The road tracklog
From Chiang Mai to Lopburi
from 07/01 to 10/01/2008

January 07 I left Chiang May to head towards the border of Cambodia which I crossed at the latest the 12. On the move on HWY 11 I saw a signpost for the Thai Elephant Conservation Centrer, TECC. I decided to stop there for visiting it. The elephant show at work was of good quality. The site is remarkable. I lunched on the spot and I bivouacked on the carpark at the entry of the park.

 
 
TECC 
the 07/01/2008 

 

TECC 
the 07/01/2008 

Ah beautiful days, still a divine day … This day there, two discoveries enhanced it. Firstly it was the monastic complex of Wat Phra That Lampang Luang in Kho Kha on the road 1034. It is the oldest, the most beautiful, the most … of the temples in the Northern Thailand. It is out of teak wood dating back to 1476. In Haw Phra Phutthabaht the inverted image of Chedi is projected on a white sheet through a hole. Then it was Si Satchanalai on the HWY 101 in the north of Sukhothai. It is a historical park in the enclosure of the old city dating from the 13th century out the tourist beaten roads. Monuments are in blocks of laterite. I strolled from site to site by bicycle in this end of day. I bivouacked on the carpark of Information Centre.

 
 
Wat Phra That Lampang Luang 
the 08/01/2008 

 
Haw Phra Phutthabaht
Wat Phra That Lampang luang 
the 08/01/2008 

 
 
Wat Chang Lom 
Si Satchanalai 
the 08/01/2008 

 

Wat Khao Phanom Phloeng 
Si Satchanalai 
the 08/01/2008 

I arrived in Sukhothai in the early morning. It was from 13th to the end of the 14th century the first capital of the kingdom of Siam. Of this prestigious capital it remains only the ruins of the worship buildings which are the syncretism of the Khmer art and Thai art with Hindus influences. The huge historical park requires the use of means of transport. The groups of tourists, locals or foreigners, accompanied by guides speaking high and clear disturbed the quietude of the sites. It was difficult to take a photos without horrible someone in front of the objective. At the end of the afternoon I decided to establish the bivouac on the carpark of Wat Si Chum.

 
 
Wat Mahathat 
Sukhothai 
the 09/01/2008 

 

Puppets  
Sukhothai 
the 09/01/2008 

The road tracklog 
From Lopburi to the border of Cambodia 
the 12/01/2008 

After Sukhothai it was a driving day always towards the south. Arrived around 16:00 at the entry of Lopburi I decided to visit this city. I engaged in the avenue leading to the center town and stopped in front of two policemen regulating traffic. I asked them, in gestural language, the localization of a car park. There was not. One of the policemen led me by preceding me by bike in the Sorasak st skirting the King Narai Ratchaniwet Palace. The place is neither peaceful nor pleasant, finally for a night. Then I went to the TAT to obtain the citymap of the sites to be visited. Alas, it was already closed. Finally I strolled in streets of the ancient city.

January 10 I visited the principal temples of Lopburi. I lingered in the charming small museum of the Palace Phra Narai Ratchaniwet. Then in the hall of reception of ambassadors I discovered a bronze stele commemorating the presenting the letter of King Louis XIV by the Chevalier de Chaumont. At the beginning of afternoon I left to the border of Cambodia. After Nong Hua Chang I saw on the left a ground favourable for a peaceful bivouac.

 
Presenting the letter
Lopburi 
the 11/01/2008 

Detail of the stele 
Lopburi 
the 11/01/2008 

King Narai at the balcony in the courtroom leans towards the chevalier de Chaumont who tends him the letter.

 
Detail of the stele
Lopburi 
the 11/01/2008 

Prang Sam Yot  
Lopburi 
the 11/01/2008 

The morning of January 12, visa expiry day, I was on the HWY 33 towards the border of Cambodia. It is with four lanes and crosses almost flat landscapes, altitude GPS between 6 and 10 meters high, in dream scenery, culture, flowers, all is organized and civilized. At the entry Sa Kaeo I stopped in front of a hospital to buy a vaccine against the rage, not knowing where I will be on the 21/01 for the last injection. Then I made the completion of the tanks in diesel and water before entering Cambodia. I arrived at the border at 11:30. Formalities were completed for both countries at 12:45.
Crossing of borders is described in the information pages of both countries, Thailand then Cambodia.
The entry Cambodia was confusing so much the difference is large between the two countries in a same geographical configuration.

The following week I visited Angkor.