Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Kamphaeng Phet



Here is our bus. The print on the side names both places Phitsanulok to Kamphaeng Phet.



It was only a 2.5 hour drive through countryside lined with sugar cane fields and rice fields. 



When we arrived we called the guest house we had reserved and a young man came to pick us up. We are here especially to see the ruins of the wars built in the 12th century which are in two sections. We set off to see the closer section this afternoon which was quite a challenge since we managed to get lost. After a hot and frustrating search we finally found the place where we had been let offnd since we had yet to eat we stopped for the usual bowl of soup - a cole of bits of pork, a leaf of lettuce, some fried shallots, and noodles first cooked in the broth which was then ladled atop.

The main reason for stopping here is to see the very old ruins, which were built around the year 1347. There are two areas to tour but we started today with those within the city, just a short walk from the soup kitchen. 

These chedis would have been covered in plaster and perhaps with gold. 

The locals still leave offerings. 


The weather has removed a lot of the original work and some of the remaining Buddha figures are now more "modern" than "ancient" looking. 

These figures have survived somewhat better - it's a beautiful arrangement. 



Note the small patches of gold leaf that have been applied. 

I found a meditative pose. 


Geordie found  one more restful.

These elephants would have ringed the entire structure of this platform. Only a few remain. 


As in todays temples, Buddha figures line the interior walls of temples. Of course the walls are gone, but the figures remain. 


These more recent small offerings were left by some devout pilgrims to the site. They are not much more than 8 inches tall. 

We left the site and found a welcome respite at a lovely air con coffee shop where we had iced coffees. Then we took a tuk tuk back to the guesthouse. Our legs needed the rest. Note Geordie in the mirror on the left. There actually wasn't room for both of us on the seat.  We are a little larger than the average Thai.

I'll leave you with a picture of our New Years Eve meal  



I'll leave you with a picture of our New Years Eve meal . We had chicken with cashews(again), pork with garlic and pepper and of course - rice.



Happy New Year.  













1 comment:

  1. Third time writing this! It keeps getting lost as I try to publish. I can see the reclining Buddha/Dad shot on my iPad and computer but it's been cropped square as have all the landscape shots on your blog. When I look at this post in my Bloglovin' app I get the full image including Dad's head--missing in the other apps.

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