Today we set off for a small 1km walk as an introduction into the National Park - as we arrived at the sign post however, we somehow decided to take the 5.8km Dong Ma Fai trail instead. This ended up being a good decision as we had an amazing day in the forest, where we didn't see another person and the only sounds we heard were of the birds flittering above us.
All around camp are signs cautioning us about elephants, and throughout the day we came across many signs of these huge animals but weren't lucky enough to see one in the flesh. 
We had to be satisfied with following their trails of poo and footprints in the mud!
Throughout the day the environment around us went through dramatic changes - initially we followed a river tinted brown by decaying leaves falling from the dense jungle that surrounded us.
We slowly trekked our way up from the jungle below breaking into an evergreen forest open to the grey sky above and eventually ended up at a lookout that granted us views of a vast forest that was shedding its green and drying in the changing seasons.
From there we made a slippery descent through bamboo groves back down to the stream, where we stopped for a lunch of jam sandwiches and listened to the water bubbling and the other sounds around. We followed the stream back to camp and came across the only wildlife we saw during the day bigger than our hand: a beautiful bird with a large flowing tail trailing behind.
As we settled into camping life for the night we heard some roars in the distance - maybe an bear or a tiger ... who really knows?! One of the many benefits of almost being out in the middle of nowhere is that you get to see sunsets like this without the interruption of concrete civilisation. 
Adlibing a nature walk.
All around camp are signs cautioning us about elephants, and throughout the day we came across many signs of these huge animals but weren't lucky enough to see one in the flesh. We had to be satisfied with following their trails of poo and footprints in the mud!Throughout the day the environment around us went through dramatic changes - initially we followed a river tinted brown by decaying leaves falling from the dense jungle that surrounded us.
We slowly trekked our way up from the jungle below breaking into an evergreen forest open to the grey sky above and eventually ended up at a lookout that granted us views of a vast forest that was shedding its green and drying in the changing seasons. From there we made a slippery descent through bamboo groves back down to the stream, where we stopped for a lunch of jam sandwiches and listened to the water bubbling and the other sounds around. We followed the stream back to camp and came across the only wildlife we saw during the day bigger than our hand: a beautiful bird with a large flowing tail trailing behind.As we settled into camping life for the night we heard some roars in the distance - maybe an bear or a tiger ... who really knows?! One of the many benefits of almost being out in the middle of nowhere is that you get to see sunsets like this without the interruption of concrete civilisation. Adlibing a nature walk. 
The set up at this park is pretty amazing - there are loos and bucket showers all over the camping area, kept remarkably clean considering those using them are hiking through mud all day! There are bungalows for hire, but they are more for those with bulging wallets, so we opted for the 250 baht option of hiring a tent complete with sleeping bags and ground rolls (if you have your own tent it's only 30 baht per person to camp). 
When we arrived it was immediately clear that we were elevated, as it was much much colder than in Sukhothai, so before we went to one of the small restaurants for dinner we donned our merinos for the first time in a while - it's almost nice to be cold for a change!! At dinner our charade conversations continued as we successfully managed to convey that we wanted noodles - one with meat and one without!
Once we arrived in Phitsanulok we made it easily to the bus station for our bus to Sukhothai - the only strange thing that we encountered were the number of lady boys around. Our bus conductor was a lady boy, and it was so interesting to see how accepted she is in Thai culture - we question how accepted she would be in NZ.
The place is almost over the top, with so many different temples packed in a small area - you just don't know where to look, but luckily for us anywhere the eyes fall is an excellent choice.
After spending a few hours here we made our way to a small Thai restaurant for lunch, before heading over to Wat Pho. 
After spending so much money in the last few days shopping, we were making our way around between sights by foot, while most other foreigners zoomed by in tuk-tuks!!
In Wat Pho we were blown away by the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand, and enjoyed wandering the grounds - Adam in particular enjoyed checking out (and attempting to copy a few) the stone statues depicting yoga positions scattered around the gardens.
The Adlibing way of wandering around, without following the tourist trail, provided some gems with as much sparkle as the main tourist attractions. First we slipped into a temple dedicated to female disciples, and then found ourselves at a street Muay Thai training gym perched on the edge of the canal. 
As we made our final walk home the Queen's convoy finally came zooming by and we're pretty sure we got a glimpse of the lady herself waving our way as we waved the Thai and Malaysian flags (with the Democracy Monument in the background)!! 
By the time we made it home we were completely and utterly exhausted but managed to feed and hydrate ourselves and jump on the internet to say happy birthday to Iona back in NZ.
Our purchases were mainly things we need for travelling - the joy of malls means that everything we meed is in one place, it's just a matter of finding them. The most exciting purchase of the day was some cute shoes for Liv!
On our way back home after a full day of shopping we stopped off at the temple just across the road from our hotel (in fact you can see it from our window) - here the golden roof sparkled in the sun as orange-robed monks wandered the grounds.
Later we cooled down with a fresh mango and ice smoothie, before retracing our steps home, 
We had brekky, Clinton and Dan found a room for the night (we're sleeping in the airport tonight, again), and we found internet for the boys to work on job applications, while we relaxed with the knowledge that we still have 4+ months of the happily homeless and unemployed travel lifestyle.
We tested our devotion and skill with an almost impossible coin task, while enjoying the rhythmic chanting of the monks floating our way on the breeze. 
Along the way we stopped for a game of cricket with some local boys, aiming not to hit the cows and goats that occupied the makeshift field. Back on the bikes one of the cricket boys thought he would be helpful and lead us to the caves, but instead he led us to a hilltop temple, which even though was not the place we were aiming for it gave us great views over the village below.
Since we were stuck in the mid day heat we stopped on the side of the road for some fresh orange juice before turning off the main roads and onto a bumpy dirt road that snaked its way through outlying villages. 
The villages were really nice, simple places to bike through – obviously not many tourists cycle their way through, so we were greeted by excited kids, parents, and grandparents all happy to send us in the right direction with a smile.,
Our journey to the caves was painfully prolonged with Adam’s bike being broken and required him to jumped off every 1 to 100m to put the chain back on! 
The journey home was a test of endurance for the boys who took turns towing each other on Adam’s shitty bike. Even though this was tiring it was much better and quicker than Adam’s greasy fix and peddle journey there, or him walking the bike home!
Back in town we hydrated and fed up after neglecting those requirements for most of the day, and back at the guesthouse Adam took the boys through a yoga strength session on the rooftop, with the stars watching from above. Eventually all crashed out in bed, absolutely exhausted.
We joined in the mad 
In the afternoon we relaxed back at the guesthouse before going out in search of food! It's so awesome having buddies to hang out with, new people who haven't done everything you've done for the past 2 years, and can follow the fast paced kiwi accent!!
When we finally woke up we had our first shower in 5 days and found food, which made our new location seem that much more enjoyable! We soaked up a bit of the street atmosphere,checking out some of the Buddhist temples and glancing at stalls full of Buddhist bags, clothing, prayer beads, and all other things associated with Buddhism. 
Despite the sleep we were too tired to do much more and headed back to our books for our first night's sleep in a bed in far too long!
