TonyT's 9th Thailand blog:
18 days in and around the country:
Christmas 2025 to January 2026.
Page 5
The Road from Trat to Surin and a stay in Phanom Dong Rak
TUESDAY 30th DECEMBER
Luggage collected at 08:00 whilst we enjoyed our last breakfast on Ko Kood.
Bills paid and we were off in the resort's songthaew to the ferry terminal. Easy crossing on flat calm sea arriving at Laem Sok just on 10"00. High Season's shuttle bus was waiting and baggage transferred to our car. We were on the road north by 10:40 and settling in for the 6-hour drive to Phanom Dong Rak.
We stopped off at the fantastic temple site of Wat Mae Ya Som. This is a regular stopping place for us to stretch our legs and take in the fantastic statues, many of which are under construction.
Some photos of Wat Mae Ya Som below.
Back on the road and at first an uneventful drive but with one wrong turn in the centre of Lahansai. My sat-nav told to make a left turn into a narrow soi. To my horror, this turned out to be a crowded market street with hardly any room for my big wagon to pass. I couldn't reverse out so I had no option other than to crawl through the stalls at less than walking pace. Amazingly, the throngs of people seemed to be unperturbed by our intrusion. It turned out that I'd missed an earlier left turn and the sat-nav was attempting to get me back on track.
A couple of police check-points near to Phanom Dong Rak and we arrived home at around 4:30pm.
Good to see our family again. It was the first time they’d seen my eldest son and he appeared to fit right in.
Not a late night after eating dinner as the long drive was wearisome.
WEDNESDAY 31st DECEMBER: New Years Eve.
After a decent breakfast we travelled into Prasat to get some food essentials. The problem here was the crowds all doing the same thing; stocking up for the New Year.
Traffic was an absolute nightmare, not only in Prasat market area but worse in the nearby Lotus’s supermarket. Eventually managed to buy what was needed and headed back to PDR by late afternoon.
New Years Eve was a total non-event. Hardly any drinks imbibed and after dinner most of the family were in bed by 9pm. Pointless staying up on our own; no one wanted to drink so we crashed at around 10:30. Never had a New Years Eve like this one before.
THURSDAY 1st JANUARY 2026: New Years Day
A couple of Aom's aunts came around to visit this morning. We planned on a trip to Prasat Phanom Rung ancient temple in Buriram. I've visited this large historic park several times before and still find it fascinating.
Spent several hours here before heading back via a stop at an Amazon coffee shop.
The two aunts returned and had some food with us. This night was somewhat better than New Years Eve in that quite a lot of drink and food and lots of banter.
Below are a couple of family photos.
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Photos below are from our visit to the superb Prasat Phanom Rung site.
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FRIDAY 2nd JANUARY.
A BIG breakfast this morning before getting ready for the 6-hour drive to Bangkok. Once again, the two aunts were on hand this time with the tradition of Sai Sin threads around our wrists.
Sai Sin, are sacred threads blessed by monks or elders for protection, good health, and luck, symbolizing purity and connection in Buddhist rituals, often given during temple visits, weddings, or to wish someone well. These threads are believed to ward off evil spirits and should ideally be removed naturally, not cut, to preserve the blessing, though they serve as reminders for compassionate living and are common for tourists and locals alike.
Our mini-bus taxi arrived at 09:00 and fond farewells were exchanged.
Predictably, the traffic flowing south towards Bangkok was awful. This was due to people returning to the capital after spending the festivities with their families.
We arrived at our apartment around 4:30pm. A quick shower and out for a few beers before dinner which was at the Hilary1 bar/restaurant in Soi 4.
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