. . . Or just my new red bike.
As I mentioned before, I purchased myself a brand spankin’ new bicycle. We’ve wanted to explore Lampang a little more and the walking is getting a little old so J, Georgie and I each got ourselves a bike well equipped with a bell and a basket. Mine’s red, Georgie’s is pink and Jbo’s is blue. We are quite the site cruising along the streets of Lampang.
With our new wheels, we made the decision to stay back this weekend and explore our “home” town a little bit. Friday night consisted of some “happy hour” wine at the apartment, dinner and drinks at our favorite restaurant Riverside, then movies at our friends Lauren and Emily’s new house.
Saturday morning we guzzled down iced coffee at our favorite little shop then cruised out for an adventure. We read about an Herbal Conservatory a couple miles outside of the center of Lamang and wanted to check it out. Wanting a little more adventure, we took a back route and ended up finding a gorgeous Wat hidden away on top of this hill. It was amazingly peaceful as we strolled around inside the gates, watching a few monks pop in and out of the buildings.
After leaving the Wat we continued down the quiet road with jungle trees along each side of us. Assuming we were lost, a man poked out of his house to ask us where we were going and tried telling us how to get back to the main road. At this point we were a little doubtful as to where we were so we took his advice. Once we finally found the road and the signs pointing us in the right direction for the conservatory, we rang our bells and cheered all the way up to the main entrance of the place.
Tucked away among some trees, a river, cows and sheep, the conservatory proved to be just as appealing as our book described. We wandered around a bit then accepted the English version of their guide book along with some hot tea. The place offers an enormous range of herbal, holistic remedies for anything from high blood pressure to headaches along with skin and hair treatments. They also offer on-site treatments like mud baths and oil massages. We made a few purchases. . various teas and some shiny shampoo then made the trek back home.
It was our friend Alistair’s birthday and luckily he knows a couple locals so they took us to this restaurant that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We had to take a 15 minute songtaew ride out to this lake where each table of the restaurant has its own private bungalow. You can untie a few of the bungalows and actually float out onto the lake so after eating a fabulous meal, a few of us took over one of the moving bungalows and floated for awhile. We came back in to find that our Thai friends had ordered up some "dancing prawns" which basically meant our food was alive and kicking. . .and trying to hop out of the bowl. Our friend Nom was in charge of lifting the lid and adding hot sauce as quickly as possible, then shaking up the pan in her hands to kill them before eating them. A few people tried them and Lauren was convinced she got bit in the mouth. I decided to pass:) But all in all it was a gorgeous night full of delicious food, gorgeous views, tasty drinks (some Thai whisky!) and great friends. Happy Bday Alistair!!!
As I mentioned before, I purchased myself a brand spankin’ new bicycle. We’ve wanted to explore Lampang a little more and the walking is getting a little old so J, Georgie and I each got ourselves a bike well equipped with a bell and a basket. Mine’s red, Georgie’s is pink and Jbo’s is blue. We are quite the site cruising along the streets of Lampang.
With our new wheels, we made the decision to stay back this weekend and explore our “home” town a little bit. Friday night consisted of some “happy hour” wine at the apartment, dinner and drinks at our favorite restaurant Riverside, then movies at our friends Lauren and Emily’s new house.
Saturday morning we guzzled down iced coffee at our favorite little shop then cruised out for an adventure. We read about an Herbal Conservatory a couple miles outside of the center of Lamang and wanted to check it out. Wanting a little more adventure, we took a back route and ended up finding a gorgeous Wat hidden away on top of this hill. It was amazingly peaceful as we strolled around inside the gates, watching a few monks pop in and out of the buildings.
After leaving the Wat we continued down the quiet road with jungle trees along each side of us. Assuming we were lost, a man poked out of his house to ask us where we were going and tried telling us how to get back to the main road. At this point we were a little doubtful as to where we were so we took his advice. Once we finally found the road and the signs pointing us in the right direction for the conservatory, we rang our bells and cheered all the way up to the main entrance of the place.
Tucked away among some trees, a river, cows and sheep, the conservatory proved to be just as appealing as our book described. We wandered around a bit then accepted the English version of their guide book along with some hot tea. The place offers an enormous range of herbal, holistic remedies for anything from high blood pressure to headaches along with skin and hair treatments. They also offer on-site treatments like mud baths and oil massages. We made a few purchases. . various teas and some shiny shampoo then made the trek back home.
It was our friend Alistair’s birthday and luckily he knows a couple locals so they took us to this restaurant that is unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We had to take a 15 minute songtaew ride out to this lake where each table of the restaurant has its own private bungalow. You can untie a few of the bungalows and actually float out onto the lake so after eating a fabulous meal, a few of us took over one of the moving bungalows and floated for awhile. We came back in to find that our Thai friends had ordered up some "dancing prawns" which basically meant our food was alive and kicking. . .and trying to hop out of the bowl. Our friend Nom was in charge of lifting the lid and adding hot sauce as quickly as possible, then shaking up the pan in her hands to kill them before eating them. A few people tried them and Lauren was convinced she got bit in the mouth. I decided to pass:) But all in all it was a gorgeous night full of delicious food, gorgeous views, tasty drinks (some Thai whisky!) and great friends. Happy Bday Alistair!!!
We slept in Sunday, went back to our iced coffee and then biked around, exploring more of the big citaaay. At the end of the day we went to check out Alistair and Georgeanna's new house, which is right by Lauren and Emily's and it just so happens that the house right beside is vacant. Hmmmm never thought that once I moved to Thailand that I'd be moving within Thailand but the idea of having more than a dorm room for space is just too tempting. . .so we'll see if there will be a "moving day" sometime this week.
It was a great weekend and it was nice to wander and experience our own stomping grounds for a weekend rather than rushing off and traveling. And we are loving our new bikes!! Here are some pics for the viewing!!!
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!
The Wat we ran into. One of the smaller ones we've seen but you can tell it's size by how small J looks off to the right.
Which special tea shall we get??
Some of the herbs that they grow.
Birthday Boy!!
Arriving at the restaurant.
Down the path to our bungalow table.
Everyone enjoying dinner!
Floating out on the lake.
Just flooooooating
Back in for the dancing prawns (they're aliiiiiiiive!)
Nom shaking them up with the hot sauce.
Mmmmmmm. . .that makes me want to try some.
View from our table! Amaaaazing!
The new wheels resting comfortably after a long weekend.
Which special tea shall we get??
Some of the herbs that they grow.
Birthday Boy!!
Arriving at the restaurant.
Down the path to our bungalow table.
Everyone enjoying dinner!
Floating out on the lake.
Just flooooooating
Back in for the dancing prawns (they're aliiiiiiiive!)
Nom shaking them up with the hot sauce.
Mmmmmmm. . .that makes me want to try some.
View from our table! Amaaaazing!
The new wheels resting comfortably after a long weekend.
P-I-M-P-I-N-G
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