Uthai Thani to Sukhothai - Two Unique Experiences

 First of all, thank each of you for your comments. Now, on with the adventures .... 

We drove to Uthai Thani for a few things we wanted to see and were not disappointed!  We loved the town and the place we stayed was very nice and convenient to some good food and interesting experiences. This place is in the center of the North of Thailand and is not a tourist destination. Even the receptionist at our hotel didn't speak a word of English.  However, people were warm, friendly and in many cases, very happy to see us!  While walking through town I heard someone yelling hello and after a moment realized that a group of schoolgirls were talking to me!  They are definitely not used to tourists in this town.  Ordering food was an experience as was - well - everything!  One of our main goals here was to see the Magical Forest (Hup Pa Tat) which is in an area referred to as the Switzerland of Thailand.  The 'garden' is basically a sinkhole surrounded by limestone karsts that are maybe 100 feet high and remained closed to the outside world until someone made the entrance through the cave.  A very magical and beautiful place. Photos below

Entrance to the Garden

And inside following Chuck

A bird chicken size who lives in the garden.

 

Switzerland of Thailand?

The other was to see the Golden Castle or Wat Chantharam which is a little like if Liberace lived in Thailand and was Buddhist? (If you don't know who Liberace is, you are younger than me but look him up if you want.)  The scale of this place is difficult to capture and the fact that it consists of thousands of tiny glass mosaic pieces and mirrors which make it glisten in the sun just didn't show up in the photo.  You'll have to use your imagination but it was truly magnificent and worth a few wrong turns to find it!

Inside looked like a ballroom with the shiniest Buddha ever!

 

From Uthai Thani we (Chuck) drove to Sukhothai, an historical park just filled with ruins of wats and stupas from the 13th century.  While we had one ruin immediately behind our hotel and I'll include a photo of that one (the one with the elephants) most are within the park walls.  We rented bicycles for the day (about $1.00) and rode around to see the ruins often in the shade from surrounding large trees and dotted with ponds, canals and moats.

 

A Buddha

An unusual stupa

A Very Giant Buddha

Bye for now from Sukhotai

Kanchanburi, Erawan Falls - The Good and the Not So Good

 So, if you have followed my blog you know that I visited Kanchanaburi in 2019. I revisited this time with my friends, Paulette and Chuck.  I will share some different photos of the appropriately named Death Railway and just say that I am always shocked at the inhumanity of humans at times.  I hope we can do better.  I have to believe we can. 

The same engine that was used during the war.

This cave was used as a hideout for escaped prisoners.  It is now a Buddhist shrine.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (Khwae Noi)

A memorial to Chinese who lost their lives building the bridge.

The trestle in the center has been rebuilt but was originally built

  A small Buddhist shrine at the Death Museum.

by prisoners of war.

After a day of reflection, we headed to the northern part of Kanchanaburi province to Erawan Falls, a beautiful spot that I also visited in 2019 and loved.  It has become popular as most beautiful places do and was crowded so our stay was short.

 Our last night in Kanchanaburi province was along the River Kwai (Khwae Noi) in a raft house that was small but so cool to be right on the river!  They provided kayaks which I took advantage of and, despite the language barrier, the couple who owned the place were so sweet.  It's interesting.  As we get away from thee tourist areas, the language barrier becomes more pronounced and I find myself wondering why I haven't learned more of the language considering the amount of times I've been to this country.  I'll include a few photos from the raft house which will show the smoke in the air.  In the past, North and Central Thailand have become smoky from burning fields to plant new crops usually in mid to late February into March.  Unfortunately, it seems to have begun earlier this year as, based on the number of trucks loaded with humongous amounts of sugarcane bears out.

Sunset from my little raft house.

The view across the river.

Sunrise with swallows flitting.

And this is what tapioca looks like growing.  Who knew?

Tapioca

From Home to Bangkok and on to Kanchanaburi

Some Amazing National Parks and Other Incredible Sights

 It has, once again, been awhile since I posted anything.  Weird!  It should figure that I have more time but that is not necessarily the case.  That being said, I did take a few camping trips in the late Summer and early Fall and just haven't gotten around to posting much.  No time?  Seems unlikely, doesn't it?  

In August I went to Glacier, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.  I hadn't been to any of these parks which seemed just not right since they are in our own backyard (so to speak). I stopped at some places along the way, Castle Crags SP in Northern California, Deschutes River State Recreation Area in Northwestern Oregon, and campgrounds in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and (between Glacier and Yellowstone) Swan Lake Campground in Montana.

In a little over two weeks, I put 2800 miles on my car and saw some of the most incredible scenery imaginable!  Totally mind-blowing beauty exists in that part of the world and I'm glad to have experienced it.  The only problem is now, of course, I want to go back.  

I met great people, saw amazing wildlife - some of it just a little scary, and did some great hikes talking as well as singing to myself WHILE wearing a bear bell and carrying bear spray!  One cannot be too careful LOL!

Here are some photos of just some of the highlights. 

ALONG THE WAY

Castle Crags State Park with views of the 'Crags', Mt. Lassen and the Sacramento River

The Deschutes River State Recreation Area

Coeur d' Alene

GLACIER NATIONAL PARK

Lake McDonald

 

Highway to the Sun

 

Logan Pass

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

 

 

 

 

 

THE GRAND TETONS