Today got off to a bad start as we tried to sort out some banking issues, in a small town where making international calls is not as simple as banks think they might be! Luckily, after 2 hours of perseverance, and some help from the locals, we found a call centre and spent far too long on hold with the bank, but finally sorted out one of our major problems!
After this we waved down a public pick up truck and eventually got the ride out the old town for free after disputing the fare he tried to charge us. Usually tourists catch the truck from new town to old town, for 20 baht, but we were catching it from half way - when he wanted to charge us the full rate we weren't willing to pay, but we think he wasn't quite sure how to deal with this, so he eventually just said "ok, you go for free". Sweet!
Our good luck (or bad behaviour?) continued when we managed to explore another part of the ruins for free, by some cunning manoeuvring around certain ticket offices, by taking dirt paths with trees for cover! This wasn't actually our intention when we started out, but once we didn't get charged at the first place we just walked past the ticket place at the second!
The first place we went to was Wat Si Chum - a beautiful sitting Buddha with elongated fingers bathed in a gold coating, it was enchanting to watch as the gold flecks broke free and glistened in the wind as they gracefully floated towards the heavens to meet up with Buddha's head soaring into the sky. 
Even though this was an inspiring sight to see, it didn't really make for great pictures as we couldn't fit him in - so unfortunately you're not seeing Buddha in all his glory!!
After this we wandered our way through another temple complex, similar to Wat Mahathat we saw yesterday - but on a much smaller scale and the temples and statues here were in a much further state of ruin.
Although it's sad to see such important structures falling to pieces, it can add to the ancient feel of the place, as well as allowing our minds to drift back in time and playfully imagine how these magnificent structures appeared in the days of their creation. 
We wandered past some local men fishing silently on the edge of a tiny lake, a quick reminder that were were in present day Thailand and not lost in the 13th-16th century. We then made our way to Wat Chang Lom, a temple with elephant statues, that we watched bask in the golden glow of a setting sun, a perfect ending to our second day amongst the ruins. 
Adlibing it without paying.
After this we waved down a public pick up truck and eventually got the ride out the old town for free after disputing the fare he tried to charge us. Usually tourists catch the truck from new town to old town, for 20 baht, but we were catching it from half way - when he wanted to charge us the full rate we weren't willing to pay, but we think he wasn't quite sure how to deal with this, so he eventually just said "ok, you go for free". Sweet!
Our good luck (or bad behaviour?) continued when we managed to explore another part of the ruins for free, by some cunning manoeuvring around certain ticket offices, by taking dirt paths with trees for cover! This wasn't actually our intention when we started out, but once we didn't get charged at the first place we just walked past the ticket place at the second!
The first place we went to was Wat Si Chum - a beautiful sitting Buddha with elongated fingers bathed in a gold coating, it was enchanting to watch as the gold flecks broke free and glistened in the wind as they gracefully floated towards the heavens to meet up with Buddha's head soaring into the sky. 
Even though this was an inspiring sight to see, it didn't really make for great pictures as we couldn't fit him in - so unfortunately you're not seeing Buddha in all his glory!!After this we wandered our way through another temple complex, similar to Wat Mahathat we saw yesterday - but on a much smaller scale and the temples and statues here were in a much further state of ruin.
Although it's sad to see such important structures falling to pieces, it can add to the ancient feel of the place, as well as allowing our minds to drift back in time and playfully imagine how these magnificent structures appeared in the days of their creation. 
We wandered past some local men fishing silently on the edge of a tiny lake, a quick reminder that were were in present day Thailand and not lost in the 13th-16th century. We then made our way to Wat Chang Lom, a temple with elephant statues, that we watched bask in the golden glow of a setting sun, a perfect ending to our second day amongst the ruins. 
Adlibing it without paying.
No comments:
Post a Comment