We took the bus from Bangkok on Friday, April 4th, leaving the station at 1 p.m. and arriving in Nang Rong at 6:15 or so. Managed to find the Honey Inn (they have a web page) and had a really nice dinner at this very simple place, including a great dish that was tomato, cucumber, pineapple, tofu and onion. Mmmm.
Up early on Saturday, and we shared a taxi with two young Danish women staying at the same place to the Khmer ruins that are about 25 km away. First we went to Meung Tam, then to Phenom Rung. Really beautiful ruins, and on the first Saturday of April there is a big local festival at Phenom Rung. There were a LOT of local people, and just a few non-Thai tourists. Aside from the ruins themselves there were stands with handicrafts, demonstrations of traditional arts (blacksmithing, silk spinning--getting the thread from the cocoons, then peeling the cocoons and selling the grubs for snacks--singing, dancing...) At another stand they had fried grasshoppers among their offerings; Fernando said a man offered him one, and he ate it! Bravo! We were hot and tired but managed to hang around long enough to see the music and dancing begin. Left about 8 p.m. when the sit-down dinner was going to begin, but without seeing the procession they set up, nor the professional dance groups. There was no programme available for us to know what was when--we might have gone in the evening if we had known!
Today we wanted to stop in Ayutthaya on our way back to Bangkok, but either we had to get up very early again, or miss it. And even getting up early we might have had only 2 hours there, so we're taking it slow and will go directly to Bangkok where we have an overnight bus at 7:15 to go south to Chieow Lan lake and Khao Sok. I doubt I will have internet access for the next few days!
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LLegamos sobre las 6:30 el viernes a Nang Rong, un pueblecito en la provincia de Isaan, en el nord-este de Tailandia, despues de unas 5 horas en autobus desde Bangkok. Logramos encontrar el Honey Inn, donde estamos alojados, y nos dieron una cena muy rica, de 4 platos mas arroz y fruta. No sabemos el precio aun!!
Nos levantamos temprano y compartimos taxi con dos danesas hasta las ruinas jemeres que estan a unos 25 kilometros de aqui. Primero fuimos a Meung Tam, luego Phenom Rung, donde hay un gran festival local el primer sabado de abril. Suerte! Estuvimos todo el dia, aunque con mucho calor, y vimos las ruinas (increibles) y luego los puestos que habia con comida, ropa y ademas unas demostraciones de artesania tradicional. Hubo un hombre forjando un cuchillo, y unas mujeres sacando hilo de seda de los capullos de los gusanos de seda. Luego, como se cuece el capullo para sacarle el hilo, los pelan y vendian los gusanos como tentempie!! En otro puesto tenian saltamontes fritos; no lo vi yo, pero por lo visto un hombre le ofrecio a Fernando uno, y lo comio. Bravo! Dijo que estaba bueno, aunque no intento convencernos a nosotras ni a las danesas que lo probasemos.
Luego hubo danza y musica, muy chulo. Nos fuimos sobre las 8--habia mas cosas que no vimos, pero estabamos ya muy cansados y nos bastaba.
Hoy nos iremos a Bangkok para enlazar con el autocar que nos llevara hacia el sur. 11 horas para ir a Surat Thani, donde buscaremos transporte hacia el bosque de Khao Sok y el lago Chieow Lan. No creo que tengamos internet durante varios dias.
