Another interesting ride out with Ally heading Lamphun way along the river Ping again. This time we were heading further afield with San Pa Tong as our destination to go and check out just what is ‘The Place of Interest’ that is sign posted there.
Once again I will have to point you to Allys site for directions as I got hopelessly lost in recording where we were going after about half an hour.
The river was just as green along the banks but the recent heavy rains and clearance of river vegetation have seen the river turn into a raging muddy brown soup.
Just as well Ally comes armed with her GPS as I do believe that she was struggling to recall her route, having done this previously.
Still its one of the things I enjoy about our rides, when we don’t always know where we are going, that way you tend to stumble over things we weren’t expecting.
I’ve been struggling with an ear infection for a few days now and this did take a bit of the enjoyment of this ride away for a while.
Normally the ,’thisway–thatway’ of it all gets me going;
but by midday my system was screaming out for nourishment, and I could feel myself getting decidedly grumpy with it.
As we looked out for an eating place we came across Wat Patana Tdua, which ,Ally tells me, translates into something like’ Temple that displays an exemplary example’.
This may have been true in its hey day, but right now it is a Temple that shows extreme neglect.
The gigantic Golden Buddha that overlooks the compound is the only thing that looks recently cared for.
Actually, thats not quite true, there are also signs that the gardens are being looked after.
The rest of the buildings in the compound are in various states of delapidation.
Ally dropped a ‘Geo cache’ at this site. An interesting pass time for those of you who like a day out with a difference and something I may well do myself, in the future.
I guess its abit out of the way but my thought was that if they did restore this Wat to its former glory then it could be a big tourist draw, so maybe they shouldn’t.
Not far from here we took lunch at a small cafe in a rural 1 street town, Don Qui Lek. A warm welcome and good food , and some beautiful little flowers.
Feeling much better for having eaten I followed Ally as we wended our way across to San Pa Tong.
It was around 2.30pm by the time we hit San Pa Tong.
Having ridden the main San Pa Tong road several times I , like Ally, have often wondered about ‘the place of interest’, so it was good to finally go and find out.
Just a couple of kilometres down the sign posted road and we came across Wat Ton Kork.
An impressive set of ruins stands in a wooded area at the roadside.
For me it was a bit of an anti-climax as the only significant building was the huge brick Chedi.
I’ve never been able to get too excited about bases of ancient buildings and nothing else.
That said as we headed off toward the river, and home, we found Wiang TahKan, the main ‘ruins’ site of a complete ‘city’. So for any historians out there, I’m sure you’d find it worth the trip.
My delight was the beauty to be found at Wat Tahkan nearby.
In the end we skipped the river run home, opting for a mad wizz down Highway 11 from Lamphun, stopping for coffee and cake at Amazon coffee at the PTT petrol station before parting company to return to our respective homes. Cheers Ally, looking forward to next week.
For more photos please visit our photobucket album here
So despite my health I have a busy week this week to ensure all is in order for our application for official Foundation status so that we can get that in early next week. Once that is done we can start to concentrate on the important job of fund raising and setting up the first home.
We had arranged to meet at the point where we had parted company last week.
Ally had promised more hills, lakes and a Cave Temple this week, so off we went heading out towards San Kampaeng Hot springs but almost immediately turning off onto a dirt track that follows the irrigation canal there.
Whereas the terrain along this canal route was not especially exciting , sometimes it is enough just to be away from the main drags, surrounded by trees and passing through genuine rural communities, and then out of nowhere coming across…a Temple.
With no English translations we had to photograph the Temple name sign for translation later to Wat Doi Zill.
Reaching our first planned destination was delayed a little when we took a diversion, turning right, across a small bridge over the canal, to another reservoir, that appeared on Allys GPS, as Thi Reservoir; not to be mistaken for the Thi reservoir we visited last week, a few miles away at Banthi.
The track ended up veering off into the forest, and although we continued into the trees a ways we turned back when it was clear that there were no other visible motorbike tracks.
Heading back to the canal and soon returning to tarmac we headed right,up to Huai Hong Khai 7 , a huge reservoir. Riding into the government buildings there, Ally pointed out the restaurant. Food at last!
The coach party were clearly late and the caterers took pity on us and promptly laid out 4 different dishes plus rice and water. A much nicer lunch than we would likely have bought elsewhere. The chef and waiter were very friendly and chatted with us for a while and refused to let us pay, although we did insist on leaving a tip.
It was not so far then to the 3005 where we went to the 196 Coffee Corner. Ally is now good friends with the proprietors, Khun Keung and Khun Chai, a lovely Thai couple. Whilst we chatted and drank our coffee they handed us bananas from their own trees, deliciously sweet and great with the coffee.
Be warned, the steps here are deceptively steep, especially if you’re an out of shape smoker. Luckily there are not so many. But still, by the time we got to the viewing platform I did wonder how on earth I made it up the 
The bigger problem for me was more steep steps to the lower levels.
We detoured on the route home, through San Kampaeng, navigating our way through the Saturday Street Market and on to a Coffee shop on the way to Bo Sang.
As we needed to return to the motorbike market to complete the paperwork for the orange Wave we had agreed to meet Ally there at around 9am.
Taking the right hand turn towardds Ban Huaw Kaow, Ally first took us to what she called , ‘the alternative hot springs’. There is a Hot springs further up the main road, at Pong Nam Rorn, with a market and several food and drink outlets , which is used as a tour rest stop.
The water is, without a doubt, extremely hot , but is also disgustingly black in most of the pools and stinks to high heaven.
We were met enthusiastically by the owners golden labrador who refused to stop barking until we’d all said hello.
All caffeined up, on we went, wending our way through the hills working our way over to our main destination of Doi Khun Tan National Park. It was a long and beautiful ride. On the way we made a slight detour to our surprise lunch destination,(thanks again Ally), Tharntong Kitchen, at Tharntong Lodges. This wonderful place, nestled up in the mountain forests, with a mountain stream running through it, has been beautifully landscaped and has many wood cabins spotted around in which you can stay if you wish. With the cheapest room being 1,200 baht a night , its out of my usual budget; but for the stunning surroundings and excellent facilities, including top notch food, I’d say its worth it.
Treating myself to wild pig in red curry sauce, (120 baht..excellent quality and good portion),
e you’ll get to say hello to the resident cockatoo who is extremely friendly and poses well for the camera. He was most gentle when taking the fruit that Ally offered.
Another long, but very enjoyable ride, through more stunning scenery.
This relatively modest compound holds some beautiful Temple buildings.
What a beautiful spot, its like something out of The Railway Children, with palm trees. Lovingly landscaped and manicured, you feel you are waiting in somebodies garden rather than a station. We came across a group of farang who had been staying in lodges and had a little gripe about how long they had been waiting for the train to come. I could only remark about what a wonderful place to have to wait.
We stayed for coffee and saw their train arrive, exiting the tunnel from the mountain, that looks too small from the platform.
We had had a long ride through the day, so from here it was basically continuing on to meet the Highway 11 at Mae Ta, where we also visited the train station. Although not in quite such a stunning location, this station was equally well cared for and landscaped, where waiting for a train could only be a joy.
