Phetchaburi

Fishing in river than runs through town.
see all photos »

I'm sure it's getting hotter. Until late a'noon it really is too scorching to walk outside for more than a few minutes.I'm sure I'll have no sympathy from anyone at home tho' if I complain about these hot sunny days.

The Guesthouse has a lovely spot by the river than runs through the old town. From the restaurant you can watch  kingfishers flitting along the bank , large monitor lizards ( see linked photos)and in the evening bats put on an acrobatics show.

It must be a pretty clean river as I've seen a few people fishing. One  lad was ' fishing ' with a gun that fired a bolt attatched to a line. He was a good shot and got two catfish.

Think this might fall down anytime now,
see all photos »

I met John here . A fellow Brit the same age as me, so we have at least that in common .We've  had a  good old natter.He's an ex ' trolley dolly ' and now professional photographer with a few funny celeb stories from his flying days. It is nice to chat with someone from home ; you don't have to explain cultural references and can talk nonsense.Sometimes it's nice to forget your a foreigner for a bit!

Phetchaburi is Temple Town. Old and new , big and small it's got the lot . Over 30apparently. Saw some today , Wat Yai Suwannarum includes a scripture library built over a pond to protect it from attacks by insects. Wat Kamphaeng Laeng and Wat Mahathat are ancient , crumbling and photogenic. I shan't bore you with the history . I know I'll have forgotten it all in 5 minutes , so am content on the whole just  to appreciate them as beautiful buildings.

see all photos »

Next stop was the reclining Buddha , huge. The 4th largest in Thailand if anyones taking notes.

In my continual quest to save money I've stopped buying carton or canned drinks when I can . Hawkers sell a variety of flavoured drinks.Pick a colour you like ( hoping  you've guessed the flavour rightly) they pour it over ice in a plastic bag , add a little condensed milk and a straw . Yummy. And only 5 baht ; bearing in mind theres 70 to the pound I think its a pretty good deal.

see all photos »

You'll all be delighted to know my Thai is coming on leaps and bounds ; almost like a native. Well , maybe not. But I can now say in Thai -  "Good Morning / a'noon ", "Do you have Vegetarian food? ", "How much ?". Of course it can all go horribly wrong when they talk back to me and expect me to understand. I could use  my favourite new phrase, "You are very handsome"

I've been here a few days as it's a nice place to do very little and save money , but can't stop any longer. Next - Bangkok