Sukhothai Orchid Hotel

... in town that looked half decent were completely empty, which makes you wonder how fresh the food can be. After scratching our heads for a while, we actually managed to find some really decent food for a bit over a couple of dollars each, amazing! Pierre had vegetarian red curry on rice with iced tea and I had chicken basil on rice with a Leo Beer. The venue, however, was highly questionable... the meals were actually frozen meals ...

... for about 80 cent. Jealous?? :-p<br><br>Bye for now!<br><br><br>Edit:I finally figured out how I'm gonna write these entries so I had to made some edits ;) Sorry about that!<br><br>We followed the advise of a Canadian guy from Ayutthaya, to get up at 5am and take the first bus at 6 to the old city of Sukhothai to see the sunrise before all other tourists arrive. Even though, I ...

... having taken the bus back to town, the sky clouded ominously and the wind whipped up. In a matter of moments the heavens had opened and we were in the midst of torrential rain. This was taken totally in the stride of locals who continued to go about their business. For our part however, we were sadly trapped in a bar and unfortunately had to stay for more beer! The frogs around the shed loved it though and set up an even more cacophonous chorus that lasted all night!

... door and offers me a room for 300 baht ($10) which is kinda expensive considering it was bloody hot and the room only had a fan. She wouldn't bargain, I relented. This is the trouble with early arrivals, you're kinda stuck.The room was nice enough, really hot, but nice and more importantly it was right across the street from the Historic Park which held some magnificent 13th century ruins which is what I came to see.<br><br>I slept for a few hours, rented ...

... injured and abused elephants can heal and thrive, live and even reproduce unthreatened. Katherine and Anon are gifted with a keen sense of what these magnificent and complex creatures need. Katherine's fierce determination to save the Thai elephants provides an example to the Thais and other Southeast Asians. BLES is helping to educate young Thais to honor their cultural history and heritage of Thai people and Thai elephants. I hated to leave BLES. My visit was indeed a "blessing."

... the park and there are many Samlors and Songthaews available cheaply for transport. I stayed at the lovely well priced J & J Guesthouse. There are fan only rooms, ac rooms, and wonderful spacious ac bungalows with tv also. The price ranges from 400 to 900 Baht. There is a small but very clean and nice swimming pool and the grounds and decor are charming. The food is fresh and tasty; alcohol, fruit shakes, cold drinks, snacks and a full service outdoor ...

... about the night markets is that you can have several dishes from several stalls and nobody seems to mind, the seating area just appears to be communal. Laters Books: In my opinion * Not great ** OK *** Worth reading **** A favourite ***** Exceptional Reading: The Broker - (another) John Grisham To date: The Last Grain Race - Eric Newby ** Cancer Ward - Alexander Solzenhitsyn **** Utterly Monkey - Nick Laird ...

... is different in each country you go to; this is typical of human nature of course. A Chinese Buddha will look Chinese, a Thai Buddha looks Thai and so on. Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) was in fact Indian (modern day Nepal) so most likely did not look like how he is depicted in most of these statues. This matters not, as the image only acts as a reminder and symbol of his teachings. The architecture and precision in which these statues and temples were constructed is amazing. Projection of ...

... pass by takes pictures of us. Every Thai person who sees us giggles and smiles.<br><br>I met him yesterday afternoon. I was wondering around Old Sukhothai and stumbled upon a few structures surrounding a pond that turned out to be a monastery. As I was looking at the pond I heard a voice. "You can go swimming here if you like There are no crocodiles here". I turned around and saw a smiling young-looking monk peeking from within one of the structures. I ...

... and arrived over two hours late. Then we still had another two hour bus ride to Sukhothai. But since we are in no great rush, we could shrug it off and enjoy the scenery. <br><br> We pulled the windows down in the train, drank in the breeze, and watched the endless green of rice paddies blur past. I think they produce the brightest shade of natural green I've ever seen.<br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Su khothai, which means "the dawn of happiness," is considered the ...