Day 2 - Monday 29 April

Adjusting…….. Yesterday’s discovery of ancient ruins right in the town of U Thong has taken me completely by surprise but it’s an endorsement of how we approach these tours that we could respond so quickly to take advantage of new opportunities.
My first adjustment was to stay overnight in U Thong and I stayed up later than I intended to write up my blog. That allowed a more relaxed feeling this morning as I check and save my work. With no facilities at or near Thanachon, coffee is prepared in the room and remaining snacks consumed. The rest of the time before departure is concentrated on packing and continuing the monument hunting after reference to available resources. However, it is 10am before we were ready.
Backtracking…….. For reasons of poor identification and photography, I feel the need to visit two sites from yesterday to obtain clarification, adding another monument in the process. From the catalogue of monuments in the ancient city kept by the museum, there should have been at least three more nearby but I fail to locate them and can only suggest that these are minor monuments which have not been signposted. There seems little more I can do in the ancient city itself but there are more ruins in and around the hills to the west but these I feel were adequately covered in my October 2015 tour. Nevertheless Katoon decides to head in that direction where two monuments 10 and 11 are located.

Bhutsaya Khiri Suvarnabhumi (Rock Buddha) Wat Khao Tham Thiam…….. This rock buddha image was covered in the previous tour but the huge carving was only partially complete then. This visit reveals the image in all its glory with the scaffolding now removed. This detour has taken a mere half hour and I regard this as the last site visit in U Thong. After an early lunch in the town, we can finally head north.

Ban Rai…….. Passing through another district we visited before, Dan Chang, we leave Suphanburi province in early afternoon arriving at Ban Rai around 2pm. By this time we’ve entered the foothills of the Tenasserim Range. This area is Katoon’s choice; she must have had reports about it. Certainly this area has a natural feeling in complete contrast to the plains to the east. There are no ancient monuments here and while this is an excellent base for the natural explorer, it is just too far from Bangkok and other major cities to draw the crowds. It will suit me to stay here awhile in one of the more laid-back communities you will find.
Accommodation hunting again…….. With the temperature still uncomfortably high - the only visible cloud over the hills to the north and west - we start to look for accommodation. Katoon believes she has the answer from previous reports and we locate Ban Suan Resort right on the edge of town. However first impression don’t look good as the resort lies at the back of a PTT filling station. The resort does look pleasant enough though located in a mature garden with trees and shrubs and has a natural feel, the room structure built of hardwood panels. Price wise the bungalows at the back are twice what we would normally pay while the more basic accommodation is on the first floor near the front. Either way carrying luggage would be awkward. So it’s thumbs down from Katoon but there’s bound to be an alternative nearby and I soon identify a possibility on Google Map.
Ban Rai Nai Suan…….. Again near the edge of town but in a quieter location we enquire at Ban Rai Nai Suan. Priced at just 500 baht, will it meet our needs? Location is fine within walking distance of shops and the local market then as for the room, well I will need to rescue a table to put my laptop on but otherwise all the boxes are ticked, enough for me to take the room for two nights. Eager to set up shop here I just want to get into a cool room and fall asleep during the hottest part of the day.