Year of the Rooster: Lamphun is a small town about 38 kms southeast of Chiang Mai. One of the highlights of the town is this stunning chedi at Wat Phra That Haripunchai. Does it look familiar to you? You may recognize some of the features in the above picture if you have ever been to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai. That temple was in fact based on this one in Lamphun. The 46 metre high chedi, which contains a hair of the Lord Buddha, dates back to the 9th Century. According to legend, the Buddha once visited the town near here on his alms round. He correctly predicted that a man would in the future build a town on that spot and call it Harinphunchai Nakhon. Of interest in this temple is a large bronze gong which is claimed to be the biggest of its kind in the world. There is also an old wooden library (see below) which is built on a high brick pedestal. Thai people believe that this temple is one of the holiest in the country. It is also an important pilgrimage site for people born in the Year of the Rooster.

At the weekend, I drove down to Samut Songkhram to visit the King Rama II Memorial Park Fair. But, I also wanted to take this opportunity to visit the nearby Amphawa Floating Market. Unlike the famous one at Damnoen Saduak, this one doesn’t start to get going until the late afternoon. Very good news for late risers. It also means you can visit the nearby park first before finishing your day with a meal at the floating market. I am not going to pretend that Amphawan Floating Market is more photogenic than Damnoen Saduak. That isn’t true. You won’t see as many boat vendors here which means you will get a different kind of photograph. So, by all means, still go to Damnoen Saduak for your photo opportunity. But, if you have the time, also come to this floating market for the atmosphere which is so much better. It is also more authentic as you won’t find the rows and rows of stalls selling the same tacky souvenirs. The best thing about Amphawa Floating Market is that it is still relatively unknown among Western tourists as it isn’t featured in Lonely Planet yet. There must have been a thousand people there, but I didn’t spot one European face. This is where the Thai tourists come to experience a floating market.

Many of the people that take a side trip to Kanchanaburi are doing so because they have either seen or heard of the movie “Bridge on the River Kwai”. On package tours they take you to see the bridge and the nearby cemetery. Here you can pay your respects to the fallen dead. If you have time you can visit a nearby war museum to learn more about the horrendous living conditions the prisoners of war had to suffer. You can even ride the infamous railway from Nam Tok back to the bridge. But all of that is not only very touristy,  it doesn’t really give you an insight into what really happened over 60 years ago.

December is the best month for the year. Why? Because within this month, it has many public holiday for Thai people such as Father’s Day on December 5, Constitutional Day on December 10, Christmas day and New Year season. We took the chance of having long weekend to travel and relax.

On last weekend we went to see the Motor Expo at Muengthong Thani, which will held on every December. My husband told me that this motor show seems to be somewhat small exhibition when compare with Motor Show in Frankfurt. The reason is the space of the exhibition is approximately 4 halls while the international Motor show will be larger than this. I think Motor show in Thailand focuses on selling vehicles so it is quite good for people who want to buy new cars and for whoever likes to see “Pretty” – pretty girls who promote the products and often wear sexy outfit (I often hear Thai men talk about why they want to go to motor show – to see both of car and girls). It will be disappointed for other who wants to see the new technology in vehicles’ world. Overall, you can have a chance to experience the new model of vehicles from various brands within one day.