The town of Tak, west of Thailand, is about 2½ hours drive away from Phitsanulok town. Tak is not particularly interesting except as a point to visit Lan Sang and Taksin Maharat National Parks to the west and Kheuan Phumiphon to the north. During our visit to Kheuan Phumiphon (Bhumibol Dam), there are very few visitors underscoring the 'remoteness' of Tak Province.
Again another of our usual foodstall breakfast nearby. we just wanted to try different foodstall as 'variety is the spice of life'! Food price here was somewhat on the high compared to yesterday's. Somehow, by our standard, it was still cheap. Fried rice with veggies and pork or chicken went for B20 (B25 with beef). I only had yogurt for breakfast and finished 3 cups as the price was darn low at B12 each. I love to eat this stuff but KK's price of RM3.80 (or B38) scared the shit out of me!
After our quickie breakfast, we were on our way to Tak using this pick-up! Oh boy...11 passengers in all! Some 2km near Phitsanulok town, the poor pick-up began chugging under our combined weights and it was not a good idea to proceed further using this pick-up. By a stroke of luck, Nataporn managed to borrow a Nissan truck from his friend in town!
Combo pictures showing us and a handsome Thai friend sitting at the back and the rest inside the cabin.
It was not all bed of roses sitting at the back though as we constantly shift seating positions just to make our joints comfortable! Standing, squatting, stretching our legs, trampling on one another legs, et cetera...we have done all imaginary positions...whoaaa! Veteran backpackers on the back of a truck we soon to become!
Sitting at the back has its rewards too like getting to shoot these two beautiful dames tailing our truck!
Midway on our journey, we stopped by 7-Eleven store for some hot coffee and hotdogs and also to answer the call of nature. Ahhh...we Malaysians were stumped to see this toilet. Unique and bold design yet properly thought-out considering the hot climate! Perhaps this is the solution for KK's smelly public toilets, huh?
The road to Tak passed through Sukhothai Province and rubber trees pepperred both sides of the road through the length of our journey. So it was no surprise then that Thailand is listed as the world’s numero uno for rubber production! Malaysia used to be among the top but I am not so sure now!
Reaching our destination, we were greeted by marvelous sight of this massive man-made dam. South East Asia's biggest dam, Bhumibol Dam was built in 1964 across the Ping River which is a tributary of the Great Chao Phraya River. This dam was conceived to provide irrigation and electrical generation. However, other benefits soon come into play such as flood control, fishery, navigation and tourism.
My compact digital camera with 35mm at the widest angle doesn't do justice to the vastness of Bhumibol Dam. So I resorted to cropping the picture from the signboard so you get the idea how big the dam is!
Combo pictures of left-side and right-side of the crest-shaped dam.
Oh no...not again! This is a cured dried meat from boar. Part of our lunch, it tasted yummy and about right - not too salty. Some of us bought a lot to take home to Sabah. B80 per kilogram.
We had our lunch at this foodstall nearby the river just down the road from the dam. However food prices here are a bit on the touristy side.
We ordered fish tom yam and it was darn VERY HOT! Just look at the bowl and count how many 'bird eye' chillies are in there? Neal braving the soup and later his face turned red...ahah! Later we would bestow him the title "Bird Eye Chilly Champion"...whoaaa!
As the clock ticked towards the evening, we have to rush back to visit the Sukhothai Historical park before it got dark. We reached there around 7.45 pm and straighway rushed to photograph the ruins as condition was getting dark and camera flash was not helpful due to the vast expanse of the ruins. We resorted to high ISO and exposure compensation settings. So the pictures you see here are grainy and blurry!
Wat Mahathat, the largest wat in Sukhothai dated back 13th Century. This wat is surrounded by brick walls and a moat, said to represent the outer wall of the universe and cosmic ocean. There are 198 chedi (stupa) within the monastery walls - a lot to explore in what many consider was the spiritual and administrative centre of the old capital [Source: LP Thailand - 9th Ed]
The Sukhothai ruins are one of Thailand's World Heritage sites. The temple architecture here is of the classic lotus-bud stupa, whcih features a conical spire topping a square-sided structure on a three-tiered base. [LP Thailand]
The huge Buddha on the right evokes the feeling of awe despite the late hours of the day. We would explore this place walking at a faster pace and be done with in 30 minutes. Still, the feeling of setting my feet here and the thought that these ruins were once the spiritual and administrative centre of the old capital of Thailand was awe inspiring at best. I couldn't have ask for more.
We reached our base at Phitsanulok around 10.30 PM. we have a sumptuous dinner prepared by Nataporn's mother. The fresh fish was steamed without any ingredients save for the veggies placed on top during the steaming process. The steamed fish smelled good and tasted great with the aroma of the veggies...whoaaa.
to be continued...
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