Friday, September 7, 2018

Chonburi, Cha Am and Ayutthaya

Busy month. Mam had work all over the place so we had a nice long time away from Korat.

I love this fountain at the PTT Petrol Station in Wang Noi

View from the room at the Jomtien Palm Beach Hotel in Chonburi

Krua Rim Kuen restaurant in Samut Sakhon

An ice cream smile at Swensens in the Robinson's Lifestyle center in Phetchaburi.


Cha Am

Beach walk in Cha Am

Breakfast cart at Cha Am beach



Cycling to Khao Nang Phanthurat Forest Park


The park is in the mountain in the distance

This brick chedi (stupa) dates from the 13th century

Stairs to the Khao Nang Phanthurat Shrine

Khao Nang Phanthurat Shrine

The "chimney" for Khao Nang Phanthurat's cremation

Nang Phanthurat's "window"

Roots

View from Nang Phanthurat's Shrine

Yours truly at the window

View from the park entrance

Scenic road in the park.

Cactus

Rice

Mud

I got two flat tires on this ride. Fortunately, the leaks were slow enough for me to make it to a repair shop.




Short video showing the route of the ride.





Construction of the Baba Beach Club high rise hotel building

Dawn at the Baba Beach Club

Herons at the Sai Yoi breakwater

Glass Room coffee shop at the Veranda Hotel

Deep fried fish at Krua Pa Mae

Muan Chon Cafe - Cha Am

Low season at Cha Am Little Shop Resort and Restaurant

Beach at Little Shop

Little Shop

An evening at Baba Beach Club

Raya Coffee Shop - Cha Am

A fierce thunder storm blew a dead tree down and took out our Internet for 24 hours



Storm clouds to the west of Cha Am

Sunrise

Khao Nang Phantuhrat in the distance

Beach vendor

Although she looks grumpy here, this lady is a gem. Really nice. Works hard. I wish I could talk to her as I'm sure she has many stories to tell. She is the matriarch of a family of beach vendors. Wonderful breakfast food.

Coffee at the beach

The Neighbors



Condo garden video



Ayutthaya



We stayed at the delightful Ban Tye Wang guesthouse



Outdoor shower area




Porch for relaxing

Garden and old canal full of lotus plants



Evening in the dining room


Breakfast!

The hotel has a museum-like room full of interesting artifacts

The attorney, ready for work.

Bicycles are provided for touring the ancient monuments of Ayutthaya


Reclining Buddha and Chedi

Sema stones mark the boundaries of the ubosot (ordination hall) of a wat. Twin stones like this denote a royal temple

Wat Worrachet Tharam - This is a restored monastery west of the main Ayutthaya historic park 

Wat Worrachet Tharam

Wat Worrachet Tharam

Wat Worrachet Tharam


Wat Suan Luang Sopsawan

Chao Phraya River - Wat Chai Wattanaram in the distance 

Wat Maha Saman

Asia Openbill Storks take flight

Cruise Boats - Chao Phraya River

Wat Song Katae

Wat Ubosot

Wat Chao Pram

Wat Som

I saw this woman fishing in the canal, so I walked over and asked if she'd had any luck. She hadn't. I asked what she was fishing for and she said, "Tilapia". Then she told me she was 96 years old and hadn't eaten and did I have any money. I gave her 40 baht. She was pleased.

After several hours of walking I needed a cold drink.

This nifty little coffee shop provided a decent iced coffee.


Heading Home

Massive food court at the PTT filling station in Wang Noi

Pha Sadet railway station up in the Khao Yai mountains

We drove here to see this overhanging rock

This is part of the dual carriage way railway construction. The existing single track through Khao Yai will be replaced with double track that uses tunnels and bridges to make the route less curvy. This is the construction of one of the tunnels.

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