Lopburi-Bangkok (Day 3)

Lopburi – Bangkok (Day 3)

Tall Men and Steel Giants.

I got up a little later today, so I tried to speed up things a bit by not messing around with the internet this morning. Instead just a quick shower, pack up, and load everything onto the bike. About half an hour later I was ready, and after crossing the nearby main intersection I soon was riding out of town on quiet lanes.

I passed the Bualuang Boutique Resort on the way and had a quick look. Still drive-in style, but brand new, much nicer rooms and in a very quiet location at the outskirts. Definitely an option and the ride into town for food and drinks isn’t far either.

Getting closer to Ayutthaya the countryside became…busier? There were few gravel roads on this leg, more and more settlements, more major roads, and then warehouses and factories. Some gigantic works of steel and concrete towered tall over the countryside here, visible from afar and belching steam into the air from their tall chimneys.

Fittingly there were tall warrior statues at the horizon. They were part of a park dedicated to King Naresuan and his men, who wrestled the power back from the Burmese after they had sacked Ayutthaya. I didn’t detour there, however, as I either would have had to back track or it would have led me on a way bypassing my next focus point: a soup stall along Highway 33.

I was quite hungry by now, time for a bowl of noodles. On the way to said noodle shop I passed through a local temple, Wat Si Mahapho (วัดศรีมหาโพธิ). I spent quite a bit time here as the compound was sprawled out over a huge area with some old grown forest and a few interesting shrines and details. Finally I reached Tang Kohng noodles, quite busy, with a lot of cars parked outside. That’s always a good sign and their soup was indeed delicious, as was the crispy pork.

From here on I picked a route away from the Chao Phraya river. There would be just too much riding on numbered roads along the river, so I detoured East through the countryside. Along the way I rested under a tree for a while, watching a farmer plowing the flooded fields, with white herons constantly flying in and out to get pickings from the upturned wet soil.

My detour led me all the way to Bang Pahan, a market town along Highway 32. An underpass allowed me to cross easily to the far side, where the market was, and ‘GoodDay ALL DEE Cafe’, a beautiful modern coffees shop. After this coffee break I back tracked to the Western side of the highway and continued to ride along the irrigation canal there.

Beautiful, quiet riding here all the way back to the Chao Phraya river, but from there on it got busier and busier as closer I got to Ayutthaya. I stopped at Wat Phukhao Thong (วัดภูเขาทอง อยุธยา), with it’s tall, pretty whitewashed stupa towering over the plains here and visible from afar. Soon I was in Ayutthaya proper, but I didn’t like this route into town much, there was just too much traffic on this two lane road for my taste. I definitely preferred the way into town from the West during my last trip coming from Suphanburi.

Once in Ayutthaya I rode to the station and checked trains to Bangkok. There was an option with bike carriage in less than an hour, so I bought tickets, washed up at the bathroom at the station, and changed into a fresh T-shirt. Soon I was on the way to Bang Sue, and after another quick 15min ride I was back home.

Lopburi is certainly worth to spend some time, there are quite a few interesting ruins to see and I enjoyed the laid back feel of the old part of the town. Ang Thong – even if I was never in town proper on the other side of the river – was surprisingly fun for an overnight stop and the way getting there from Lopburi was great countryside riding. However, the way to Ayutthaya from this direction was definitely not among my favorites and I would rather detour more to the East or West next time.

Overall a good excursion for a long weekend out of Bangkok, with a good mix of sightseeing, food, fun, and riding!