The best way to start the day is with a foot massage. I cant it more! Right across the alley from our hotel is a small massage parlor, run by a very sweet woman.
I have to note here that so far we find the Thai people to be very friendly, open and helpful. Especially with the aid of Google Translate!
Anyway, back to our foot massage. It started with a foot scrub with fresh limes, included workout of our feet and legs, and an extra good rub of our back, shoulders and arms. Feels great!
So, back to the car and on with the journey. Next stop - a village on the way to Nan. We found two shops that sell local embroidered clothing, not cheap, and nothing really interesting. But we got a couple bowls of delicious noodle soup for about 7 NIS. Food in Thailand is super cheap and usually very good!
So on we went to Doi Pha Klong National Park. We were in dire need for some nature by now! We got a bit lost on the way, but eventually found the park. We were the only people
there! The trail is about 1.5 km long through the jungle, but the humidity and heat, and especially the mosquitos made it quite a challenge! Still, it is an interesting park, with dark jagged rocks and cliffs jutting like daggers from the jungle. Lots of flowers, including orchids, and huge bamboo stalks. Oh, and loads of butterflies, some as big as small birds! A lovely trail but we were happy to get back to the car and the air conditioning!
Our next destination is to see more rock formations at Pae Muang Pee Forest Park. As we got close to the park and drove through an agricultural area, we saw a buffalo by the side of the covered in fresh, wet mud! Only its eyes were left uncovered, and it looked very happy about that! We were just sorry we missed it rolling in the mud!
Soon after the buffalo we arrived at Pae Muang Pee Forest Park. This park was much more friendly than Doi Pha Klong. Not as hot or as humid, and fewer mosquitos. And its free, unlike Doi Pha Klong. This park has some really cool formations caused by soil erosion, where
pillars of tan colored soil topped with a black crust remain in a large open area. Theres even a local myth. Once upon a time an old woman was searching for fruit and leaves in the forest when she came to this magical place. Here she found a hoard of gold! She collected the gold but couldnt take it back to her village. Each time she tried, she got lost and found herself back here. Finally she left the gold and only then made it back to the village. She told her friends about the treasure. When the villagers came back to collect it, they found footprints leading away. The footprints led them to a coffin, where they ended. The villagers realized the place was haunted and gave up on the gold!
We didnt find any gold either, except for the color of the pillars in the waning sunlight. So we drove off to our hotel, a little B&B type of place outside of Nan. Its a longer drive than we expected and we got pretty hungry on the way. We found a roadside stall in one of the villages along the way and stopped for a bite. We
really had no expectations, but the owner was friendly, inviting without being overbearing, and the food was, in Thai manner, delicious and cheap! Gilat got a veggie noodle soup and I had chicken on rice.
Some time later we arrived at our hotel where got a nice room with a huge balcony overlooking the surrounding forest and fields! If it werent the ants on the bed it would be perfect! Once that was taken care of (the owners husband sprayed a bit and got rid of the ants) we actually had a well deserved good nights sleep.
