The summer holidays have begun. For me, this means two months of freedom to do whatever I please. Right now, I'm in the charming town of Lopburi home to some lovely ruins, former palaces, museums, but more importantly...monkeys. They're everywhere! As soon as I opened the curtains there was one peering in at me. They scramble up buildings, shimmy down drainpipes and I even saw one hitching a lift on someones car. (Though it may have unintentionally trapped itself on the roof) The locals don't give them a second glance but I could watch them all day. No one ever harms the monkeys as some believe them to be descendants of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman, others however are just staying in line with the Buddhist ideals of not harming others. And I so sound like a history book here. Anyway....
So we've soaked up the atmosphere, the culture and the history and tomorrow we'll be moving on by bus which, believe it or not, is going to be a step down from the third class train we took to get here. Cheap as chips, more comfortable and far more interesting, trains offer another glimpse of Thai life. Hawkers walk up and down the carriage selling everything from beer to talcum powder and childern hang out the windows trying to grab leaves off the passing trees. (okay sounding like a travel book here) Ahem...
Before Lopburi, we were in Khao Yai National Park. One of the biggest and best parks in the world. We slept in little more than a shack and it was freezing at night. We didn't manage to spot a tiger but we saw deer, snakes, porcupines and monkeys whilst on a night safari. We also visited the waterfall that features in the film The Beach (if you've seen it, it's the one Leonardo DiCaprio launches himself off) which was rather exciting. We also had an unfortunate attack of leeches of which Anna is actually phobic of. Not kidding. And "Fleur, get this leech off me!" is not what you really hope to hear in the middle of the jungle. We escaped unscathed and "un-leeched" though I don't think I'vr ever seen someone run away from a waterfall so fast....
Sawat Dee!
Fleur, hope you continue to have a really great trip. Can't wait to read your blogs, just getting the Thailand travel books out again to track the places you mention this time. Recently watched a BBC prog of travel on trains in India so have a flavour of the Hawkers walking up and down the carriages! Stay Safe and Sawat Dee.
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