Piyawat flew to Phang Na for a business trip yesterday, and being the good guy that I am, I offered to drive him to the airport. Or did I do it just so I could use his car for the weekend?
In any case, yesterday after I dropped him off at Don Muang around noon, I had an itching for a road trip. I used to love to get behind the wheel and go exploring, but since I haven't had a car in years, it had been a long time. Yesterday was finally my big chance.
So I headed north from Bangkok towards Ayutthaya. My only goal was "go somewhere new". I had a map of Thailand in one hand, my Thailand Lonely Planet in the other hand, and the steering wheel between my knees as I tried to figure out where to go. (Just kidding, Mom!)
I wanted to visit a province within 200 KM of Bangkok. Nonthaburi, Chonburi, Lopburi, Suphanburi, Ratchaburi, Katchanaburi and Singburi were crossed off the list since I had visited them before. Not to mention, I just wasn't in the mood for a Buri.
While I was loving the ride through the green countryside, Ang Thong and Chai Nat provinces flew by. Ahead of me lay Uthai Thani province. I consulted my Lonely Planet book and found not a single shred of information about the place. So I figured it was the perfect destination for my little road trip.
Once I finally arrived, the rest of the evening was fantastic. I walked around the tiny provincial capital and through the fresh produce market next to the small river. The river was choked with weeds and floating houses. Crossing a footbridge at the end of the market, I visited a 200 year old temple.
After exploring on foot, I got back into the car to drive around a bit. When I first started driving in Bangkok a year or so ago, I felt incredibly claustrophobic. Cars fit in to every possible space on the road: in front, behind, and on all sides. But in Uthai Thani, I had the opposite feeling. Where are all the cars? Why are the streets so empty? And why is everything and everyone moving so slowly?
I headed up the nearby hillside to visit the temple at the top. Sitting at the temple overlooking the town with a plate of gai yang (barbeque chicken) and kao neao (sticky rice) in front of me, the heat of the day began to wear off and a cool evening breeze began to blow. I was very conscious of the stresses of city life slowly lifting away.
Unfortunately, the relaxation had to come to an end. After spending the night in a local hotel (380 baht = US$10) I drove back to Bangkok this morning. The two and a half hour joy ride to Uthai Thani yesterday turned into a painful four hour slog through rain and rush hour traffic this morning.
So now, I am back in Bangkok. But if I close my eyes for a moment, I can feel the river breeze and smell the gai yang, taking me back to a slower, calmer place that no Lonely Planet backpacker will ever have the chance to visit.
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I'm jealous...