Sukhothai (via Phitsanulok)

To get from the 'Bridge on the River Kwai' to Chang Mai in the North you need to get back on the main train line - so we decided to pick up the line at Phitsanulok and stay there one night because it's very close to the ancient capital of Siam, namely Sukhothai. So when you look at these pictures conjure up the image of Yul Bryner dancing around shouting 'et cetera, et cetera, et cetera'.

This is a picture of us in the local bus! It left at 5:30am (that will explain why my face is all out of kilter) for a 2 hour journey but arrived at 8:45am - we needed to catch another bus and by pure luck it was leaving the bus station as we arrived, someone on our bus shouted and waved and the bus stopped and we were able to get on. Lesson learned - don't believe everything they print in the bus timetable!!

The main street at Phitsanulok was great to walk around and had a fantastic market with great food. The next day we took a short bus ride to the ancient capital at Sukhothai.

This is a Buddhist monk ringing the 'prayer bell'.



















The best way to get around the ancient city is by bicycle - so here we go! Probably one of the most picturesque cycling paths you'll ever come across. So feast your eyes on the wonderful sights - starting with the cyclists of course!

This particular Buddha has a golden hand! The idea being that for a small donation you can give your self 'good karma' and get a very small piece of gold leaf. You then rub the gold leaf on the Buddha. I estimate by 2075 this will be just 'another' Gold covered Buddha!!

Spot anything unusual about this Buddha? Yes, two apprentice Buddha's either side!

You probably won't find this sign in your Highway Code. Just in case you're not certain what it is, I'm helping by performing a faultless impersonation (if you're looking Ben and Justine, this puts Ben's 'kangeroo' attempt to shame).






Time to leave for Chiang Mai, so we head for the train station and then......... wait......... what's that we see? Is that really a local with a Sunderland shirt on? I couldn't believe it, the poor guy probably thought he was going to get mugged when he saw me running toward him! Anyway, he couldn't speak a word of English and from our limited hand signals, I ascertained that he didn't know what the shirt meant (sometimes I know exactly how he feels!). We had a laugh though and his family were laughing their heads off at our picture shoot.

People in Thailand love football and often wear footy tops, the usual Man Utd and Chelsea etc. But for a cup of tea, can anyone tell us why it is that most Thailand football supporters wear Manchester City shirts? And if you're feeling lucky punk, the next favourite is an Everton top - again, why would that be?

No, this is not a picture of me in one of those strange Thailand bars where you can have your own booth! This is the supreme luxury of sleeping on a train - can you even imagine how comfortable that is - especially when your previous train journey was 21 hours sitting on a rack? This is me in the bottom bunk, Elvis is snoring away on the bunk above. In the morning, when you arise, the guard will come around and convert your bed into a nice little seat for two. No cups of tea for this question - it's too easy, but would anyone like to guess who was last to roll out of her bunk?

So after a lovely nights sleep, the train rolled into Chiang Mai at 8:30 am - just in time to start a new day in a new place that must be the subject of a new blog!