The city's East gate.

We began the last leg of our trip with another wonderful meal at Chaing Dao Nest then hung out checking email, backing up photos and just generally relaxing. Shortly after a wonderful lunch our transport arrived. This time we specifically asked for a van. The owner of Chiang Dao Nest was a little confused why we wanted to pay more for an actual van, but it was worth it. Adrian still got a little motion sick, but it was much more comfortable on the windy roads.

A couple hours later we arrived in old Chaing Mai. Chaing Mai was once a walled city with square outer wall encompassing about a square mile. Except for a few sections and gates that have been restored, most of the wall is gone. It has been replaced by a corridor where the wall once stood, that now serves as a public walk way and a border between the old city and the newer city.

The Chiang Dao Nest Sign.

After 2 days of temple hopping we were ready for something more relaxing and Chiang Dao fit the bill perfectly. Chiang Dao is a small town 2 hours North of Chiang Mai in a mountain valley. We traveled over night, this time in a second class sleeper car the Chiang Mai then caught a taxi to Chiang Dao. The drive was somewhat trying. This wasn’t a normal taxi, but a Thai taxi, which is just a small pickup with a camper shell on the back. Both Adrian and I got motion sick on the windy mountain road.

The ride was quickly forgotten once we arrived at Chiang Dao Nest, a small bungalow resort nestled into the side of the valley. It proved to be another wonderful choice. We were greeted with a glass of iced lemon grass and ginger tea and a short orientation to the area. Shortly after we were shown to our bungalow, complete with wonderful views of the mountains. Over the next several days we explored the surrounding area, including the Chiang Dao cave, a beautiful dry cave filled with small shrines.

Just another temple.

The forth leg of our trip took us to the Phitsanulok train station and then to the Phitsanulok airport to pick up a rental car. From there we headed to our guest house for the night. The next morning we headed out early to explore old Sukhathai, the one time capital of Thailand. We arrived at the park at opening, around 07:00. This turned out to be a wonderful choice. We were able to explore many of the ruins without other tourist around and it was very quite.

Very early in the day the various sites began to run together and I won’t bore anyone with the details of every wat and monument that we visited. The ruins in old Sukhathai have been restored in many cases and are well cared for. Access is very open so we were able to see things from whatever angle we wanted. Despite the nearly unrestricted access, there were no signs of vandalism. Either everyone visiting shares our respect for these sites, or they are quick to correct any transgressions.

Ruined wat across from the tain station.

For the next leg of our trip we were only able to get a second class fan car, but this didn’t much worry us since we were only going a few hours up the tracks to Lopburi. The 2nd class seating was comfortable but basic. We had individually assigned captains chairs and the trains windows were open. The morning was cool and it was very pleasant. Our plan for Lopburi was to get off one train, explore the town, including a ruined wat inhabited by monkeys then board a later train heading on to Phitsanulok for the night.

1st Class, Thai Railways Style.

We set out from Ko Lanta, bound for Bangkok by train. Since our trip was going to be overnight we sprung for a private sleeper car. First class on a Thai train is not exactly first class by the highest standard. One might image that you could build a first class train car by taking a luxury car and blowing it up to train sized.  In the case of the Thai railway system, they demonstrate that you can in fact start with a box car. Of course, the end result resembles the starting place.

The Arun Residence.

Never the less, we had a private room with a locking door, 2 reasonable comfortable berths, and food and drink service with passable food. It was well worth the extra money to obtain the first class tickets to arrive in Bangkok somewhat rested. We disembarked in Bangkok and made our way to our hotel, Arun Residence.

Sitting Budda image at Sukhothai.

Adrian and I spent three weeks in Thailand for our honey moon and the trip involved a good bit of moving from place to place. Day in and day out there were new interesting things to see and do. Of course, I took my new SLR and among many other souvenir, we returned home with around nine-thousand pictures (isn’t digital great?).  This is also the first trip for which I have ever kept a travel journal. This is a practice I think I will continue on future trips. I wish I had done it on some of my past trips, like Philmont.

Thailand was a wonderful country, with diverse environments and culture and we tried to see as much of it as possible. We started our trip in the south and progressed to the north and there was a marked difference each place we visited. In general though, the Thai people were very courteous, timely, and attentive to requests, at least when we make ourselves understood. All in all, Thailand was one of the more hospitable and welcoming places I’ve ever been.

Well, it has been a very busy few months. If the wedding wasn’t enough, Adrian and I went on a honey moon right afterward, then when we got home, turn around and drove to Washington DC (in the middle of a really bad winter weather event). As a result, I’m taking quite a bit of time to deal with pictures from the wedding and from Thailand. This is the the first of many posts.

These pictures were taking by Josh Baker of Axulox Photography. Josh is a family friend and just brought his gear for fun. Even so, he got some incredible pictures. Here are just a few. The full set can be found here.

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