Kamphaeng Phet

I walk early in the morning to the small bus station in Mae Sot, the border town between Thailand and Myanmar and there I find a girl behind the counter in an almost empty hall. I buy a ticket for the bus to Kamphaeng Phet and ask when it’s leaving. She points to the clock that hangs "alone" against a whole white wall and suddenly I’m shocked; I have been living at the wrong time for about six days?

I put my clock back half an hour and sit on the plastic chairs to wait for my time. A minibus is coming up the parking lot and of course I can not read the Thai sign which is on a board in front of the window. Everyone stands up and runs up to the van. My bag has to be on the roof, the driver does not care about it and I end up in the back of the bus with my head against the roof. I can not see anything because in the back the seat is higher and my knees are poking in the chair before me.

My leg start to sleep within minutes because it is twenty centimeters higher on the tension of the rear tire. Three other men are sitting next to me - nice and cozy. The three boys who just arrived at the station have (as expected) the best place behind the driver and lay stretched out. No wonder because they are not that long. The pretty girl is sitting next to the driver - no surprise either. We’re on our way. 

We are leaving full and almost immediately and there is not a single place available anymore. Outside the citylimits we stop immediately for a roadblock - even if I want to grab my passport (which is in my inside pocket in my pants) I can’t because I’m so folded up here in het back of the bus. Everyone picks up his passport (or ID card) and shows it to the policeman that just comes into the bus.

Because I dont’ have mine I take my copy out of my shirt’s pocket and wave it back and forth. The policeman looks my way but turns around and the bus closes his doors again. It seems to be a beautiful route to Kamphaeng Phet although the road is not so good. Many bumps and holes in the road and we’re zigzagging around them. Because I’m in the back I’mm going back and forth in all directions.

This also seems to be one of the most beautiful parts of Thailand and maybe I should ever come back to this region. The boy next to me is constantly biting his tiger balm stick as if he wants to eat it. It smells terrible. After the big city Tak the road gets boring and after three hours I arrive in Kamphaeng Pet which is my final destination for today. 

I arrive at the second larger temple complex which is called Wat Phra Kaew. A large higher stone terrace with an almost crumbled Buddha with a yellow ribbon. At the back of what looks like a stone bunker are the three Buddha statues that have also been shown on the brochure that I just received when I bought my ticket.

This must be the highlight and it is indeed special. Two Buddhas are squatting while one is lying down. They are all three close together which makes it special. I continue my walk through what has once been the Royal Palace (and is now in ruins). Yet I see a few beautiful elephant statues here, of which a few are still almost undamaged.

I do not know what the stone buildings are all about, but it is so wonderfully quiet here. It has been nice as well and when I walk around the complex with all those big leaves lying on the ground I suddenly think of autumn in Europe. After my walk through the two complexes I take it easy; walk around the city for a while, sit down on a terrace before I go back to my hostel.