Kamphaeng Phet: The Farang Experience

Trip Start Jan 07, 2009
1
5
47
Trip End Aug 04, 2009


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Where I stayed
Three J Guesthouse
(Kamphaeng Phet hotels)

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Saturday, January 17, 2009

I spend just under 2 days in Kampaeng Phet, but I could write about it for pages and pages! It's a small town about halfway between Ayutthaya and Chiang Mai. I decided I didn't want to miss the whole middle of Thailand, even though no one really goes there, and decided to stop in Kampaeng Phet to break up the journey. Now I knew it wasn't a tourist town, but I didn't expect to be one of 4 tourists in town! So this was my first taste of really truly feeling like a "farang" (foreigner).

The army of tuk tuks and taxis was absent from the bus station...in fact, it wasn't that easy to communicate where I wanted to go, but once I made it there, everything went well from that point on. The town was full of children who yelled out "hello, what's your name?" and it truly felt like the "land of smiles". The guesthouse was beautiful, and the owner really took care of us. He really loves his town and his enthousiasm is contagious. :)

So I got a map of the town and took off for the historical park! It was quite an enchanting place! The ruins are in a forested area, so although they are not as well preserved as the ones in Ayutthaya, the combination of the late afternoon sunlight through the trees, and the total absence of anyone else made it quite surreal! Around 5 o'clock it started to fill up with locals jogging...it was pretty funny.

I then headed back to the guesthouse, but in typical Myriam fashion, I got lost and ended up at the night market. I certainly felt like an outsider there- a feeling I must get used to. I didn't have to energy to sign my way into ordering anything interesting, so I went for the easy choices: sushi, donuts, and iced coffee (all for about $2.50!). I sat by the river - quite beautiful- as the sun was setting, and then I witnessed by first aerobics in the park!! Apparently this is quite common in Thailand....it was pretty funny.

When I got back to the guesthouse I was quite pleased to see some other people who I could actually communicate with...the only other tourists in town! I joined them in going to a place that does fondu--thai style, I guess? It was an absolutely wonderful evening though!

The next day I took off on a bike to explore the outskirts of town..after getting through the crazy intersection where it was unclear which way any cars are supposed to be going, I made it to the quieter parts of town, and just spent the morning soaking in the thai-ness of it all. It was wonderful and interesting, but I was afraid if I wandered too far I would get lost (especially as my map didn't have street names!)...so I went back. I need to develop a sense of direction.

In the evening our little farang crew got together again to tackle the night market with a few beer Changs. The perfect way to end my time in Kampaeng Phet...as wonderful as it was, it makes me nervous after a while to have such a communication barrier with people, and to be limited to pointing and to "kap koon kaa" (thank you). I would defenitely recommend that everyone heading north in Thailand stop at 3 J Guesthouse on the way though! It was a great two days.

Also the dogs in this town were scary. I'm not kidding. On multiple occasions they sent me running down the street cuz they wouldn't stop running after me and barking. The locals probably got a good laugh. lol

So off the the backpacker cental of Chiang Mai!
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