A Weekend Away

Scott's seatmate.

Realizing that we have limited time here and our weekends are filling up fast, Scott and I decided to take a weekend getaway to the small town of Lampang.  Lampang, the capital of Lampang Province, is a city of just shy of 60,000 people, located about 140 miles south of Chiang Rai.  We got to the bus station after school on Friday, and hopped on a green, 1970's style bus with no AC and sticky vinyl seats, and started the 5 hour journey to Lampang.  Scott shared his seat with a stack of plastic stools that we weren't allowed to move, and about 45 minutes into the ride a man across the aisle from us started throwing up.  After 5 hours, two police checkpoints and a humorous lost in translation exchange with the ticket-taker, we finally arrived in Lampang and headed to our guesthouse.

We stayed at a hostel, which wasn't much more than someone's Thai style house set up to rent out, which is pretty common in smaller towns around the country.  We stayed right along the river which runs through the center of town.  We headed into downtown on Friday night in search of a pizza joint that Scott had read about, but unfortunately we didn't have our bearings or a map, so we ended up eating at a small local food court where Scott had what he said was the best Pad Krap Pao he's ever tasted.  Funny how well things work out sometimes.

Wat Phra That Lampang Luang

 The next day we rented a motorbike and drove about 20km outside the city to one of the main sights of Lampang: Wat Phra That Lampang Luang.  This wat was originally a fortress monestary, and actually saw battle in the 18th century when Burmese troops overtook the complex.  There are still bullet holes marked around the complex. 

As we were walking around admiring the ancient wooden structure covered in colorful murals, a Thai man approached us and ushered us back to the back part of the complex.  Concerned when we were getting too far behind, he hurriedly scampered about the complex pointing out different spots of interest.  He spoke very little English, so it wasn't a particularly informative tour, but he pointed out things that we probably wouldn't have noticed on our own.  He led us past the main stupa toward a small white building at the top of a set of stairs.  He motioned that I had to stay where I was, but led Scott up to the top of the stairs, inside the building and closed the door.  So...there I was, left in the sun to admire the main stupa by myself.  There are many temples in Thailand that have areas or buildings that women aren't allowed in, so I wasn't too surprised.  When the two of them emerged a few minutes later, our guide rushed us over to the next building.  I barely had a chance to ask Scott what he saw before we entered a small wooden temple structure with a huge dark door.  It was almost completely dark inside, except for a tiny hole carved in the wall, with the bright sunlight from outside streaming in.  The beam of light lands on a large piece of canvas stretched tight across a board, and on the canvas is a reflection of the main stupa outside.  I don't know how they do it, but it was awesome!  Scott said it was similar to the on in the "man building," only not quite as bright and detailed.  We turned to thank our tour guide, but he had gone, leaving us to marvel at the cool beam of light by ourselves.  On the way home I kept thinking about that little man that took us around, sharing with us the best parts of the temple, and asking nothing in return.  I will truly miss Thai people!

Cool reflection

Lampang was hot when we went.  I'm fairly sure I could have boiled an egg on the sidewalk.  Sightseeing is so much more exhausting when it's that hot out, and we were looking for a relaxing weekend, so we spent the rest of the day puttering around on the motorbike, hitting up a coffee shop for a while, and heading back to our wooden bungalow to rest.  Lampang doesn't have a whole lot to do and see, so we took advantage of our free time and just relaxed. 

Another wat we saw as we drove around town.

 
We ate a late lunch at a local favorite called Aroi 1 Baht.  "Aroi" mean delicious in Thai, and it was!  It had a huge menu offering traditional Thai dishes at very affordable prices (hence, 1 Baht.)  We munched on crispy fried fish, deep-fried mushrooms and another dish of fish bites, all washed down with some Thai whiskey.  Delicious!  We walked off our meal at the weekly walking market, before heading to the pizza joint that we had tried to find the night before.  Let me just say this:  Come to Thailand.  It's beautiful.  When you come to Thailand, come to Lampang.  When you stop in Lampang, EAT AT LONG JIM'S NEW YORK PIZZA.  It blew my mind.  By far the best Western food I've had in Thailand, and honestly, some of the best New York style pizza I've had, including in New York!  We stuffed ourselves on a large pizza with homemade Italian sausage and delicious cheeses.  Deciding that we weren't full enough, we added garlic bread and local beer.  To say we were content would be a grave understatement.  Despite the fact that there isn't a whole lot to do in Lampang, we would make the 5 hour journey back just for this pizza.  Yeah, it's that good.

Heaven?

All in all, it was a relaxing weekend with Sweets, topped off by the cutest tour guide and amazing food.  As our time here starts going by quickly and we get nearer to the end, I wish we had taken more weekend trips like this one:  no agenda or organized plan. Just wandering, sightseeing and mingling.

A lazy breakfast on the river.