Before I describe the drive from Korat to Sappraiwan, I must mention the very enjoyable evening we spent at the Dusit Princess Hotel, in Korat. My school friend Thavi and his wife Ouratai had driven up from Bangkok, about 250kms, to see us once more before we leave Thailand. We had the most delightful Chinese meal at the hotel, and then to cap the evening they presented us with a beautiful gift: a wooden spirit house. As I have said before, we have been looking to buy one but could only find painted houses made of stone or concrete, which were much too heavy to send back to England. We will post a photo of this very special memento. It will be a wonderful reminder in years to come of our great time in Thailand. Thank you Thavi and Ouratai.
We rose at our usual time of just before 6am, and Wendy took this photo from our room of the sunrise over Korat.
Turning now to the 450 kms drive from Korat, we had looked at the route and made the decision that we would miss out on the first 180kms by taking the main road north, which joined the route after about 90 kms. This saved us just under 100kms on the day's drive. We felt missing out on a visit to a large banyan tree and another temple was not too big a loss. In fact, I think I speak for several on the event, when I say we are close to being 'templed out'!!The roads in northern Thailand are very good, with very light traffic. It is noticeable how few large trucks there are, which has surprised me, but this has made the driving really easy. Wendy took this photo of a typical twisting empty Thai road.
After some 250kms there was a short 45kms section of off-road track, taking us through the poorest farming region we have seen in Thailand. Subsistence farming at its most basic. Terrible shacks and very poor farming conditions. It was rather depressing, even though the drive was great fun.The start of the track through the hills.
Fording a small stream.
A small yellow bird feeding by the stream. Any suggestion as to the species, from my ornithological friends?
A slight delay on the drive!
We returned to the main road after about an hour and continued the drive north on typically empty roads.
The route then took us up into some very green and beautiful hills and to the location of the King's summer residence. We were the only people there and the place looked deserted. There were some fine views over the surrounding hills.
and we took this photo of the palace through the trees, with this assortment of items used as a barrier! Not the normal security we are used to!
The remainder of the drive was pretty uneventful and we arrived at our resort hotel in Sappraiwan at about 3pm.The resort is known for its group of elephants, and at 5pm these were brought out for us to feed them with bananas. I've never fed an elephant before, so I was amazed to see, at close hand, how wonderfully 'dextrous' their trunks are. We all spent a very enjoyable half an hour feeding them. James Walker feeding one of the elephants.
Julie Brogan with some friends for life!
John Brown and Mark & Dorothy Freeman, enjoying the moment.
A mother and baby. The baby decided that it wanted some of its mother's milk, rather than a banana.
A couple of items about participants. Richard Smith, Car 24, has made the decision to skip Sappraiwan and drive directly to Chiang Mai, to see if he can buy another tyre, following the puncture he suffered at the border. The tyre has been temporarily repaired and can only be used as an emergency spare. With nearly 3,000 miles still to go, you really do need a good spare wheel.
Several people have been suffering from the Thai equivalent of Delhi Belly. Should I call it Thai Di? It looks like a bug is going round, as each day someone else goes down with it.
We head for Chiang Mai tomorrow and three nights at the same hotel, which is a rare occurrence for a HERO event.
The excellent "Guide to the Birds of Thailand" suggests the yellow bird you saw might be an immature member of the Black-Hooded Oriole. In a mature bird the head and throat are black.
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