Phetchaburi, Thailand
PHETCHABURIAnna's entry:
Phetchaburi is an unlikely stop on the tourists trail, which was the main reason we chose to go there. As you may have gathered from the previous entries, avoiding tourist trails has become an important part of our route, and that approach has definitely brought us closer to experiencing a more authentic culture and attitude. I loved Phetchaburi, as a matter of fact when I think "Thailand", one night in Phetchaburi has become one of the iconic images of our journey. We arrived in the middle of the traditional canoe racing festival, and a hotel owner put us in a room overlooking the central canal where the competition was taking place. So, right from the balcony we were able to observe all the colorfully dressed up boats, cheering crowds, and festivities taking place along side the canal - and I tell you, there were a lot of festivities going on for several days. Besides boat racing, there was a concert projected on the largest screen so the whole town could see it; the food festival with the phad thai made in the largest skillet you can imagine (about 10 people could easily stand around it), markets, etc. But, we were also able to find a place of solitude - after walking for many miles we finally found a cave temple - tunnels were developed by monks right inside of the mountain connecting numerous halls and corridors with dozens of Buddhist statues lit up by torches and candles. It was very unusual, and very mysterious, and the best part - Rob and I were the only visitors. We also climbed a steep hill, passing a monastery on the way, with a huge statue of sitting Buddha being constructed/repaired on the top of the hill. The statue could be seen miles and miles away from the city, which looked like a Lilliput settlement when seen from the hill top. We also had to somewhat push our way to and from the hilltop - numerous monkeys insisted following us both ways, so an opened umbrella was a good shield from those potentially unwanted hugs...
My favourite memory though (which has become one of my favourite images) took place at night. I will try to describe it... Imagine an ancient Buddhist city spread over the canal with thousands of lit up candles in coconut shells slowly floating in the water, a large bright moon reflecting in the canal waters, spicy incense in the air, soothing traditional Thai music carried by the wind from the shores, colorful fireworks illuminating the night sky, and us - standing right above it all surrounded by palm trees gently whispering right under our feet... We have come a long way, it has been almost nine months of traveling in South and South East Asia; there were good times, there were bad times. But, at that moment standing on the balcony in Phetchaburi I remembered only good experiences, it was peaceful and sad at the same time, we were very close to the end of our journey. In a few days we would be heading back to Bangkok, this would be our third and last time there, this was where we started our Thailand adventure back in April. We have come a whole circle, just like that Moon, still reflecting in the waters of Phetchaburi...
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posted by Rob and Anna @ 6:36 PM
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