Ananda Museum Gallery Hotel Sukhothai

... t that nice, nowhere to really eat or drink and a large number of stray dogs. However, we made it to Old Sukhothai yesterday (about 15km) and went cycling around the ruins of this fantastic temple taking loads of pictures (to follow).<br><br>Today we're planning a trip to Kamphaeng Phet which is a UNESCO World Heritage site and boasts an excellent national museum. Viv's feeling a little tender today after ...

The urban, concrete jungle of Bangkok slowly gave way to rather Engligh looking flat fields of green, dotted with trees and hedgerow. Into Central Thailand and the scenery changed once more. Rice farmers wearing oversized straw hats bent over the flooded paddy fields, backs hunched in a permanent position of pain and tradition. Old Honda motorbikes and miniature tractors shuffle slowly, skirting the borders and distances between the wood and tin shacks that ...

... This leaves you at the mercy of taxi drivers as you have no real idea if your feigned decision to refuse to pay them that exorbitant price and instead walk to town holds any water. We finally negotiated a price (twice that suggested by the guest house we were going to) and a couple of kilometres down the road, still with no sign of the city or our guesthouse, we realised that we could never have walked the whole way with our packs!<br><br> The guest house lies ...

... for 2 years before starting BLES with a dream and determination to protect Thai elephants from abuse and extinction. I don't know how to convey in writing how very special visiting BLES and meeting Katherine, her family, and her elephants was. You have to go there to understand. As luck would have it, the Sanctuary operates on donations and on revenue from guests. BLES accepts a only a few visitors at a time. This is ecotourism, at it's best, and much, much more. The ...

... really lost after he got his camera back. Bet he wont ask a redhead to take his picture again. We finally made it back to the main part of the park and wanted to get some sundown pictures, we had lost our companion buy this time, I think she was worn out and extremely sunburned. We found out that the last bus into the city was at 6 so we turned in our bikes and got some tea and jumped in a taxi truck back to the city. A little woman offered several of us little ...

... about people bringing food and drink from outside and why they have huge signs saying 'no outside food or drink'. It was the same in Morocco actually, people used to bring bits and pieces from other shops/restaurants to eat and then just order one or two dishes. Can't see it catching on in the UK somehow. Dave is currently fixing one of my spokes which bust on the way to the park this morning and also replacing my gear cables ...

... the owner pointed out to me the building, which was the bus station. It was only a 5-10 minute walk. I caught a 2nd class bus for 218B. Once in Chiang Mai I caught another sawngthaew to the city centre for 40B. I got dropped off at the wrong place and walked around for about half an hour before I found the hotel that I wanted. I wanted to stay at the Montri Hotel which according to Lonely Planet is very nice and a double costs 575-600B. Well a ...

... Kitti's commentary, was not that interesting. Hanging out with him and Sabrina (who wore a skimpy tank top) was much more intriguing to me. As we rode on the bikes through the sites a cellphone rang. It was not mine. It was not Sabrina's. It was Kitti's. He insisted that I keep on riding while he talked on the cellphone. I gladly agreed, but signaled Sabrina to take pictures. If anyone from National Geographic is reading this the answer is yes, I would ...

... hotel I decided to stay there since I love Ubon Ratchathani. I went to the front desk...cash only. Holy! I knew I could pickup my ATM card in Bangkok the next night so I decided to get the room. It was decent, but if they spent a million or so on renovations it could be really nice. I walked into the city in search of dinner. There was a central market type area with a lot of food stalls. I had no idea what to do so I sat at a table and ...

... varied, from large single buddhas... <br><br> <br><br>...to large temple complexes bordered by moats... <br><br> <br><br>...to mini Angkor Wats... <br><br> <br><br>...many with distinctive conical burial 'stupas' adding to the skyline... <br><br> <br><br>After a thoroughly enjoyable day of exploring on the bikes it was time to ...