The romantic Phitsanulok
Phitsanulok,
Thailand
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
The bus to Phitsanulok was an interesting journey. I left my pack to be stowed and got on. I had a window seat in the middle of the bus. The conductress brought an orange fruitbox and biscuits for each passenger.
The bus took off and I started to watch a very ordinary John Travolta movie. There were Thai subtitles, but I couldn't hear the dialogue. About halfway to Phitsanulok we came to a road block where Thai military were checking everyone's credentials. Although I was all covered, I still felt a moment of fear when I had to hand over my passport. After a quick glance they decided that I wasn't a terrorist (of the type they were looking for anyway) and handed back my passport. They left the bus and we continued our journey.
About an hour or so out of Phitsanulok we stopped for `lunch' at a roadside cafe. The girl sitting next to me told me that I could get out and have lunch as my ticket entitled me to a meal. I got off and had a look at the meals, but decided that I didn't feel like anything, although truth be told, I had no idea how long the bus was going to be stopped and didn't want it to go without me. Besides which, it was mid afternoon and I'd long since given up thinking about lunch.
There is something about Thai buses, in that they mysteriously stop for 30-60 minutes just outside the town you want to go to. This also occurred during our trip from Krabi to the Surat Thani ferry with the bus stopping in the outskirts of Surat Thani for some unknown reason. Everyone on the bus was made to pile out and sit around laminex tables in plastic outdoor chairs. A few travellers got grumpy and complained but it was a scheduled stop and we weren't going to miss the ferry. I think that they didn't want a whole busload of backpackers causing havoc at the ferry terminal while waiting for the appropriate ferry.
Back on the bus I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting later. I didn't think I would have much time to explore Phitsanulok before it got dark. Around 4pm the bus deposited me at the bus terminal, although true to form, it wasn't the terminal I thought I was going to. Heaving my packs (for by now I had gained another big backpack to stick in front of me) I headed to the main road to try and gain my bearings.
I was fishing around for rny -guidebook when two German girls walked up to me. As it iurrreu out, they wanted to stay at the same hostel as me - Lithai Guest House. A strange cross between a tuk tuk and songthaew stopped to pick us up and we were dropped at the guest house without the driver getting lost or confused.
We checked in and I got a room with a fan, TV and bathroom for 180B. I then went to Simone and Ylongka's room and we decided to go for a walk. The sun was starting to set as we walked along the riverfront. We crossed a bridge and saw the famous floating houseboats. My experience of river travel and riverboats is reasonably extensive. I have sailed the navigable length of the Murray River from above Echuca to Goolwa at the mouth of the Murray. I had never seen anything quite like these wooden shacks on wooden rafts. The raft and deck were almost flush with the river. We took a couple of photos and waved to the people at their back door who giggled at us.
There were people walking and running along the river-front and it occurred to me that something I hadn't seen any Thai people doing was exercise, unless you count the weightlifters in Bangkok's Lumphini Park, posing in front of mirrors, music blaring from their ghetto blasters.
Continuing our walk around the river we passed lots of children who came up to us to say hello and would then run away in shyness. We got to a floating restaurant and decided to have something to eat. It was very peaceful sitting at our table next to the river. Fairy lights covered the whole restaurant and a tealight lamp was burning on our table. The peace was broken by a
boat, speeding up the river in the growing darkness. It was just a sound, no lights indicated its location.
After dinner it was dark but we continued our jaunt around the river, across another bridge and back along the other side. We had heard about the night market and wanted to have a look but by the time we got to the market, or what we thought was the market, it was virtually deserted. We continued wandering around the town and found an internet cafe for the ridiculous sum of 15B an hour. The only other patrons were teenage boys who were playing computer games. They kept getting up and checking out each other's progress and scores, or stood watching their friends complete a higher level. Unfortunately my long and detailed email didn't get to anyone for the second time of the trip. My ability to use the technology was looking rather dismal.
We headed back to the guest house and then decided to purchase our train tickets for the following evening. Simone and Ylongka were headed to Chiang Mai and I was on my way back to Bangkok. I managed to secure myself a sleeper for 490B leaving at 11:15pm. We got the munchies and visited a 24 hour convenience store where I got some wafer biscuits and a drink. Simone and Ylongka got a Thai equivalent of a UDL. We sat eating and drinking in front of a fountain which stopped at 10pm. As we ate and drank we watched hundreds of pigeons get disturbed from their perch on a powerline, flapping about searching for a new roosting place.
At the guesthouse I had a shower and switched on the TV, flicked through the channels, set my alarm and settled down for sleep on my very saggy single bed.
I rode back to the main road and stepped into the aircon comfort of 7-11 and bought myself a cool drink. I downed it pretty quickly and then with some more time to kill before my 4:10 bus back to Phitsanulok I stopped at the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum where I stupidly bought a 30B ticket even though my 150B historical park ticket included the museum admission.
The museum was being renovated so there were lots of exhibits closed or moving around the museum. There were a few interesting artefacts, but mostly Buddhas. After skirting around the museum I headed back to my bike and returned it to the hire shop. I sat at a plastic table waiting for my bus and the shop owner alerted me to when the bus was leaving and I jumped on as the bus barely stopped for me to do anything but swing off the step. On the ride back to Phitsanulok I contemplated the sunburn I'd gotten during my ride.
On my walk from the bus stop back to the guesthouse, I ran into a large group of people doing aerobics along the riverfront. I was almost tempted to join in, and walked past with a bemused smile on my face.
At the guesthouse I met up with Simone and Ylongka who had had a pretty boring day in Phitsanulok and were wishing that they had come with me to Sukhothai. I had a shower and washed the day's grime and sweat off. We then went for dinner across the road where Simone and Ylongka had sussed out the aircon. This was my only genuine Thai meal of the trip. For 30B we had our choice of dishes served with rice and a big bottle of water to share between us. The old man that ran the restaurant came over and spoke to us. He had excellent English and said that he had taught himself and practised with patrons in his restaurant. He was a very cute old man - quite a lot taller than other Thai men I'd seen, with white hair and age spots like freckles on his cheeks. He wore a warm and genuine smile.
After dinner Simone was feeling a gurgle in her stomach so I suggested that she use my bathroom while Ylongka and I sat on the couch talking in the `lobby' area on our floor. I packed up my bags and headed to reception with my key. Simone and Ylongka had left their packs at reception when they checked out earlier in the morning. We asked the guy at reception to take a photo of us all ready to leave.
We walked to the train station which was only about 500m away and checked the platforms that we would leave from, which was the same o;ie, cuuuut 40 minutes apart. There were lots of other travellers waiting to depart. Most people around us were backpackers too, although further down the platform was a group of soldiers decked out in their camouflage gear, duffel bags slung over their shoulders. To get to our platform, which was in the middle, we crossed the tracks directly. An asphalt path had been laid down and we crossed there.
While we were waiting, Simone was complaining in German about a hole in the seat of her pants. I asked if she was talking about the hole in her arse and she looked at me, surprised that I knew what they were talking about (it wasn't hard as they were pointing and feeling her pants). They then said a phrase to me in German and translated it. Ylongka scribbled it on a piece of paper for me. Magst du meinen arsch nicht. Don't you like looking at my arse? Their train to Chiang Mai arrived and they were gone.
My train was not far behind the train to Chiang Mai (as it had been delayed). I had to walk to the far end of the platform to get into my correct carriage. As it was almost 10:30pm the beds were already pulled down and I put my pack up onto my bunk and followed it, with one last glance at a Thai couple who were still sitting and drinking.
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65cm jade buddha displayed high up in the roof. I sat for a moment (feet pointing politely backwards) and looked at the crowd and decided to enter the fray to find my shoes.
Feeling let down and sick of all the tour groups, tourists and crowds, I did a quick walk past of the Royal Palace, paused to watch the changing of the guards and got out of there. I returned my sarong and thought I'd try and get to Vimanmek Teak Mansion as I had a free ticket on my Grand Palace entry and I was determined to use it.
I sat at a bus stop waiting for a bus to Vimanmek for ages, however none came. I thought I might be in the wrong spot so I moved and still couldn't find the right number. By this stage I had pretty much given up and I didn't want to catch a taxi so I just wandered the streets. I walked by the ferry ticket office and was almost tempted to cross the river but my feet just kept walking.
I walked past so many streetside stalls, tea towels on the ground with coins or other small objects on them. A monk stopped me and asked where I was from. He said that his cousin lived in Sydney and we chatted for a bit more before he continued on his way.
I walked back past Sanam Luang to Khao San Road and then found an internet cafe where I sent an email to my friends.
