Holy Crap… I’m in Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Maha Dilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Maha Sathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthrayuthaya Maha Dilokphop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udom Ratchaniwet Maha Sathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit!!!

Believe it or not, that whole long thing is the actual, official name of the city that we all know as Bangkok. It’s the longest city name in the entire world. There are different stories as to where the name ‘Bangkok’ (Village of the Wild Plum) came from, but no one is really sure. The locals refer to their city as just ‘Krung Thep’. Here’s a pic of the city’s official name on a monument outside of the city hall….

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Holy Crap… I’m in Phang Nga!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Phang Nga!!!

South from Khao Sok National Park is Phang Nga Province. Phang Nga is a really quick stop for me, but it was jam packed with some really awesome sites. Lucky for me there were a ton of waterfalls to stop at along my route on highway 4, so I had a waterfallapalooza on my way to the next hotel. First up was Sai Rung. The main tourist season is obviously kicking in and this southern part of Thailand is the…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Khao Sok National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Khao Sok National Park!!!

I had a pretty long drive south from Hua Hin, about seven hours. It was pouring rain again when I left and it rained pretty much all day. Getting a break from the heat is nice, but exploring in the rain is much more difficult. A little over half way on my drive I made a quick stop at Ngao Waterfall, near Ranong. It was still raining quite a bit, but it wasn’t a very long walk so I grabbed…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Hua Hin!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Hua Hin!!!

Hua Hin is just a short little hop south from Phetchaburi, but it’s a much bigger town. There’s lots of traffic, lots of tourists, and lots of bars. That’s ok, though, because I’m not going to be spending much time in the city. Everything I came to see lies outside the city. It is nice to have a larger variety of restaurants though. There’s an amazing vegetarian cafe a couple of doors down from my hotel and I was able…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Phetchaburi!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Phetchaburi!!!

I think Thailand is one of the oddest shaped countries in the world. After leaving Kanchanaburi I made a hard right turn and now I’m heading south down the thin sliver of land between the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, the Malay Peninsula. My first stop on this part of the journey is the quiet town of Phetchaburi. There’s only a small handful of things I wanted to check out here, so let’s get started. My hotel doesn’t…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Kanchanaburi!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Kanchanaburi!!!

Welcome to the Thong Pha Phum district in Kanchanaburi province. I had researched this region when I was planning this trip, but didn’t include it on my original itinerary because I didn’t have time. I had to cut something. But with the extra days I acquired thanks to all the flooding at the beginning of this trip, I decided to put Kanchanaburi back on the menu and spend a few days exploring this remote part of Thailand. Off we go!…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Ayutthaya!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Ayutthaya!!!

It was a different sort of travel day from Lopburi to my next stop. It was time to turn in this, my third, rental car. So I drove due south past Ayutthaya straight to the Bangkok Airport where I turned in the car then I decided to have a little fun by riding the train back north to Ayutthaya. It was about a 45 minute trip and it cost me a whopping 11 baht (about 33 cents). The Ayutthaya kingdom…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Lop Buri!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Lop Buri!!!

My next stop in Lop Buri was a super short drive away, only about an hour and a half, so I spent the day driving around to some of the outer sites before making my way to my hotel. A little over half way between Khao Yai and Lop Buri is one of Thailands holiest places, Wat Phra Phutthabat. In 1624 they found a depression in the rock that resembled a foot which fit right in with the legend that…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Khao Yai National Park!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Khao Yai National Park!!!

From Khorat it’s just a short distance west to what is considered one of Thailand’s premier national parks, Khoa Yai. I think the name of the village where I’m staying is Mu Si, but everyone just refers to this whole area as Khao Yai. This is where the people of Bangkok come for rest and relaxation. There are tons and tons of really fancy resorts, big restaurants, and for some reason, go kart tracks all over the place. From my…

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Holy Crap… I’m in Khorat!!!

Holy Crap… I’m in Khorat!!!

Just a short drive west from Nang Rong is another of eastern Thailand’s big cities, Nakhon Ratchasima, or Khorat for short. After my run in with the angry Asian wasps and now with a busted camera lens, I went straight to one of Khorat’s shopping malls to see if I could find a new one. Shopping malls are all but dead in the States, but here in Thailand they are alive and thriving. I never thought I’d end up spending…

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