Heading North, Thailand

Next stop was the quiet town of Khanom situated on the gulf of Thailand. We were suffering from “tourist fatigue” meaning the hoards of westerners were getting to us, so we went off the tourist grid for a while. Khanom was an absolute gem, seeing only 2 other tourists in 2.5 days. The other added benefit of getting off the tourist trail is the costs for accommodation and food is 50% lower. The area had 14 km of beautiful beach, with 4 inch waves rolling in under blue skies (Yes I said 4 inch waves). We rented a scooter and stumbled across a series of waterfalls coming off the hillsides where we stopped for some pictures. Renee decided to dip her feet in to test the water beside some locals who were playing in the natural pools. The locals signaled to Renee that the rocks were slippery, so be careful. Within 5 seconds after the warning, Renee had fallen in the water fully clothed. Other than a bruise on her knee the only injury was her ego. I gladly stood back and took photos of her in her bubble of embarrassment.

Our next leg took us further north up the coast to Chumphon. Once again off the main tourist route, making for a very enjoyable 1 day stopover. The next day we headed to another quiet town of Phetchaburi. Here we found a hotel room with million dollar view over the river. The catch being the rooms greatly resembled old jail cells, but worse. With a cost of $6/night we figured 1 night would be okay as the sheets were clean and the price included 1 free bath towel and a free map of the city!

For both Chumphon and Phetchaburi we ate at the local street markets serving meals fresh out of the Wok. The food here is unbelievable, so incredibly full of flavor and spices. In Phetchaburi we forgot to bring tissues with us for the spicy food…the locals like watching the two of us eating our bowls of soup bawling our eyes out, faces red as a cherry. BUT, the locals sometimes cry when they eat their soups too, so we aren't the only ones. Man-o-man it is good stuff.

 

We have now moved further north to the historic town of Auytthaya which is surrounded by rivers on 4 sided effectively making it an island. The city is full of dozens of temples and old ruins. Upon arrival we took the “sunset boat tour” around the city to see the sunset over various ruin sites. It was quite impressive, and we also saw a couple of 6 foot monitor lizards on the river banks.

The previous 4 days have been a great run. We avoided the tourist shuttle buses and comfortable air-con cars on the trains. We rode the train 3 different days covering over 1000 km along with the locals in the back cars. They are truly kind people with many many of them all asking where we were going to ensure we didn’t miss our stop. Another benefit of the train is the amazing food being sold up and down the aisles. It’s like a dim sum, but with Thai food!

With temperatures around 40 degrees, the train gets a bit “warm” when stopped at stations, but for $0.25 that is a great way to lose 2 lbs in a hurry. 

COLIN