Day 19, Friday, 22nd March - Khanom

Cat in Danger....... If ever I had the feeling of kicking the cat it was yesterday when nothing seemed to go right. This morning I figured out how to get water out of the spray in the jacuzzi albeit mostly over the bathroom floor. Have they ever heard of a shower curtain or screens? Also getting in and out of this appliance is like army training. Well, this will teach me to be more careful with room selection. Of course, I'm still in no mood to relax until I get my 30 day extended stay in Thailand. Whatever the outcome, I book tonight's accommodation in an area I know from a past visit. I'm prepared to pay a bit more due to location.
Hat Yai Immigration Office....... The Hat Yai Immigration Office is hardly ten minutes from The Ring Hotel. The first thing we do is get a receipt for my stay last night. This will show that I'm in Thailand as a tourist. Then reaching the office I'm pleased that nearby I can get some photos taken and photocopies of my passport. This should be all I need to add to my application with the 1,900 baht fee. Thankfully, this time all goes well and the extension is granted in just over an hour. From now on there will be no need for more formalities in Thailand.
The 30 days extension is a great relief and I can now relax a little. The non-stop journey today is nearly five hours. As we start our journey there will be no more breaking new ground today as we head to Songkla and on to Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. We even have the luxury of visiting a couple of temples.
Wat Cha Thing Phra....... Wat Cha Thing Phra is an old temple dating back to a time when Sating Phra was an important trading centre. Originally called 'Wat Sathing Phra', it was built in 999. The ancient landmark of the temple is Phra Mahathat Pagoda, presumably built around 757 according to Mahayana Buddhism. The style of architecture of the Srivijaya period is that it is made into a mandap for enshrinement of Buddha images. The top is made into a stupa. Later, in the late Srivijaya period, around 1157, Mahayana Buddhism flourished in Lanka. The Mahathat Pagoda then changed its form to an inverted bell shape, and the base of the relic was an ancient square. In addition, the temple has an ancient bell tower and a hall with a reclining Buddha, inside which there are murals of Buddhist history that are still in good condition. The temple holds a ceremony for the reclining Buddha and the Mahathat Chedi on the first evening of the sixth month of every year.
This temple is associated with Luang Pu Thuat (1582-1628) who is said to have performed miracles. There are some seven temples in Sating Phra with which Luang Pho Thuat would have been familiar. We next visit one of these.
Wat Dee Luang....... Wat Dee Luang is an old temple from the Ayutthaya period where Luang Pu Thuat was ordained as a monk. In the temple there is a principal Buddha image named Phra Yim with six fingers in the posture of Maravichai.
There are certainly more temples we could visit, but we must make some progress now and continue north in an area sandwiched between the ocean and the Songkhla Lake. It's a place I have fond memories of and I could happily spend more time here but there's a couple of hundred kilometres to travel this afternoon. We reach Ranot and enter Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. In the provincial city I could stop at the railway station but by the time we arrive there will be no more services today, so we take the by-pass around Nakhon Si Thammarat and that gives mt chance to stop at Nakhon Si Thammarat Central Mosque. We pass through other familiar districts, Tha Sala and Sichon before entering the provinces most northerly district, Khanom a long favourite of mine.
Siriburi Resort....... Khanom has a lovely sandy beach in an area thankfully not damaged too much by tourism. As such I was open to booking resort-style accommodation tonight but a little away from the beach area where the rooms are expensive. We arrive at our selected resort just 500 metres from the beach and even through it's more expensive than average at 700 baht, it will do nicely for now.
Having completed all the main objectives for this tour I'm in the mood after so much hard work for some R & R. I've arrived in Khanom to play my wildcard.
Wildcard....... The Island of Koh Samui has become so popular that I've tended to ignore it. As my only visit was so long ago, I am prepared to be shocked. My original plan was to visit the island tomorrow but there are no convenient car ferry crossing until the following day. That means that we will stay put in Khanom for a second night and I can't think of a better place to overstay.
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