Samainiyom Hotel Phitsanulok

At long, long last the part of the trip I had been looking forward to the most...the 2 week elephant project, when I would finally get the chance to get up close to these magnificent animals. After a week of introduction to Thai culture, I moved further north from Singburi to Phitsanulok Province which was to be my base for the 2 weeks from 23 Nov to 6 Dec. Communication with the tour co-ordinators here is very hard due to their lack of english and my ...

... alweer een pikante schotel verorberd, maar onze darmen hebben het geweten! Toen we van Burt te horen kregen dat we allebei [Els en Tine] onderscheiding hebben, hebben we onszelf getrakteerd op een Thaise full body massage, terwijl de boys een voetbehandeling kregen [dat was nodig!]. De grens tussen pijn en genot hebben we meermaals verkend, maar achteraf was het heerlijk! Maar alle rijst op een stokje, nu vertrekken we naar Sukhotai, tot snel!

... risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow- if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want to know if you can sit with pain, yours and mine, without moving to hide it, fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you ...

... it's only when you try to use the equipment that you discover the real problems: Shower heads set three feet above the bath, others angled to direct water straight towards the opposite wall, electric showers rated at two kilowatts which have little chance of heating water when one consider how long it takes to boil a kettle with a three kilowatt element, taps which don't turn on, loos which run constantly and that's only a selection of the potential hazards in the bathroom. An American ...

... students at the course which had just ended. We bent down and waied to them and then headed into the kitchen, where women were preparing food for the monks. They showed me the bedroom and we promised to come back for lunch, after the monks had eaten. I was trying to find a phone to call my mother, which was actually quite a hassle. At lunchtime we came back, and the monks were finishing their meal. As they ...

... some live music and some good clothes stalls (selling some original pieces rather than the monotany of billibong, lacoste etc found elsewhere). We had read about a local vegtable, a bit like spinach, which is stir-fried and then flung through the air to be caught by the waiter on a plate. However if you are lucky enough you can find them doing this with the waiter on the roof of a transit van about 20ft away from the ...

We were up today at 7am (I don't know how you wage-slaves do it!), grabbed some brekkie and then took a taxi to the station. <br><br>Thus began the most entertaining taxi ride of my life so far... <br><br>Our driver, 'Mr John', resembled a fat Thai Elvis impersonator. <br><br>He started off abruptly, more than a little rude, then he started asking ...

... that bad. In fact we both rather enjoyed the train journey so it was only the last bit that was a bit wearing. The final songthaew journey was shared with a family who were on their way to Chiang Mai. They had 2 young children who we thought would love to be able to join in with the water fights there, so we decided, in a fit of dewy-eyed generosity, to give them our water pistol. At the time it was worth it to see their smiling faces, but ...

... duly impressed but I think we are now a bit jaded. After the splendor we saw in Cambodia, the majority of ancient ruins have paled in comparison since. I fear we may be spoiled for life. And with such little flair for archeology and ancient history between us, I'm afraid that Pete and i were only able to appreciate the ruins of Sukothai on the most plebian level.

... als die zweitwichtigste Buddha Figur. Wichtiger (heiliger) ist nur der Jade Buddha im Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok. ... also Verkehrsknotenpunkt und zweitheiligster Buddha - das ist doch was! Ja natuerlich, der Nachtmarkt: Da gibts das uebliche und noch dazu geroestete Larven, Heuschrecken und Kakerlaken (wir haben nicht davon gekostet) und andere Geschoepfe Gottes, mit deren Vernichtung Chemiefirmen sonst so ihr Geld ...