Football Fest.....It's still raining in Bangkok at 10.00 am, but we must make a start on what will be a minimum of 3 nights in Thailand's north. This will break a sequence of single night stays so far during this stay in the country. There needs to be a purpose for a longer trip now and that is the prospect of attending two football games this weekend. We could achieve this with 2 nights' stay, but I want this to be a more relaxing experience. Even so, today requires a drive of a good five hours.
We leave Bangkok along a well trodden route using HWY 35, just as we did last Sunday. I've pencilled in nothing along our route today but Katoon has located a temple which seems to have been missed on a previous visit. Nonetheless, we take a rest break well before then and end up exactly where we stopped on Sunday at Luang Pu Thuat, Maharat Buddhist Park. It's barely midday but a least we know the situation here now and take the chance of an early lunch. Now, let's locate the other temple which requires a detour into Chainat province.
Wat Song Sawoei.....Wat Song Sawoei owes its fame to one of King Rama V's visits when in October 1908 he landed at Ban Nong Khae while navigating the Tha Chin River. In those days river transport was the only practical transport in the district and the king arrived in a Garuda-class barge. He received a rapturous welcome and stayed a while in Manorom district. As a result the temple here in Ban Nong Khae was renamed Wat Song Sawoei in memory of his visit.
Normally I visit only temples of historic interest and collect what information I can. This process rarely takes much more than half a hour but we seem to have added an hour onto that. There are a number of things that interest me especially the old Ayutthaya period chedi and mondrop. Normally at weekends this temple is busy as there is a local market held in the grounds, a smaller version of the one we last visited. I expect visitors then would spend more time than me. Other attractions include a museum dedicated to King Rama V, a shrine to King Taksin the Great, a phae bpla (a raft moored to the river bank) where you can feed the fish and a tribute to Ai Som Chun, a temple boy who people come to worship for good luck. By the time we've taken refreshments in the coffee shop, it's 3.00 pm and any thoughts of an early arrival at our destination have disappeared. We have to press on if we want to arrive before dark.
Hop Inn, Phitsanulok.....There might have been the chance to visit Phitsanulok Railway Station and find dinner but Katoon plays it safe and heads straight to Hop Inn, our arranged accommodation. We drop off our things and consider what to do next as we head towards the city. It will be busy, but we don't get that far, finding a suitable restaurant near the river and that should be it for today. I check the train timetable, but an evening train means a wait. I'll try again tomorrow, but I shouldn't be concerned that the day has not been so productive as Phitsanulok is another province that I have visited more than once.

Source: Visit