From Cambodia back to Thailand

Preparations for the water festival in Siem Reap

In the mean time I'm back in Thailand.  I spent the last few days with my friend Mark doing some work in the school and discovering the vicinity of Siem Reap.  My readers might wonder why I didn't visit Angkor Wat.  There is a very simple reason: I already saw it a few years ago and the entrance fee has doubled since.  I would visit it again if I were there with someone who didn't see it yet.

The last days in Siem Reap preparations were going on for the water festival.  Actually that is the reason I'm returning to Thailand, as I want to celebrate this holiday with my family there.  In Thailand they put small self-made boats with 3 incense sticks, a lucky candle and some coins in the water.  In Cambodia they perform rowing races in the river.  Totally different and the preparations for it were already very fascinating to admire.

My little stepsister is always happy to see me again

From Siem Reap I traveled on a direct bus to Bangkok, which dropped me off at Hua Lamphong railway station.  On the way back there were no border scams, apparently this is only done in one direction.  I spent one night in Bangkok, had the usual cocktails and foot massage and the next day picked up my rental car from the airport and drove the 300km route to Pran Buri, where my family lives.  I checked in at a very nice guesthouse in Pak Nam Pran: Happy House on the Beach.  Reviews online weren't so positive, but they were very untrue.  I was received as a very welcome guest, got a welcome drink and the rooms are quite alright.  Pak Nam Pran is a small fishermen village near Pran Buri.

This weekend the peace and calm at the village will be quite disturbed for Loi Krathong, the holiday which marks the end of the raining season.  All festivities will take place right in front of the guest house.

Pranburi Dam & Lake

I arrived in Pak Nam Pran in the late afternoon and met up with my family right after checking in to the guest house for dinner.  The next day I decided to visit the Phraya Nakhon cave in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park.  My father wanted to join me, despite the warning of it being a heavy climb.  He's almost 70 years old and isn't as fit as he used to be when he was 20 years younger.  Still I allowed him to join me and take up the challenge.  The walking route to the cave consists of 2 parts: the first part is climbing over a steep rocky hill next to the sea, arriving at an enclosed paradise-like white sandy beach.  From the beach it goes up another steep hill and back down into the sinkhole which is the cave.  When we got to the beach after the first part, his energy was already almost entirely gone, after an already very astonishing achievement.  We decided not to go further to the cave, but to climb back up and down to the car park.  On the way back we were helped (read: my father was carried) by 2 park rangers.

The Phraya Nakhon cave

A monkey near the cave

The next day I decided to return to the cave in the early morning and do the entire trek myself.  The stairs leading down to the sinkhole were guarded by playful monkeys (probably they were on the lookout for tourists with bananas).  The beauty of what I found down the sinkhole is impossible to describe in words, it was a cathedral made by nature.  I was the first tourist of the day down there and it was only me and the sound of drops of water falling down in a billion year scheme to create stalagmites.  High above the sinkhole the wind was searing (there was a storm going on up there), the light of the sun entered the sinkhole and shined bright on the small pagoda.  This is nor God, nor Allah, nor Buddha making you feel small in a huge religious building, this was nature telling us IT is the greatest power on earth.  I was amazed by the beauty of it all.  This is definitely the most beautiful place I've ever been in my life.

View on the vineyards

At noon I picked up my father again and we made a road trip to the Pran Buri Dam and the Hua Hin Vineyards to do some wine-tasting (which is a more suitable activity for a man his age).  The lake which is created by the Pran Buri Dam is used to supply water to Hua Hin and Pran Buri.  From the dam it was a nice 30 minute drive through the mountains and hills to arrive at the Hua Hin Monsoon Valley Vineyards.  We did our wine-tasting at their restaurant 'The Sala'.  For 650 baht (about 16 euro), we got to taste 3 premium wines each accompanied by a small dish.  The white wine came with a crab salad, the rosé wine came with a lobster claw and the red wine came with duck breast.  The wines were actually very good, so I decided to buy some bottles to drink at home.

Loi Krathong boats

After our wine-tasting I drove back to the city-centre of Hua Hin, where we were to meet my stepmom to celebrate Loi Krathong with a good dinner and then put our 'boats' in the water near the local temple for a year of good fortune and luck.