We made some kind of promise to ourselves to explore
a few of the more rural/remote corners of northern
Thailand as potential retirement settlements. However we
have begun to realize the merits of city living, possibly
because we do "rural/remote" in our other life in California.
Regardless, we take a 3 hour bus trip over a mountain and arrive
at Phayao for a looksee.
Phayao has much to commend. Here they have chosen
an especially good name to bestow upon this fine
soi of teak houses and a friendly wat.
To all my Susan friends: Gordon, Kohl, Kosis, Rogers, Hill,
and the list goes on . . . If you'd like a street named after
you, this is a good one.
The pride of the district is the fresh water lake, rather
large, full of fish (also rather large) and water hyacinths
from which the local handicraft product is made. There
is also a partially submerged temple ruin some
distance from the shore. You can take a leaky
boat out to it. We didn't do that.
There were plenty of good sitting rocks along the
shore among the shade trees.
Playing with the camera sighting through a hole in the
cement wall, you get an idea of the native flora.
Phayao is a town where tourism is only a distant concern.
Most of the signage is completely in Thai. We
kind of like that ---- until we need to communicate.
There was a very decent hotel just a block from
the bus station. The hotel was where we would watch
the inaugural address of President Obama.
1 comment:
Hi– I live in Phayao, and couldn't help but chuckle at your post about Susan Rd.
Two things–the word "susan" (soos-sahn) in Thai means graveyard... and in this case the large, chinese cemetery at the end of the street.
And sadly, if you spent time on Susan Rd. at night, you'd see that many of those charming teak houses are actually brothels that make up the main sex worker district of Phayao.
Either way it's not really a street I'd want to be my namesake.
Anyway.. hope you enjoyed your trip to our little town.
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