that the Thai language has 44 consonants, 22 vowels, and 5 tones. She said it is much easier to learn than English, but not many of us agreed with her.

Our road is just two narrow lanes and we drive on the left side and our driver is on the right side of the bus as in Great Britain. We are passing small villages, farms, and many rice paddies. Anya told us the importance of rice to the people and that the rice farmers are called the backbone of this civilization.

We arrived at the Sukhothai holy city, Thailand's largest collection of historic ruins. This is the place where the Thai nation was born, the kingdom's magical and spiritual center. With its cache of remarkably preserved columns, shrines, temples, and palaces, it epitomizes old Siam.

We rode a tram through the well-kept and attractive grounds (500 acres) of this historical park to see the monuments, and learn about its most famous king, Ramkamhaeng. Not only did this legendary ruler leave a great legacy of art and architecture - he left stones inscribed with a chronicle of his achievement.

King Ramkamhaeng is credited with inventing Thai script, as well as with amazing skill at hand-to-hand combat on elephant back, the spread of Theravada Buddhism, and developing relations with China. But even his colorful legend pales in comparison to the evocative palette of Sukhothai, "Dawn of Happiness."

Our short ride to the restaurant went quickly as Anya told us about the importance of the rivers to the life of Thailand. Our restaurant, the Kang Sak Beer Garden overlooked the Yam River. We ate a family style lunch of vegetable soup, fried chicken, mixed vegetables, and rice.

Then it was only a short 10 minute drive to our next visit and Anya used the time to tell us more about this farming area and the textile industry. We visited the Gold Textile Museum where we saw many examples of weaving and woven cloth from all over the country.

Of course, they had a show room of their own garments and pieces of cloth all available for sale. Our group is certainly helping the Thai economy to grow!

After we left, we entered the interior mountains of Thailand. This is the first significant rise in elevation, as we went from the average of 400 feet of altitude that we have been at for the last 6 days, to 1600 feet in the mountains that we entered. The vegetation is much denser and the air is much drier.

We can see for many miles all around us. The one thing that is making the air polluted is the burning of the rice fields by the farmers. As we travel, all over there are small fires belching their smoke into the atmosphere.

We made a brief ATM stop, what a convenient way to get money - I got Bahts to repay Anya for the customs bill for the camera - money well spent - and for her phone calls and taxis that her compatriot had to use to run around Bangkok.

The area we are now traveling through is famous for its teak wood forests and we have seen furniture manufacturing as well as raw lumber for the homes. Teak is a very hard wood and not susceptible to water damage or insects.

We stopped at the outskirts of Phrae to visit a family that makes cotton indigo cloth and sews the fabric into clothing. We were able to see the process of dying and all the making of Batik and the primitive methods of making these expensive clothes. Of course, they had great deals for us and again, more packages came into the bus.

We had a brief ride through the town seeing that it is quite large, with temples, markets and sidewalk cafes. Our hotel is a high rise and seems to be very nice. We will again be able to use the internet when we are done with the journal.

Dinner was at 7 and tonight Anya outdid herself as we had 7 dishes in a family style sitting. We found out that one of our members was hit by a scooter as she was crossing the street.

As we mentioned earlier, traffic is the opposite from the US and she did not look to her right before she crossed the street. She is fine, with a few bruises and sprained fingers.

Accommodations:: Nakhorn Phrae Tower Hotel

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Day 11: Mediterranean Navigation

Light House of Malaga

Overnight Ferry

Olive Oil Grinding Stones

Terra Cotta Oil Containers

Home Hosted Group

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