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Day 4
27th July 2013
Up at 07:30 quick shower and then down for breakfast. After breakfast we catch a local taxi which is more like a lorry with benches along the side to the old town. Here we jump off at a bicycle shop and get our bikes which will be our transport for the morning. We set off to tour all the temples in Sukhothai park. Our first stop is to see a statue of one of the Thai kings and Bond gives us some of the history before we get 5 minutes to take some photos. When as we walk down the steps to leave Tracey slips on the bottom step and land flat on her bum and bangs her elbow. She handles it very well but said to me after she wanted to swear a lot more and cry. We head off again to see one of the main temples which are built in a similar style to the temples in Cambodia. We continue round the rest of the park stopping at various temples on the way.
Our next stop is Wat Sri Chum, which contains a massive seated Buddha figure peering through an opening in its enclosure. To the left of the Buddha is a stair case which leads up to a window behind the Buddhas head which the monks would use when talking to local people giving advice and as at this time there was a roof on the structure it amplified the voice of the monk. Sadly now the stairs are closed off to tourists due to damage done to the paintings on the walls and the roof is also gone.
We return back to our bikes and whilst everyone has an ice cream I find an out of the way for a quick cigarette. We mount or bikes again and head off to the last set of ruins which have not been restored at all and have been mostly destroyed through the passage of time and also the war. We head off again over a small wooden bridge and I hear laughs coming from behind me! The peddle has fallen off of Tracey's bike, it could only happen to Tracey!!!
After Tracey has put her peddle back on we head back to the bike shop to return our trusty bikes and I decide to buy a hat while I'm there just to look like a tourist. We wander down the road and stop at a local cafe for some lunch and I kind of feel a little bad as everyone apart from me has order a soft drink and I order a beer.
After lunch we get back on our lorry taxi and head back to the hotel. The afternoon is our own and after going back to my room and sorting my stuff out I go down to the pool and grab a beer from the bar. It's not long before the other members of the group start to appear. The water is a nice relief from the hot humid weather and its nice to have a chance to just chill and chat with my new travel friends. As time goes by one by one everyone goes back to their rooms to start getting ready to go out for dinner tonight. I finish my beer and head up to my room to get showered and changed.
We all meet up in the lobby and get onto another lorry taxi and head into the new part of town. The plan was to go to the market before dinner but as we drive into town the heavens open and Bond decides we will go straight to dinner. We order drinks and I decide on a margarita and when it comes out I'm a little disappointed. It comes out in a small wine glass and is only half full although it is very strong. We order our food and have another very good meal. Bond has gone down to the market to check to see if its still open and comes back with 3 bags of fruit and says the market is just closing, so we all order more drinks while Bond prepares the fruit for us to try. We pay our bills and head back to the hotel and at this point after checking her purse Jackie discovers she gave them to much money. She had pull 3 pink notes out of her purse thinking each one was one hundred baht, but after she has realised that one of the notes was a 500 so had given them 700 baht for a 285 bill and said keep the change. Easy mistake to make really as both notes are are a pink colour but it does make everyone check their notes from that point on.
We get back to the hotel and most of us sit out by the pool having a few drinks and chatting. By around 23:30 most people have gone back to their rooms for the night. I stay at the pool for a while chatting to Steven, Anna and the Swiss couple ( sorry still not learnt your names yet). The to guys decide to go swimming so strip down to their boxers and jump in. They encourage me to join them but I decline and stay chatting to the others. I start telling them how my knowledge of German is useless and the only phrase I know in German is "can you tell me the way to the castle" they laugh. They all turn in and I stay down for a while longer having a last cigarette before returning to my room and trying to phone Sharon. We chat for a while and then I get some sleep ready for our next leg of our journey tomorrow.
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