the house that rama built
this weekend, taher and i took a trip to the coast. we returned yesterday only to hear of the devastation that was caused by the earthquake in indonesia; we were in Hua Hin, which is not very far south from bangkok. other coastal cities that are a bit farther south were ravaged. we are very, very thankful that we were not affected at all by the tragedy.
this monday morning, we are all a bit sobered by the death counts and the pictures in the newspaper.
however i choose here to talk about our weekend in Hua Hin instead.
Hua Hin is in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, on the coast about 200 km south of bangkok. it is a sleepy little coastal town; our guesthouse was walking distance from every restaurant, every other hotel, and of course, the beach. it is safe to say that just about everything was walking distance from everything else. quite a nice change from bangkok's urban enormity...
we were only there for two days, but the pace of life was so slow there that we felt we had been there much longer. the weekend consisted of taking walks; we sauntered to dinner (the taj mahal restaurant; i was craving butter chicken), we strolled to the beach, we wandered to the tourist office...
the highlight of the weekend, i think, was our visit to the Sam Roi Yot National Park. sam roi means three hundred; this is the Three Hundred Peaks National Park by one translation. once there, we got on a boat and crossed a lot of very, very blue water, racing around huge mountainous structures looming up here and there, until we reached Phraya Nakhon Cave. this boat ride, skimming along the gulf of thailand, was scenic, to say the least; it was not the first time i have felt, in this country, that i am cruising through a postcard.
i was anxious to go spleunking but didn't take into account the arduous trail we had to take to get to the cave. it was about 500 meters straight up a rocky, steep trail strewn with slippery, smooth black rocks. i was tired and gasping for breath after 20 minutes. in all it took us about an hour to climb up to the cave- this trail was all business. and looking up, all we could see was more trail. it was impossible to tell how much longer we had to go- looking down, all we could see was trail as well, and far off behind the trees, the blue gulf.
finally, a long, sweaty hour later, we reached the cave- it was enormous and cavernous and all of the things a proper cave should be. and once there, we had to travel further into it, over still more rocky surfaces, to get to... the temple. in the middle of this massive cave at the top of a mountain, it seems that Rama V, the great-great grandfather of thailand's present king, Rama IX, built a pavilion. it is a mystery to me as to how people carried huge pieces of wood and carvings and statues and whatnot up this crazy mountain, but they did. and in the heart of the cave they constructed a lovely temple.
and we climbed for an hour to collapse in front of it :)
this weekend, taher and i took a trip to the coast. we returned yesterday only to hear of the devastation that was caused by the earthquake in indonesia; we were in Hua Hin, which is not very far south from bangkok. other coastal cities that are a bit farther south were ravaged. we are very, very thankful that we were not affected at all by the tragedy.
this monday morning, we are all a bit sobered by the death counts and the pictures in the newspaper.
however i choose here to talk about our weekend in Hua Hin instead.
Hua Hin is in the province of Prachuap Khiri Khan, on the coast about 200 km south of bangkok. it is a sleepy little coastal town; our guesthouse was walking distance from every restaurant, every other hotel, and of course, the beach. it is safe to say that just about everything was walking distance from everything else. quite a nice change from bangkok's urban enormity...
we were only there for two days, but the pace of life was so slow there that we felt we had been there much longer. the weekend consisted of taking walks; we sauntered to dinner (the taj mahal restaurant; i was craving butter chicken), we strolled to the beach, we wandered to the tourist office...
the highlight of the weekend, i think, was our visit to the Sam Roi Yot National Park. sam roi means three hundred; this is the Three Hundred Peaks National Park by one translation. once there, we got on a boat and crossed a lot of very, very blue water, racing around huge mountainous structures looming up here and there, until we reached Phraya Nakhon Cave. this boat ride, skimming along the gulf of thailand, was scenic, to say the least; it was not the first time i have felt, in this country, that i am cruising through a postcard.
i was anxious to go spleunking but didn't take into account the arduous trail we had to take to get to the cave. it was about 500 meters straight up a rocky, steep trail strewn with slippery, smooth black rocks. i was tired and gasping for breath after 20 minutes. in all it took us about an hour to climb up to the cave- this trail was all business. and looking up, all we could see was more trail. it was impossible to tell how much longer we had to go- looking down, all we could see was trail as well, and far off behind the trees, the blue gulf.
finally, a long, sweaty hour later, we reached the cave- it was enormous and cavernous and all of the things a proper cave should be. and once there, we had to travel further into it, over still more rocky surfaces, to get to... the temple. in the middle of this massive cave at the top of a mountain, it seems that Rama V, the great-great grandfather of thailand's present king, Rama IX, built a pavilion. it is a mystery to me as to how people carried huge pieces of wood and carvings and statues and whatnot up this crazy mountain, but they did. and in the heart of the cave they constructed a lovely temple.
and we climbed for an hour to collapse in front of it :)
...Natural is the static
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