I'm getting the hang of using blogger and uploading photos, but please bear with me as I become pro. It's a slow process for us technologically thick people.
We took a bus at the Tak Bus Station--we were late, so we had to stand in the aisle. Which is really normal for transportation in Asia. The safety hazards are almost non-existent. It's also not very comfortable. Especially when you're used to getting sleepy on the bus for long rides. We made it there okay, and I had spicy noodles for breakfast. It was delicious. N and D had a breakfast bagel, and A had some sort of rice. We passed several Thai massage places and I shuddered. Random strangers touching me is not something I look forward to. The other people in the group, besides N, looked at me like I was an alien.
Sukhothai is probably an hour and a half away from Muang Tak. It's the other popular place to celebrate Loi Krathong besides the stereotypical Bangkok and Chiang Mai. It's a historical site--we visited the temple ruins where ginormous Buddha statues stood, overlooking the construction of the Loi Krathong festival as it was being built up around them.
We rented bikes for 30 baht (85 cents) and rode through the temple ruins. It was a lovely day out--a bit hot as the day progressed, but the bikes made everything cooler. The architecture was lovely, and the water lilies were just blooming in patches over the dark water. I felt rather homesick at this point because I thought about my family and how they would have loved to see these temples. I took several pictures of water lilies for my dad (they're his favorite flowers), and then proceeded to enjoy my bike ride.
It got too hot, and we went by the restaurant we had earlier for lunch. I ordered mashed potatoes, just to see what it would taste like, and it's not as good as the mashed potatoes that my aunt used to make at home. Or my mashed potatoes for that matter. Still, it was nice to kind of just sit and hang out with friends.
My weekends will be my saving grace. Next weekend, we're heading to Chiang Mai to meet up with other OEG/CIEE people (there are 144 of us in Thailand!) and ziplining through the forests! But before that is the official Loi Krathong festival which includes floating 'krathong's which are candles stuck inside of coconut shells and decorated with beautiful flowers and paper.
Until then, my world revolves around my students and my laundry.
That sounded like a fun excursion! And see you're making friends! Everything is better. And the picture is beautiful. Such interesting architecture.
ReplyDeleteI am so jealous you get to go ziplining! I've never been, but I've wanted to do that. I want to know how it goes.