It’s Lynchee Season

Samut Songkhram Province is a great place to be for lynchee season. There are groves of Lynchee trees everywhere including on the grounds of the resort where we are staying. Needless to say we’ve enjoyed eating lynchees every opportunity we get. On Saturday, Karl had arranged to rent a motorcycle and spent most of the day riding around the area looking for photo opportunities. He returned with a bag of Lynchees and the announcement that Lynchee season had just begun!

That evening we went to a night floating market in a nearby town. Samut Songkhram is a favorite weekend destination for people escaping Bangkok’s heat and the streets were really busy. At the market there was actually more vendors on the streets than in the canal but tourists still crowded the foot bridge that spanned the canal to take pictures of the boats. There were also a lot of boats taking people on tours of the surrounding area and promised firefly sightings. I suppose fireflies are a novelty here, when we lived in Virginia we had them in our backyard every summer evening. Because the area was so crowded we were happy to find a restaurant that offered an upstairs balcony where we could eat. At the restaurant we met a group visiting from Bangkok and they shared with us their perspective of the Iraq War. They felt that it had precipitated some of the increased violence in southern Thailand and they were very adamant for us not to travel there. We assured them that we had no plans to do so. They were concerned about what would happen as a result of the recent detention of British marines by Iran. I found the conversation interesting because they were so aware of American politics. In America we don’t really hear much about other countries unless it has some bearing on American interests and then it may only be a five minute blurb in the newscast. I don’t think that before this trip I truly understood the impact America has on other countries; politically, economically and culturally. I think it is a responsibility which we should take seriously because the actions of our country can either help or hurt people around the world.

Thailand has three seasons: the cool season, the hot season and the rainy season. We are officially in the hot season. The Thai people deal with the heat in the same way that we did while we were in Cambodia. Just after lunch the streets are very quiet as everyone who can is inside where it is cool or in the shade taking a nap. We are also scheduling our activities for the morning and evening and staying in during the middle of the day. So, Sunday morning I bravely agreed to join Karl on his motorcycle tour although I’m not exactly sure why because the ride to the floating market the night before had been nerve-racking with all the traffic. Karl kept his speed down and we checked out a few of the temples along the Mae-Klong River. We stopped for some time at Wat Bang Kung which was an army camp in the 1700s and then restored in the 1960s as a Boy Scout Camp. Now it’s a tourist attraction with dozens of life-size replicas of Thai warriors. The most interesting part of the temple is a sanctuary that is almost completely engulfed in trees. Only the back wall remains mostly free of the tree roots and branches. On the upper part of the back wall you can see the faded remnants of the carved stucco embellishment. Many of the windows are framed by or partially obscured by the trees which provided for some interesting picture taking opportunities. The doorway to the sanctuary was kept free from tree branches but was filled with tourists going in and out; paying their respects to the Buddha inside.



My courage has its limits and Sunday afternoon I opted for the comfort of the air-conditioned internet café while Karl rode around town. I wasn’t there very long when Karl returned because he had made arrangements for us to take a boat ride through the canals. As Karl usually does, he had made friends with Mali the boat’s owner and got a reasonable rate for an hour ride. The evening turned out to be a good time because many people were out enjoying the day as it cooled down. There were a lot of kids in the water and I’m sure this was supposed to be their evening bath. There was so much laughing and playing that it didn’t really seem like a bath at all! As we rode along we got calls of “Hello” from adults and children alike, to which we happily responded. We also saw a lot of boats starting their shrimp fishing for the night. The shrimp boat was identified by the plastic basket (usually blue) that allowed water in but didn’t let the captured shrimp out. A long bamboo pole that was much longer than the boat was also an indicator of a shrimp boat. The pole was used as an anchor by jabbing it into the river bottom and holding onto it while they fished.

Monday morning I spent some time sharing some western recipes with May and his sister Mod. Their family owns and operates Banthip Suanthong Resort and we met them at a party for Mod on the evening that we arrived. Their father invited us and proudly announced that Mod had recently received a scholarship from the Thai government to go to college in England. Both May and Mod like cooking and were interested in the recipes that I had brought along on my computer. May would like to become a chef and help carry-on the family business. He particularly likes cooking Italian pasta dishes but laments that good Italian cheese is very expensive in Thailand. Both May and Mod speak English very well and since Karl wasn’t needed as a translator he was off taking pictures. The heat eventually forced Karl to return and he shared a few photography tips with May.

We didn’t venture out until later in the afternoon when it was time for us to take another boat ride. We’d liked the ride Sunday evening so much that we had scheduled to go out again. This time we were joined by Mali’s dog Nam-dahn, which means sugar. She is a very smart dog and had been trained to carry a little cooler onto the boat. Nam-dahn seemed to enjoy sitting at the front of the boat and sometimes Karl had to tell her to “come here” (in Thai) so that she was out of the way when he wanted to take a picture. Occasionally, dogs on shore would see Nam-dahn and run out barking, safely on the boat Nam-dahn didn’t even seem to notice them. We were also joined by a lady who owns a home stay and wanted to practice her English with me. I took the opportunity to ask her the names of the flowers that I saw growing along the shore. She didn’t know the English name of my favorite one, which I was later told is called Bird of Paradise. She did tell me that it represents the god that brings the rains and ensures a good crop. While we were exploring some of the smaller canals, Karl spotted a huge lizard swimming to shore. We caught a glimpse of it as it crawled out of the water into the brush and we think it was a monitor lizard. We were pretty excited to see some wildlife!

When we returned to Mali’s house, we spent some time chatting with folks that lived on that part of the canal. We learned that one of the gentlemen was the math teacher at the village school. He was very interested in the fact that we had been teaching English in Thailand. He offered to let us stay at his house if we’d come back next year and teach at his school. I’m sure that if it weren’t the summer break, he would have had us teaching the very next day!

We started our day early on Tuesday and gave food to the monks. The alms giving is similar to what it was in Luang Prabang only here the monks come one by one in small boats. After you give each monk the food you have prepared, the monk will offer a prayer for you. There are only three monks who come by the resort opposed to the 300 in Luang Prabang. Karl got this picture of one of the monks as he approached. The little boats are just big enough to accommodate the monk and a few dishes for the food they receive.

After a quick breakfast we met up with our friendly math teacher who had agreed to take us to the salt fields. Karl wanted to get some interesting pictures of the people who worked in the salt fields. I thought it was interesting the extent that some of the women would go to protect their skin from the sun. They were completely covered including their face! All I could think when I saw them was how hot they must be. As we went around to the different salt fields, we got to see each step of the salt production process. First, you have to fill up shallow ponds with salt water. Then you let the water evaporate and the salt collects on the bottom of the pond. Next you scrape the salt off the bottom and pile it into little salt pyramids. The little salt pyramids are scooped up and carried closer to the road where a big salt pyramid is made. Finally, you hire a truck to come and pick up the salt, which is loaded onto the truck using baskets. At some of the salt fields, they had stands set up where you could buy all bags of salt in varying sizes. I’m not sure what someone would do with a 20 pound bag of rock salt but it is available if you want to buy it. You can also buy little souvenir packets of salt. They were a tempting purchase but I refrained!

We actually didn’t do much the rest of the day and by Wednesday morning Karl was anxious to get out and take some pictures. Fortunately for him, it was the second occurrence of the Tha Kha floating market. The schedule for this market is based on the lunar cycle so you have to plan your visits accordingly. Karl opted to take the motorcycle this time because renting the long tail boat is more expensive. I was an reluctant participant but I thought I was doing pretty well when I could find the humor in the misspelled street sign “Charp Curve” instead of worrying about the results of rounding the curve too quickly on a motorcycle. I followed Karl around for the first couple of hours as he talked to the vendors and occasionally bought something as a way of getting permission for a photograph. Since I usually ended up carrying the purchases because Karl needed his hands free, I finally decided to find a place to sit and wait for him to finish. It wasn’t such a bad setup. Karl had bought lynches and some Thai sweets so I was quite happy sitting and munching. Occasionally, Karl would bring by some more goodies that he had purchased. The lady who sold the Thai sweets actually remembers us from our visit three years ago. I sat next to where she had tied her boat off so she and Karl talked each time he stopped by. We finally left around noon and most of the vendors had left as well. By then I think I’d had my fill of Thai junk food. The first picture is the lady who sold us the lynchees and the second picture is our friend from three years ago who makes really good Thai sweets. This last one is another lady at the market and I just liked the picture.

On the way back home we ended up going the wrong direction and got lost. In getting lost it seemed we went around a lot of “charp” curves and I didn’t find them so humorous. Karl said it was because I was carrying a bag of lynchees from the market. Whatever the reason, I was glad when we finally figured out where we were and got back to familiar territory. We did see another monitor lizard and Karl was able to get a picture of this one!

Visiting Due's Family

After a good night's rest, we were ready for more activities with Due's family. We started Tuesday with a trip to Due’s school to meet his Aunt Tear for lunch. Due also had to pick up his diploma since he decided to go to Singapore instead of attending graduation. Tear gave us a quick tour of the English department and told us a bit about their English Program in which the students had English speaking teachers for several subjects. After meeting the director of the English Department, we were introduced to a classroom of young students who were just beginning the English Program. There were a couple of brave students who asked us some questions and they all giggled when Karl spoke Thai. We had lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and it was nice to have something a little different. Then we were off to a cave shrine that is the home to several large Buddha images and lots of bats. The lights in the cave were only turned on when there was a festival so we could only see the Buddhas at the entrance to the cave really well. We poked around a bit with the light created by our digital cameras but couldn’t venture back into the cave until a monk graciously lent us his flashlight. The cliff above the cave has many openings in the rocks and we climbed some stairs to one where we are told that the monk who built the temple would do his meditation. The space is really tiny so it is likely that the monk was not closter-phobic. Now there is a little replica of the monk keeping vigil. In the picture at the entrance to the cave is Due’s mom, Noy, Due and Karl.



That evening we had a dinner party at Due’s aunt’s house. Actually, there are two houses next to each other. One is Toy’s house and the other is Tear’s. Family gatherings are much easier when you are next door neighbors! When we arrived, I got to try on my new dress! Due’s Aunt Toy is really very talented. She made the dress with out a pattern just from a picture that I picked out in a book. Here I am in my new dress with Toy. The dinner was wonderful. Due’s mom had asked what some of our favorite foods were and then bought them for this dinner. For desert, there was a really wonderful coconut cake. It was light and fluffy, just a little sweet and had slices of fresh young coconut. I have clarify that fresh young coconut is not the grated coconut that is available in most US grocery stores. That coconut is old, dry and sweetened. Fresh young coconut is from coconuts that still have a green husk, the coconut meat is soft and milky white and it doesn’t need to be sweetened. There really is no comparison. After eating two slices each, Karl and I think we can duplicate the coconut cake at home! In the picture, I am standing behind Due and his mom, Noy. Next to Noy are Due’s aunts Tim and Toy followed by his cousin Mon. On the back row standing next to Karl is Due’s dad Dee. Then right to left are Due’s uncles Uan, Pom and Banjong.

On Wednesday, Due’s parents took us to see some of the tourists sites in the Loei province. We headed west out of Loei towards Dan Sai which is famous for the Phi Ta Khon Festival held in June. Phu Rua Peak is about halfway between Loei and Dan Sai and it is supposed to be the coolest spot in Thailand. Phu Rua means Boat Mountain and the peak was given that name because it is the shape of a Chinese boat. We were able to drive most of the way up the mountain and only had to walk one kilometer. Here is a picture of Due and his Mom resting before we begin our climb. From our starting point, we could see the white spire that marked the top of Phu Rua Peak.



We trekked through the tall grasses and the forest to reach our destination. Under the white spire sat a golden Buddha image and leading up to it was a wide walkway bordered with flower beds. In the flower beds were snapdragons, marigolds, baby’s breath and other cool weather flowers that we recognized from Utah. Karl spent some time taking some pictures of the things around the Buddha. I took a picture of the view which was intended to be one of the attractions of climbing this peak. The area had a bit of a smoke problem which wasn’t noticeable until we got up the mountain and looked down. We got a picture of us behind the monument that states Phu Rua Peak is the coolest spot in Thailand. It was hot enough on that mountain that I asked Karl a couple of times if he was sure that was what the monument had said!



Karl was more interested in taking artistic pictures than your standard tourist shots and here is his favorite from Phu Rua Peak.



After getting some lunch, we went to Wat Meramit Wiphatsana. The buildings of this temple look like they were built of brick from a distance but on closer inspection you can see it is actually a type of rock. Our guidebook says it is laterite. The grounds of the temple are really nice and quite peaceful. In this picture, the building on the right is the resting place of the monk for whom this temple was built. It is customary for the monk’s body to be displayed in a glass coffin. Due and I agreed that we were relieved when we found the coffin had been covered for the time being.

The main temple has a large Buddha image similar to the famous one we visited in Phitsanulok. The murals on the inside of the main temple are very colorful and some are not your typical temple murals. They do represent the same stories from Buddhism but the artist definitely added his own touch. Take a close look at the mural here and see if you can see something that just does not belong.



On our way back to Loei, we stopped at Chateau de Loei Winery. It is Thailand’s finest winery. According to our guidebook they do give wine tasting but we came for the rose flavored ice cream. I wasn’t sure what to expect of rose ice cream, but I really liked it. I’m not really sure how to describe the taste because I can’t really compare it to anything I’ve eaten before. The winery had a little gift shop with souvenirs for the upcoming Phi Ta Khon Festival. During this festival, the locals wear very decorative masks which have become the trademark of the whole area. The masks are representative of ghosts or spirits and the purpose of the festival is to worship the spirit protectors of the village and ask for rain. Here is a picture Karl took of the mask that was displayed in the winery shop.

We spent the early evening enjoying Loei’s Chaloem Phra Kiat Public Park. It seemed to be a favorite spot for the locals to get their daily workout. People were jogging or walking around the park and in the middle there was an aerobics class underway. The park is surrounded by the Loei River. We got some fish food to feed the fish as we crossed the bridge to the park. There are some really big fish in there! We walked around the park and when we got to the aerobics class we got to meet a couple friends of Due’s mom. They are the two ladies in the front of the picture. Back at the bridge, we spent more time just watching the people and the fish. The dogs were also fun to watch. Some didn’t want to go in the water but the one in the picture jumped right in. The kids were throwing leaves or small sticks in the water and he would swim over and snap at them and then wait for the next one to be thrown in. He made me think of our friend Marilyn and her dog Chloe who is another expert swimmer.

After the park, we got a light dinner at the nearby night market. While Noy and Karl were ordering some food, Due and I were at a table eating the food that we had ordered. First we had a mother and her two children ask if I would speak to her son in English. I did. He just giggled and hid behind his mother who thanked me and then continued on her way. Then a man stopped to ask me if I was Canadian. I told him I was from the US and he replied that he thought I was Canadian because there are a lot of Canadians in Loei. After he left, Due said he hadn’t met any Canadians in Loei and we decided that the guy just wanted an excuse to practice his English on me. Due commented that it was like we were celebrities!

Much too soon, it was time to leave Loei and go onto the next part of our trip. Due’s dad, Dee, had to drive to Bangkok for his work Thursday and we tagged along. We were going to Samut Songkhram to see the floating markets. Samut Songkhram is south west of Bangkok and Dee graciously took us the entire way. We really appreciated it because the drive from Loei was about nine hours. If we had taken a bus it would have been much longer. Here is a picture Karl captured of a suspension bridge in Bangkok as we passed through.

We are staying at Banthip Suanthong Resort which has a beautiful location on the Mae-Klong River. We stayed at this resort three years ago on our last trip to Thailand. The resort has grown a lot but we were happy to see many familiar faces from the last time we were here! They have a nice website at: Banthip Suanthong Resort, but only the Flash intro is in English.

Friday morning, we were up early to go to the small Tha Kha Floating Market. Because it is small, it doesn’t attract the foreign tourists which is one of the reasons Karl really likes it. Before we left for the market, Karl got some pictures of the monks who paddle along the river and connecting canals collecting morning alms.


We took a long tail boat to the floating market and it is quite an experience winding through the canals. Once we left the river the canals got progressively narrower until we reached the floating market. Houses along the canals were built right on the water and as we passed we saw many people outside taking care of their daily chores. They would be right out on their front step washing clothes or dishes in the river. Sometimes they were taking a bath (with a sarong on). The kids who were out swimming would wave as we went by. The little boy in the picture would sink every time he waved at us. He’d be waving and his head would sink below the water. Then he’d pop back up, get a breath and start waving again.


The canal where the floating market was held is wide but it was also packed with boats. We stayed around there for a few hours taking pictures and tasting some of the food for sale. The one food we did not taste but we occasional caught a whiff of was durian fruit. This is a really smelly fruit that some people say is very sweet despite the bad odor. I’m not sure I could get past the bad odor. It is so bad that it is banned from hotels, buses and airports. Here is a picture of a lady with her boat full of durian.


Some of our friends from the resort joined us on our outing. In the picture are Suleeporn, Mae, Thida and Ang who wanted to come along. Suleeporn helped us arrange the long tail boat to take us to the market and she is very helpful with suggestions on things to see in the area. Mae is Suleeporn's nephew and a college student. He put together the resort’s webpage and he’s practicing photography.

Upon returning from the floating market, we sent the rest of the day relaxing and Karl organized his pictures. He’d filled two memory cards full. In my next post there will be a link to a photo album just for Samut Songkhram! This final picture is a close-up of the mural at Wat Meramit Wiphatsana showing the amusing touch to this traditional Buddhist painting.