Wat Phothisat Banpotnimit (วัดโพธิสัตว์บรรพตนิมิต)

I often get out on the motorbike just to get out of the house. Today I was out just wasting time and was going past a temple I had never taken the time to stop at and look around but figured there was no better time then today.

This is the normal view I have of Wat Phothisat Banpotnimit (วัดโพธิสัตว์บรรพตนิมิต) as I zip past on the motorbike not stopping to see what else it has to offer.

I think you may be able to see this Bodhisattva from the main highway that passes in front of this temple but I had never noticed it before.

There was a 2nd statue of a Bodhisattva that I know you could not see from the highway and found it more impressive than the first.

This appeared to be a pretty and tranquil place surrounded by water. I though it looked like a good place to sit and read but doubt I will ever return and sit out there to read.

I think this is the main place on the temple grounds. Some of the building seemed a bit run down but I though this building was pretty and also well maintained.

I found this place to be an interesting temple and well worth the stop. I would check it off my list of places to see but it was never on that list so don't get the pleasure of marking it off unless I add it first.

Ending this Trip in Suphan Buri (สุพรรณบุรี) and Nakhon Pathom (นครปฐม)

I had visited most of the places that I had sort of planned for on this trip but still had a number of days before having something scheduled at home. I say sort of planned but if you have read much of my blog you know that planning is not something I really do. I find places that interest me and mark them on the map and then head out the door. I prefer not having a real plan and just go with the flow.

I still had a number of things that I had marked on my map that I had missed on previous trips or had added in at some point after a trip. On this day my first stop was at King Naresuan Monument and the Don Chedi (พระบรมราชานุสรณ์ดอนเจดีย์) in the province of Suphanburi.

There was work taking place around the monument and the whole Chedi area had sometype of event. There were a lot of people working on setting up stands for what I assumed would take place in the evening. I snapped a picture, went into a shop for a cup of coffee and then moved on.

I had spent some time in the city of Suphanburi in the past but didn't make it to the Suphanburi National Museum (พิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติสุพรรณบุรี). I had read that there is one price for foreigners and a much lower price for Thais which is very normal in Thailand. I also read if you are 60 and up you get in for free. I don't think this applies to foreigners but I assume there is no harm in asking. I asked in my best Thai (which is still very bad) if it was free since I am 61 and the lady let me in without having to buy a ticket. Following are a few pictures I took while enjoying my free entry.

My next stop was at Wat Phra Non (วัดพระนอน). Not sure if there was something specific that I was supposed to look at here but it just seemed like another temple. All I did here was sit on one of the blue swinging chairs in the photo, read and enjoyed the view of the river. I did have a conversation with a Thai man that I think wanted to practice his English. His English was very close to my level of Thai so we talked with a mix of both but I got a bit of a free Thai class or at low price of posing for a photo.

I didn't do a lot in Suphanburi but check into a hotel fairly early and watched some movies. The next morning was an early start for me I was going to Red Lotus Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำทุ่งบัวแดง) in Nakhon Pathom and I had read that you need to see the flowers before 10AM to see them in bloom. Google maps said the market opened at 8AM and I arrived shortly after that.

I was disappointed in the Red Lotus Floating Market. I have seen people's pictures of some of these places to see the Red Lotus and they look spectacle. The market looked rundown and most of the stands were empty. There were a few flowers but nothing like I had seen in online pictures. I sat and had a cup of coffee at the market and was surprised to see a group take a boat tour of what I called disappointing.

I ride past a lot of rice fields and I find so many of them to have pretty views but don't take many pictures of them. For some reason I stopped and snapped a picture of this rice field on my way to my next stop.

My next stop was at Uncle Jam's Lotus Field (นาบัวลุงแจ่ม). I had been disappointed in the Lotus Market so was not expecting much here. I can't say I was overly impressed but think if the lotus flowers here would all be in bloom it would be a lot more impressive than the market. It did not have a rundown feeling like the market but they seemed to be busy preparing for a large lunch and I felt a bit in the way. If there would have been someone at the coffee shop I would of at least bought a coffee.

I mark things on the map and then forget why I marked them. My next stop was one of these places. What I had marked on the map was not even a place but rather GPS coordinates. It seemed like a very large park with a Buddha statue in the middle. I think the name maybe Phutthamonthon (พุทธมณฑล) but not really sure I have the right name to go with this place. I still enjoyed the stop and have now removed the pin from my map.

My last tourist stop of this trip was at Don Wai Floating Market (ตลาดน้ำดอนหวาย). I don't understand why it is called a floating market since it seems to all be on land but next to a river. It is open every day of the week unlike a lot of the Floating Markets that are visited mostly by Thai people on the weekends. Since it seemed to be just a normal market it did not have all the touristy stuff or the touristy feel that some of the markets I have posted about in the past. Here are the links to my recent posts on floating markets Samut Songkhram Floating Markets and the most well known Damnoen Saduak market.

I really enjoy going out and playing tourist but I am always excited to get home as well. I did not spend the full 2 weeks that I had allocated for the trip but feel like I accomplished what I set out to do. I spent time in 6 provinces that I may have pasted through in the past but didn't stop before. Maybe sometime next year I will be able to say I have visited all 77 of Thailand's provinces.

Following is my trip counter on the motorbike which says I did over 1,800 kilometers or over 1,000 miles. Thanks for following me along on my travels via my blog.

Sing Buri (สิงห์บุรี) and Ang Thong (อ่างทอง)

My first stop of the day was at Wat Sai (วัดไทร) in the province of Singburi. This is a temple ruin taken over by banyan tree roots.

The temple sets along side of the Chao Phraya River and I found it to be a pretty view.

Wat Na Phra That (โบราณสถานวัดหน้าพระธาตุ) was my next stop of the day. This temple seems very similar to the temples at Ayutthaya.

When riding to Wat Na Phra That I had past a large walking Buddha and since I was returning past there I stopped at Phutthamonthon (พุทธมณฑล) and took a picture.

I had broken my phone a few months ago and lost a number of pictures and talked about it in the post Hitting the Road, Oh No. The one site that I was disappointed in losing picture from was Wat Tham Krabok (วัดถ้ำกระบอก). It was a bit of a detour to Saraburi province but I decided I would return to this site and replace my pictures.

I also uploaded the following short while at Wat Tham Krabok (วัดถ้ำกระบอก).



About a hundred meters away from the temple I saw a large statue so went in and took a couple of pictures. I think this is the former King of Thailand but there was nothing on Google maps so I have no idea what this garden and statue are called. I don't think the gate was opened the last time I came to this area and not really sure I was supposed to me in here when I took the pictures but the gate was left open by the workers taking care of the gardens.

My next stop was at Ban Hun Lek (บ้านหุ่นเหล็ก). This places takes scrap or junk and forms these creations. I was not sure I really wanted to go here because it is not my normal type of attraction but enjoyed it and though the 60 baht entrance fee was well spent.

I did a slideshow of my pictures from Ban Hun Lek (บ้านหุ่นเหล็ก) but YouTube would not let me post it so put it up on facebook. You can click on the Slideshow and think you can watch even if you don't have a facebook account.

Following are a few pictures from Ban Hun Lek that I didn't include in the slideshow.

After checking into a hotel in Ang Thong I headed over to watch the Fruit Bats at Wat Chanthraram (วัดจันทราราม). Following are the short I uploaded as well as the longer video I made after returning home at the end of the trip. At first I thought that the number of bats at this temple were a lot less than the other two bat temples I had been to visit but then a stream of bats came flying into the trees surounding this temple. I was amazed to see this stream of bats flying over my head.





When the sun set I headed off to a local market to find something to eat and headed back to my hotel after a enjoyable day.

Uthai Thani (อุทัยธานี) and Chai Nat (ชัยนาท)

I checked out of my hotel and headed to Uthai Thani and Sakae Krang Hill (เขาสะแกกรัง). The temple on the top of the hill overlooks the town of Uthai Thai.

I came back down the hill and through the town to the temple of Wat Sangkat Rattana Khiri (วัดสังกัสรัตนคีรี) but only rode around the temple and stopped to take a picture of the stairs leading back up to the top of Sakae Krang Hill. I am way too lazy to have attempted to go up via the stairs.

My next stop was at Wat Uposatharam (วัดอุโปสถาราม). This temple is alongside the Sakae Krang River and looking at the center of the town of Uthai Thani. I had not planned to stay in this town but found the town on the waterfront had a look of real charm and may have to come back here and explore the town a bit more.

I should have taken a picture of the town but only took one of the bridge going into the town. When I left the temple I made a point to ride over this bridge even though I am not sure if there is room for 2 motorcycles going in opposite directions.

The thing that stood out to me at this temple were the paintings both inside and on the outside walls.

My next stop was at Wat Tha Sung (ท่าซุง). Google maps told me that it would be closed until 1 in the afternoon and said I would get there about 12:50 but google maps was wrong. The temple was closed until 2 in the afternoon and if I would have bothered to read the reviews the first person had posted a picture of the temple hours so I guess it was my screw up for having to sit outside the temple for an hour. Not really a big deal, I bought an ice-cream cone and read some of a book to kill the hour. I also missed a big section of this temple so may have to return to it sometime in the future.

The mirrors on everything in this temple makes for some very impressive pictures.

My next stop was at Wat Phra Borommathat Worawihan (วัดพระบรมธาตุวรวิหาร) in the city and province of Chai Nat. I found the temple not impressive but found the trees in bloom around the temple were very pretty.

I decided I wanted to ride on a street that was next to the river rather than going straight to my next planned stop and ended up stopping at a big Buddha and enjoying a little peaceful time setting on a floating platform on the river. I couldn't find a name for this Buddha site.

After a bit of a rest I went to another temple on a hill and didn't even take a picture but saw Wat Pathommathetsana Aranwasi up on a higher hill. I rode up to this temple and maybe I am a bit templed out because I was not impressed but still took a picture of the temple and the view from up here.

I stopped by a market and bought something for dinner and then found a hotel. I tried speaking Thai to the lady at the hotel and no matter what I said she wanted me to talk into the translation app on her phone. I know my Thai is very bad but this was very depressing and funny at the same time.