Lopburi, Phitsanulok, Sukothai, Chiang Mai & Pai

Couldn't work out why there was a huge golden monkey at the train station in Lopburi which is famous for it's ancient brick ruins?? It soon became clear......




Wat Phra Phrong Sam Yot the 18th century temple - known locally as the Monkey Temple.


A just warning.......


Oh ain't he cute - but not for long..................



Taking all the warnings on I had zipped up everything in my bag other than my water bottle - which as you can see this little monkey soon swiped!! That was nothing I saw one grab a girls hair and almost pull her over and another grabbed a bag from someone, luckily they had some staff on hand with catapults and sticks to scare them away!!!


After a hard days thieving I suppose even the monkeys need to cool down!!



A big fat Buddha.......

Ryan was wondering if this was the equivalent of a human meeting a 10ft Python!!!


Wat Soa Thang Tho in Lopburi.


A dragon at the chinese temple in Lopburi.


Lopburi street - apart from the monkeys this is a pretty relaxed and chilled out town.

The Wedensday street market right outside my hotel in Lopburi.

When buying a soft drink in a glass bottle or a local fruit drink - they are served in plastic bags with ice and a straw so you can take them away and the vendor can keep the bottle (otherwise you have to pay more).

Look carefully - it's a monkey not a dog - and no one even batted an eye lid!!


The friendly people who were staying at Noom's Guest House in Lupburi - well two of them are ex pats who teach over here - seems to be a farily popular place for retiring westerners.


One of the train stations on the main rail route north - almost every one of the stations was as quaint with lovely gardens. The staff at the stations make sure you get on the correct train and then the friendly guards come along and tell you when your stop is approaching - just a little more civilised than the trains in India (and at home for that matter).



The signs are fairly descriptive over here.

Why does the dog not get a helmet?????


Me at Wat Ruthabani in Phitsanulok.

A big standing Buddha at a temple in Phitsanulok.


The temples are full of colourful artwork depicting important events in Buddhism.



I popped into the Bird Sanctuary in Phitsanulok to visit the rescued & injured birds, there were some amazing birds colourful and talkative - this one is an ugly crested hornbill (or something like that!!)

Feeding the baby Elephant in Phitsanulok - she was about 1 year old and very cute.
Wat Sa Si and the main palace complex at the very old Khmer city of Sukhothai - from early 12th century. This was quite an impressive old city surrounded by a moat and lots of fairly intact temples spread out in lovely gardens.


Ryan the Tiger is amazed that they could fit this huge Buddha image inside the not very big Wat Phra Pai Luang in Sukhothai.


The food stall at the Saturday Market in Chiang Mai had plates full of crickets (various sizes), silk worms and other equally bug like creatures......


Yes I really did eat it!! Well I thought it couldn't be much different from mussels/snails etc - and I was right enough - the only flavour was that of the seasoning and it was a little crunchy, a little like the shell of a prawn!! But no crickets won't be getting added to my regular shopping list from tesco's.

A free cultural dance show at the Saturday Market in Chiang Mai.


A motorcycle taxi in Chiang Mai.

This was a little odd - a statue of Donald Duck outside a very old & sacred Buddhist Temple - I haven't quite worked out the connection yet!!

Jade Buddha.
Wat Mahawan - the temples in Chiang Mai are all off different styles - there are over 300, nearly as many as Bangkok but in a much smaller area. I even got to the point where I didn't go into everyone I passed!! Wat Chedi Luang in Chaing Mai.
How many monks can you fit in a temple???
Wat Phra Doi Suthep - 16km uphill from Chiang Mai.
This white elephant within Wat Phra That Doi Suthep represents the real white elephant that was sent out by the king into the hill with a sacred Buddha relic attached and wondered the area till it dropped dead - which is where they built the temple.....
These young novice monks were studying in one of the temples. Boys can become a novice as young as 10 years old and remain a novice till they are ordained as a monk at 20. Also in Thailand most men at some point in there life will serve some time as a monk, they can do so up to three times. Monks are not allowed to get married but a married man can become a monk for up to one year with his wifes agreement. Sure there are a few of you married ladies who would quite happily support your husbands requests to be a monk though I'm not so confident any of you men would make the request in the first place!!!!

Even the monks like to take an afternoon siesta!
Local art work.
Bo Sang Village on the outskirts of Chiang Mai is a craft centre where they handmake all sorts of weird and wonderful bits n bobs - mostly tat for the tourists!!

I thought this was a festival but it was a funeral and this is the herse!!
Just outside Pai.
I thought this was a pretty viole3nt picture to be on the wall of a Buddhist Temple??
Ryan the Tiger investigates the Termite hill.
The termites hard at work inside their nest.
Ryan the Tiger having a smell of a local flower.
The view over Pai from Wat Pra That Mae Yen (otherwise known as the temple on the hill!)

As you can see I have spent a lot of time visiting temples in various towns in the north of Thailand....it is quite interesting as they are all very different but I am now just about 'wat'ed' out!! I did enjoy meeting and chatting to several monks - some of the temples even have official 'monk chat' sessions to encourage tourists to find out about the monks lives. Though most are devoted and follow the teachings some are not so. One in particular I spoke to was very dissilusioned by the fact he wasn't allowed to work or have any money and decided that I could help him come live in the UK!! Not quite the attitude I would expect from a Buddhist monk and he was obviously only putting up with it to get his free university degree!!!

I was in the laundry the other night when two lads from Maccau came in and started chatting to me - turned out they were Christian Missoneries and they were quoting bible scriptures - they were nice enough and not trying to convert but spread the love! There is definetely something surreal about someone praying for you whilst your washing your dirty knickers in the land of Buddha!!!! It could only happen to me.

Thai people are much more reserved than India people - they rarely ask you personal questions though they are polite and friendly. In Chiang Mai I came accross the street with all the 'gogo' bars - lots of Thai 'ladies' hanging out and a few much older (and fairly sleezy) western men. The not so pleasant side of the Thai culture. There is much less poverty here than in India and Nepal and although in rural areas there are still very poor people with very little most people have access to food and somewhere to sleep because they live of the land - unlike India where the thousands of poor people living in cities/towns have nothing.

Some tips if you ever come to Thailand:-

• Never touch anyone on the head even children- it is deemed the most sacred part of the body.
• Never touch anyone or point to anything with your feet and enver point your feet at a Buddha image - as feet are seen to be dirty.
• Thai people love their Royal Family - there are posters everywhere and on Mondays everyone wears Yellow in recognition of the King who was born on a Monday.
• If you drop a bank note never stop it blowing away with your foot rather chase it down the street until you catch it, equally never put one in your mouth or scrunch them up - WHY? Because it is seen as an insult to the King whose image appears on all banknotes. If you pass a banknote to someone and it is crumpled they look at you and precede to straighten it out!!
• Woman should never sit next to a monk or pass them anything directly - avoid seats on buses and trains reserved for the monks. On public buses the back seats are always reserved for monks.
  

Arrived in Pai yesterday which is just 20 miles south of the Burmese border there is not too much here and it seems to be a leftover town from the hippy days though I am going on a white water rafting trip tomorrow then I might spend another day or so here and go visit the hill tribes before heading over to Laos.

Jack xxx