The City of Biting Beds

King Rama IV's personal temple - Phetchaburi
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After the biting bed experience, Willow and I awoke from a deep slumber spent in the luxurious setting of white cotton sheets, to partake of a strange breakfast of toast, fried rice and frankfurter sausages.  We then hired a local kid as a guide (he was an English student at the local university, called Puen (that's the kid, not the University) and a driver who didn't speak a word of English, so thank heavens for Puen.. and off we went on a sight-seeing trip around Phetchaburi.

First we visited the Summer Palace of King Rama IV who reigned some 2,000 years ago, even though Puen told us it was 200 - didn't believe a word of that.  A gorgeous place with original furnishings still in tact and with it's own personal temple.  There was a "lucky" bell at the temple which would grant you a wish if you struck it 3 times.  Needless to say, I had to have a go and hopefully when I get home it will be to learn that I have won the jackpot in some lottery or other.. Nice.  Alternatively, I will have managed to escape contracting any nasty diseases from the primates at the Centre or Boris the Loris.  I totally made that name up though as I believe that her name is actually Doris.

Pretty flowers at the Summer Palace
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So, back to the story, after the palace we went off to a local cave filled with Buddha images (there seem to be a lot of these in Thailand and I find them all a bit strange).  It would appear that once an image has become tarnished or has lost it's ability to impress, it is shipped off to one of these caves as the images are still considered by the Thai's to be sacred.  So it is generally a burial ground for bits of lead.  Strange but true folks.

After the cave we headed to another few temples and ended up at the teak, bed-bug ridden guesthouse for dinner (which they thought was very odd, given the circumstances in which we high-tailed it out of there the previous evening).  Along came our Rescue Centre taxi driver and off we went back to the dirt and grime and the getting up at 6am delights of the Centre.

Altogether now... macaque faces
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I've managed to find some more photos to regale you all with, so here they are.

Hope you enjoy the macaque faces that we are pulling in one of the shots.  The male (and some female) macaques regularly pull these faces at us.  Depending on who you talk to, the faces are either a form of greeting (which I prefer to believe) or a threatening gesture.  As these faces are usually followed by a display of the animal's arse, I reckon it's more of a come-on myself.  Anyway, ever since, we have all perfected the art of macaque face-pulling and Willow and I tried to do it to as many people as we could during this trip.  Quite amusing, especially when they do it back.  I'm not sure that it will catch on in Thailand, but one can only hope that it does.  Fear not people of Bermuda, I am bringing it to Hamilton in a few weeks' time.  You lucky things you...

Joe - the lovely macaque who likes to throw his food bowl at you.
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Hugs and M-faces.

Jane xx