"Not having the best situation, but seeing the best in your situation is the key to happiness.... " - Marie Forleo
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| (A view point in the middle of the National Park) |
Day 07: Wednesday, 21 December 2022
Route: Phu Thap Berk to Uttaradit
Distance: 257 km
Hotel: Araya Hotel, Uttaradit
Last night before retiring, we shared a bowl of steaming mee maggi soup to heat up our bodies. I used heat pads to warm my frozen extremities. The weather was below 10°C throughout the night.
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| (Watching the sunrise behind the mountains) |
The water was icy cold when we took our wudhu' for subuh prayers. This morning we unpacked the portable gas stove and I cooked scrambled eggs for breakfast. Breakfast was on the terrace while watching the sunrise over the horizon.
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| (Cute cabins on the mountain) |
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| (Scrambled eggs and hot coffee for breakfast) |
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| (Getting ready to leave Phu Thap Berk) |
After breakfast we drove out of Phu Thap Berk towards Uttaradit via Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park. We paid a fee of B430 for vehicle and passengers to pass through the national park. The park overlaps the borders of two provinces, Phitsanulok and Phetchabun. Most of the mountain is covered in mixed evergreen forest. There are farms on its slopes where the climate favors cabbage cultivation. The area around the mountain is part of the Luang Prabang montane rain forest ecoregion.
We planned to detour to Sirikit Dam on the way to Uttaradit.
Halfway through the park, we stopped at some market stalls which had clean and well maintained washrooms. Met with some Malaysians from Perlis. They were heading to the highlands in two vans.
We later checked in at Araya Hotel for B420/night. Tonight we had serunding daging sandwich for dinner in the room.
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| (Paying entrance fee at the Guard House) |
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| (Driving on good roads) |
Halfway through the park, we stopped at some market stalls which had clean and well maintained washrooms. Met with some Malaysians from Perlis. They were heading to the highlands in two vans.
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| (Clean well-maintained wash rooms) |
We had a brief photo stop at Nakhon Thai Viewpoint. After exiting the national park, we made another stop at a unique looking Buddhist Temple pagoda with mosaic finishing and took some pictures. We continued driving on Road 2331 towards Sirikit Dam.
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| (A short break to straighten our backs) |
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| (SamSaeng Tham Bureau of Monks) |
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| (A monk hiking to the Samakkhi Tham Priest's CampSite) |
Sirikit Dam is a large reservoir situated in Uttaradit province. It was constructed in 1973 and named after the former Queen Sirikit. It has become a popular recreation area and one of the tourist attractions. There is a nice view point on the dam crest and there is a cafe near the yellow-blue hanging bridge across Nan river. We did not stay long as we were already hungry. It was long past our lunch time.
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| (Welcome to Sirikit Dam) |
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| (Heading to the Dam Crest) |
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| (Stopping at the viewpoint) |
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| (Walking across the dam) |
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| (Photo opportunities) |
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| (Floating chalets and restaurants on the lake) |
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| (A recreational area for the public) |
We drove direct to Anas Thai Muslim Restoran, the only Muslim restaurant in Uttaradit and had beef fried rice. After the late lunch we visited Masjid Masjid Adda-ey but did not perform our prayers there.
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| (One and only Muslim eatery in town) |
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| (Tasty nasi goreng for the last customers) |
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| (A mosque for the Muslim community) |
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| (Located at the suburb of Uttaradit) |
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| (Internal view of the mosque) |
We later checked in at Araya Hotel for B420/night. Tonight we had serunding daging sandwich for dinner in the room.
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| (Driving towards town centre) |
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| (Our lodging for the night) |
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| (Araya Hotel terrace rooms) |
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| (Spacious and comfortable) |
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