Christmas Break

December 22, 2025 to December 24, 2025

We have taken a three day break not necessarily because of upcoming Christmas but mostly because we were in the vicinity of Kamphaeng Phet. One of my favorite ancient ruins in Thailand is in Kamphaeng Phet as well as one of our favorite guest houses for a buffet breakfast. The town itself is a medium sized working class Thai town. But it is a pretty nice town and it's on the Ping River.

Even though the ancient ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site few tourists, Thai or otherwise, ever come to visit. Since we were here three years ago and tramped around the ancient ruins quite a bit, we are here mostly to relax and eat.

We are staying at a place called Mai Yai Resort. 'Mai' means 'tree' and 'Yai' means 'big'. There once was a huge teak tree on the land but it died long ago in a fire I think. The stump is still here because teak takes a very very long time to rot. When the tree was cut down some of the logs were cut into chunks which are used as stools in the dining area. And the tables, as well, were milled from the larger logs from the big tree. It's great that they are using all the sections of the tree. Even the columns in the dining area holding up the roof are from the big tree.

Mai Yai Resort includes a really good, totally Thai, buffet breakfast with the ridiculously low price of the room. We figure the breakfast alone would cost more than half the price of the room if we were to go out on the street and buy it. The room costs only $15! And it's a really nice place. There are lots of trees on the property which shade the bungalows. It's just a good place to hang for three days and we felt as though we deserved a little break.

A unique dining area at our guest house. My knees couldn't fit under the tables. Either the tables are somehow raised three inches or each of the stools should be whacked off three inches from the bottoms. (In my opinion.)

The entrance to our guest house. Our bungalow is down on the right.

We haven't done much to report. We went to a market and bought super delicious oranges, bananas and peanuts. Best peanuts of the trip. We rode around town to familiarize ourselves a bit more than we had. We rode around the ruins a bit and I went back to the ruins one morning to photograph a little. Even though I posted photos of the ancient site three years ago I am going to post more right now. It's always fascinating to me to walk around, and on, something that people made 700 years ago.

lovebruce

This tree grew in the exact spot where there normally is a large Buddha image.

Okay, Bill, are these little tiny figs? It was an enormous tree and I couldn't get a photo of the leaves from above. The next photo is of the leaves from below.

This is the way the archaeologists found Kamphaeng Phet more than a hundred years ago.

To me the colored leaves look a little bit like they are floating on the surface of water. But there is no water here.

Today's ride: 17 miles (27 km)
Total: 690 miles (1,110 km)

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Kristen ArnimMerry Christmas you two!
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1 month ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesDodie says: I am really missing your updates. Hope you had a happy and restful Xmas break, but now it is time to post some updates.
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1 month ago

Andrea BrownTo Steve Miller/GrampiesAs you have probably noticed, our updates usually come in batches. That’s just how we roll. But we certainly appreciate you two following us so we’ll try to update soon. We’re high-tailing it towards Kanchanaburi at the moment and are pretty much wiped out at the end of our rides. We’re seeing some awesome birds!
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1 month ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Andrea BrownSingly or in batches, we need more updates. Andrea/Bruce withdrawal is setting in!
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1 month ago