Thailand Trip November 2016
Page 4
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Sunday 06/11/16 and the 'Lads' were on parade for 0930 no problem. In fact after breakfast whilst waiting for our transport, the hotel owner made herself known to us and enquired from Aek what the Falangs were about? Whatever he said seemed to please her because she insisted on having her photo taken with us. I think it was intended to go up on a collage of pictures on the Dining room wall. The picture left shows the group ready for another good day. |
The rollover above shows the first flight of steps up to Wat Pa Phu Kon, which translates to the Temple on the Forested Hill. We had travelled north and then north west for 120 kilometers into the wooded hills of Udon Province. A Reclining Buddha resides in the Temple which was built around it from 2010 to 2013. We didn't climb the steps but instead took a ride up the access road as creaky old knees were complaining severely. On exiting the transport, we had to borrow long trousers as bare knees were not allowed. |
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The trousers Mark, Neville, Dave and myself were issued with were a little garish. Undaunted, in fact revelling in the looks and laughs we were getting from our fellow tourists, Aek took a group shot with the Temple as a backdrop. The rollover also has a garish theme trouserwise but in the background you can see the unspoiled forested hills of the Yung Nam Som Park. As we toured around the Temple we took many pictures of the beautiful artifacts within it, so please view the slideshow to see what makes this a special place. |
Visitors to Buddhist holy places can behave disrespectfully if they don't know the 'rules'. However under our Thai mentors watchful gaze, we never behaved inappropriately hence the knees no-show. This doesn't mean that humour and fun are forbidden. Not many Thai people are prepared to make fun of themselves in my experience, but our friends soon copied the British tradition of self-deprecation as the picture's (right) show. Move your cursor in and out of the picture quickly to achieve the desired effect. |
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As we wandered through the temple and it's grounds, the newness of all it was obvious. Even the prayer mats in the picture left still had their plastic covers on them. There was much beauty and colour everywhere. This reclining Buddha had gold leaf all over it where the devout had prayed and then bought small squares of gold leaf to stick to the Buddha. The Thai nation was mourning it's King and at every public building was place of homage for their King. Kan obliged me by turning to face the camera so I could record her after her prayers. |
Our visit over we made our way back to the 'Ferry' which took us back down the hill to our bus. With trusty Jack at the wheel we travelled back to the main Highway 2348. Turning north we headed for the Mekong at Pak Muang Charoen Yon. There we turned west on the 211 for Chiang Khan. The 211 hugged the Mekong giving us fine views of the forested hilly terrain on both sides. About halfway along towards Chiang Khan we stopped at a riverside restaurant for lunch. With food and a little alcohol imbibed the banter soon started to flow. |
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It didn't take long for Peter Pan to work his magic on 'Tinkerbell'. I don't know what was said but mirth was definitely on the menu. The banks of the Mekong were about thirty yards away and down quite a steep incline, but the youngest amongst us nipped down to dip his toe in the water. Creaky bones kept the rest of us in situ, but our action man did require a bit of a tow to get him back up top. After the meal we relaxed for a while before climbing aboard our wheels. Peter practiced his swinging technique's with his minder doing the pushing (rollover).
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After lunch we resumed the journey to Chiang Khan arriving around 16:00 hrs. The Old Chiang Khan hotel circa 1852, had it's frontage facing south on 'Walking Street' and the patio at the rear facing the Mekong. The views were marvellous and definitely good for relaxation. Not many foreigners travel into this region which makes it relatively unspoiled and authentic. We checked into our rooms, showered and changed into our evening wear and then presented ourselves in the lobby. We then set off for a stroll along Walking Street. |
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As we walked the walk up Walking Street, we were the only Falangs on show. There was the usual shop frontages on either side of the road with lots of nick nacks to buy.
We reached the end, turned around and came back towards the hotel. Aek was keeping a sharp eye out for a suitable restaurant and we eventually sat down to eat overlooking the Mekong. After our meal our Thai contingent went back to the hotel as Thai's tend to retire and wake early, We however were ready for some relaxation and banter. After some exploring we found a small bar in a sidestreet.
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As you can see from the rollover above, the bar was rustic to say the least. The customers were noticeable by their absence that was until we arrived. There were a few young Thai people sitting at rudimentary tables outside including the owner. He was a young man in his thirties and spoke really good English as he had worked in Bangkok. He was a good host and joined in our conversation as we ended the day as usual with good humour. Tomorrow we looked forward to exploring the Loei region. |
Slideshow
A slideshow of pictures below of day four of the tour are shown in chronological order. Place your cursor into the picture window to freeze the motion, remove it allow the slideshow to restart. Depending on your connection, it may take a while for the pictures to download and the slideshow to start |
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