Thailand Naturally (page 9 of 13)

It was written in the stars that this would be an "animals" day. Still in a village deep in the countryside, on a vast expanse around a hill 750 meters long and 250 meters high, the weekly market takes place. The rest of the time, the playground is left to its usual occupants. They’re pretty skittish—probably because they know what a slingshot is.





Oh man, is that the dreaded Jojoone coming this way? Yikes!

But for crying out loud, my VoyageForum login code—I remembered it, it’s... it’s...





Almost as good as Thai massages—don’t you dare stop!





Mom, I’m kinda stuck—what do I do now?

I promise I’ll be good, just let me climb back up...

Aaah, I love you, oh yes, I love you—no, but seriously, I *love* you!!

It’s completely impossible to say which places have given us the warmest welcome since we’ve been exploring Thailand. But you’ve got to admit, the staff at this hotel in Uthai Thani are like angels sent down to earth.

Hi Joel

Your monkey photos are absolutely hilarious—you really captured some almost human-like expressions and gestures! :) I’m still following your posts with so much excitement! :) Deborah

AROUND SINGBURI

For our third visit to Singburi, we’re just about wrapping up our exploration of the area.

A quick reminder for those interested in Thailand’s most beautiful temples: there’s an exceptional concentration of them in the area around the Ayutthaya–Singburi line.

We start by visiting a major temple whose viharn features an Ayutthaya-period stucco entrance porch, illustrating the ten previous lives of the Buddha.

One of the buildings, in addition to its richly colored murals and precious wood doors inlaid with mother-of-pearl, features an unusual Buddha statue—one wearing a cap, so without the cranial protuberance. This is a representation of Maitreya, the Buddha to come.























Suddenly, a racket distracts us: every year, we experience a little episode of the Khao Phansa religious festival, a Buddhist event equivalent to Lent, during which many young men become monks for a limited period (unless they truly have the vocation). These are moments when Thais know how to express and let loose their joy for life.

These temples are truly stunning—the photographer really highlighted them well! 😉

The yellow colors are gorgeous, though I personally find them a bit *too* angelic.

Are the local politicians causing a stir?

As soon as the sky is blue, the colors explode—what can you do!

In their depiction of hell, they’ve definitely included some corrupt monks, politicians, and shady businessmen. I’m not convinced it’s useful for a travel journal to know who these people are. We don’t have a guide on hand, truth be told.

I'm not convinced it's useful for the travel journal to know who these people are.

Their names, sure, but it's nice (from my point of view) to know what they were trying to represent there 😛

Yes, often it's anonymous figures that are depicted in the pictorial descriptions of hell's punishments. But as I told another participant, each painter has their own style, and this one drew inspiration from current events.

Hi Noelle,

Thanks again for stopping by one of our travel journals! In Thailand, you can pretty much go anywhere—you know that well—and you’ll definitely find something you love. We’re already wishing you a wonderful trip...

Sawadee kha Françoise and Joël!

Thank you for sending me this new post;). It made me realize I was 4 pages behind on reading your travel journal! Shame on me (we spent 2 weeks in Provence, almost completely disconnected, for some real rest—once in a while, it’s nice!). And now I’ve dived right back into it! I ended up reading, reading... all the way to the last line!

I just savored, once again, Joël’s impeccable and superbly documented account (the time it must take!). His finely crafted storytelling makes me even more eager to discover these little-known spots that farangs rarely visit—and they’re tempting me after already taking 11 wonderful trips of several weeks each to the Land of Smiles.

And what can I say about your photos, Françoise... wow! Always so beautiful and enticing, with videos that bring back the sound of cicadas and insects in the forest, the rushing waterfalls—all telling me just one thing: come back!

Next year, we’ll have to settle for a little less adventure since out of our 6 weeks of travel, 4 will be spent hosting our children and grandchildren in a villa we rented in Koh Lanta (which will be a joy too, of course). That leaves us with just 2 short weeks to explore the north (Chiang Rai for the 8th time... yes, we’re really "hooked"; and Chiang Mai for the 4th time).

So, I’m already jotting down all these places we haven’t had the chance to discover yet (our Thailand bucket list is far from complete, clearly—and that’s a good thing!) to add to our list! My husband, Michel, has even started learning Thai (every day for almost a year now), and he can’t wait to put it into practice. He’s already doing really well with speaking, but understanding what people say back... well, that’s another story! Still, the smiles and joy of the Thai people are already a wonderful reward for his efforts (and mine, to a lesser extent).

Immersing ourselves in these less-traveled spots will be another joy! Thank you both for this new gem of a travel journal that I’m enjoying without moderation!

So yes,

Ever since we’ve been keeping travel journals, we’ve been addressing one of the posts to each person who’s reacted because we think taking the time to engage deserves a little shout-out. We just find it friendly—a nice little thought a few days later...

Thank you for all the compliments, though we’d rather not share anything if we couldn’t offer something worthwhile. We’re a bit more reserved when it comes to the documentation since knowledge is so easily accessible these days. It’s true that it’s more enjoyable to learn certain info through a travel journal with photos. Maybe we’re a bit bold to hope to introduce the country to participants, half of whom know it better than we do. But if we don’t do it, who will?

Our own exploration isn’t finished either, and we still have at least five to seven original routes we could present in the future. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves...

Congratulations to Michel for his effort. We’re continuing our learning in a laid-back way, without forcing it. Once we’re in the thick of it and have no choice, we’ll pick it up faster. As you said, speaking is one thing, understanding is another. Oh, absolutely!

We’re particularly happy to present this year, to you and others, a travel journal we consider varied and complete. And you’ll see that the upcoming final days won’t disappoint. Thanks again for your support on these pages

Ever since we’ve been keeping travel journals, we’ve dedicated one post to each person who reacted because simply chiming in deserves a little shout-out.

At first, it’s a bit surprising ("Wait... I didn’t even ask a question, did I?") but all in all, it’s a really nice habit. Muriel

It seems that day after day, Thailand "off the beaten path" has decided to generously bestow its most scorching sun upon us. So, under a leaden heat, we’re scouting a hill we’d spotted amid fields and rice paddies. The photos you find online are pretty doctored, and reality doesn’t match the fiction. Here too, macaques populate the area, and temples—some well-maintained, others less so—are scattered around, along with Buddhas in a quirky cave. We’re right next to the tourist highway yet so far away at the same time, under the sign of Hanuman.

PHETCHABURI REGION

We first visited Phetchaburi back in 2013 and wrote about it in our travel journal that same year.

This time, we decided to explore a whole new part of the vast region around it.

It was pretty unique to start with a little village festival open to... ages 5 to 77!

https://youtu.be/zZ0CA13u5uY

Today we’re in for a treat at a hidden floating market deep in the countryside. It’s so pleasant to wander in the shade of an alley whose vault is made of a double row of bamboo. Plus, this market is built around a small waterfall at the bottom of a hill.

A quick glance at the crowd of visitors and the little shops is enough to see we’re far from the usual touristy markets. If you arrive early, the space feels oversized, but soon you realize a huge crowd comes here to enjoy some leisure time. Seats become highly sought after.

This market with that beautiful waterfall is amazing.

What are those things hanging in the first photo?

And those eggs cooking—do they turn into hard-boiled eggs without water?

Hi there, I’ve been following your travel journal with interest, and it’s making me want to retrace your steps. Thank you for all this work—I’ll admit that, for my part, I’d gotten discouraged from continuing my own travel journals...

We’ve seen a few small corners of Thailand, mostly as stopovers before or after trips to Southeast Asia, but why not spend 6 weeks discovering the country this winter? Your story keeps inspiring me more and more. Keep up the great work! Anne

Hello, hello!

Your "monkey comic" had me rolling on the floor laughing—I loved it!

Being away from VoyageForum has its perks; I just had three whole days to catch up on reading :)

Those ropes in the buffaloes' noses were as painful to watch as they must’ve been for them to wear, but that floating market is amazing. I *love* places like that! Your photos made me really (really) want to visit someday, and I hope we’ll get the chance. The scenery is gorgeous, the products on offer are so unique—just like you said, it’s nothing like those touristy markets. We’re obsessed!

Looking forward to the rest of this incredible 2019 trip you’re sharing with us—it’s such a treat! :)

Everything is well organized: an uninterrupted line of people moves in a very disciplined way toward the trash area to dispose of their waste.

Every now and then, a Thai person walks by carrying lunch they’ve just bought: it’s an assortment of specialties served in a 1.5-meter-long bamboo stalk.

A little further on, people sitting by the water’s edge are being served by a Spiderman in a boat—quite unusual!

We saw on local TV that a bit further north in the country, another floating market had just been created to boost tourism, at the initiative of a local resident. Needless to say, in our opinion, while floating markets in Thailand have a rich past, they also have a bright future!

Did you guys eat in the bamboo stalk too??? I’d never seen that before—it’s such a cool idea!

Next time, I’ll hire an expert or an expat (which amounts to the same thing) for the duration of the travel journal so I can answer your questions. It’s just that I’m starting to dread them now, your questions. 😄

The decorations are made from halved coconut shells.

As for the eggs, I suppose it’s what you’re assuming, without really paying much attention: there were chicken satay skewers waiting for us further on... Anyway, if they were soft-boiled eggs, the shell was pretty big 😛

Rather than usefulness or explanation, it’s first and foremost the image and the impression we want to share with those following the journal.

And whether you believe me or not, the day when nothing there is unknown or incomprehensible anymore, it won’t have the same magic...

We can use "tu" now since we know each other well. You were one of the first to leave a comment on our travel journals (we remember!).

Let’s just say that if everyone had shared even just one journal, we wouldn’t have time to read them all. And everyone could feel proud of themselves. That said, you can also lend a hand without writing a journal.

If you need anything, send me a PM—I’ll have more time to explain things properly.