Tuesday 17 April 2018

Rude Awakening........The night passes peacefully until 4am when I’m woken by a distant rumbling; not an issue until with a howling wind outside, increasing volume of thunder and more frequent and intense lightning flashes, I realise we’re in for a mother of a storm. When the lights go out and the air-conditioning cuts out I know it’s just a question of riding it out in the remaining time before daybreak. Fortunately that event is accompanied by the return of power but with the theatre over I just roll over and go back to sleep. It’s 8.30am before all normality returns. While I completed most of my blog last night there’s still work to do but with the ground still sodden, I suggest a delayed start to the day’s activities. At 11.30am we’re ready to depart but don’t intend to travel far. Phitsanulok is one of those provinces I seem to pass through but spend little time in. I don’t intend to leave it this time until I’ve given it the attention it deserves. For the time being we will remain in Noen Maprang District.
Wat Ban Mung........The first port of call the temple just a few minutes away in the village. There is nothing remarkable about Wat Ban Mung except that it lies at the foot of the jagged cliffs that dominate the area. It has a cave system known as Tham Nang Sibsong. The area nearby supports a colony of bats but we seem to have missed the opportunity to see their dusk flight.

Wat Amarin Khuha (Wat Khao Tham Muang)........Wat Amarin Khuha lies about 8 km to the south of Ban Mung. The temple look practically deserted but leaves me curious about the purpose of the extremely long rowing boats some of which are maintained in peak condition with obvious TLC. However the main purpose of this detour is to locate the next temple.

Wat Tham Lod........Just a few kilometres from Wat Amarin Khuha is Wat Tham Lod, the name suggesting a cave system. Arriving at this location, I’m curious to know why it is so many visitors have made it here, with vehicles filling the compound and occupying the roadsides. As I enter the cave there are few people making their way along the water coarse, now dry, appearing in the open on the other side of the mountain. Luckily here I find some information about the cave.
Lod Cave is a limestone cave about 227 metres long located 80 metres above sea level. During the rainy season water flows through the cave taking sediment with it, gradually widening the cave. Acidic water dissolves some of the limestone producing calcium carbonate which reforms into types such as sodastraw and flowstone. OK I get it but this is not the reason why there are so many visitors in the area.

Wat Tham Thong Charoentham........Wat Tham Thong Charoentham lies adjacent to Wat Tham Lod and there is presently much activity here. Katoon is anxious to investigate. The viharn is most unusual, a building of four stories with a lift, necessary as there is a ritual ceremony taking place on the top floor. Arriving here I see the hall is packed. Most of the centre of the hall is richly decorated with flowers, plants, ornaments and candles, while on a platform in front are the ritual offerings of food, the likes of which most people never see in their daily lives, a proverbial King’s Banquet. At the far end the Buddha image is lit up a dazling iridescent blue. It seems not only have I arrived on the precise day but also at the precise hour. Remarkable! As the ceremony continues with the customary chanting, blowing of conch horns and music from an assembly of traditional Thai instruments, I try to make sense of it all. I’m told it is an annual event, a tradition of offering thanks to the temple for the spiritual support and protection it provides for the community and the environment. Amidst it all I end up with a free meal. Job done!

Wat Bung Dong Ngu (Snake Temple)........Now well into the afternoon it’s time to leave Noen Maprang District and head towards Phitsanulok. However there is one more temple Katoon is interested in on the way. Wat Bung Dong Ngu is located on a small hill offering glorious views across to those iconic rock formations that form the edge of Thung Salaeng Luang National Park. Its name derives from the fact that the area has an abundance of snakes. Not for the first time on these tours a simple question leads to a guided tour around the temple and remarkably an interview with the head monk. It then transpires that by remarkable coincidence there is a connection between this temple and one we are likely to visit later on this tour. This 'most likely' visit has just changed to 'most certain', I feel.

Confusion........Now heading northwest it seems there is a straightforward run in to Phitsanulok City now, yet my over reliance on GPS is about to leave me with egg on my face. Typing in my destination I follow it religiously back over the mountain pass the way we came. When we reach Highway 12, we turn west heading towards the city. The system yells at me to make a U-turn. Impossible I think and thankfully override it. A while later I recalibrate to home in on the tourist information office near the riverbank in the city. That works so all we need now is accommodation.
Pailyn Hotel........show. With at least a full day needed for site visits in the city I don’t want to be far from my present location and just a block away is Pailyn Hotel. Suitably priced at the top end of my budget it obviously ticks all the boxes including the one that says, ‘breakfast included’. Check-in is hassle free and I even have time for a nap before dinner.
and finally........Venturing out just after 6pm Katoon spots a speciality noodle restaurant on the corner of the next block which also prepares rice dishes. It turns out to be filling and light on budget. Before I head back to write my blog we take a stroll along the river bank which takes me suitably onto the weather. After the morning’s thunderstorm, things have cooled down a lot. It’s now comfortably in the 20’s. Back at Pailyn I crack on with my blog but before I close here I should publish the results of my investigation into the GPS fiasco. Clearly the system needed input more than just ‘Phitsanulok’. It appears that there is a GPS location representing the province but it’s nowhere near the city. I still find that illogical but will bare that in mind in future. Next Page.