Third stop: Wat Chai Watthanaram
We then went to the penultimate “official” stop, the Chai Watthanaram temple. This one was different from the previous place. This time, it definitely looked like a proper ruin. Yes, there were signs of it being restored, but in comparison, this one got the “ancient ruins” patina down. From a distance, it seemed okay-ish, until you get closer and you’d see for yourself, some powerful invading force did a number on this place.
Our tour guide started a brief background talk of what the temple was, and a good rundown of what its historical significance was. Then he let us do our own touring for maybe 45 minutes until 3.30PM. And to be honest, it was barely enough to take lots of pictures, but more than enough to soak it all in and appreciate the site for what it was – a relic of time that we in the present could still see standing.
I managed to snap a lot of pictures and selfies. Also, there was a group of local Thai costumed people that granted me a remembrance photo with them after I took some shots for them. One of my tour guides told me to focus on the upper body above their ankles. Didn’t understand why but I just followed. Might be some local unspoken custom. But they were super nice and welcoming.
There was also a small area on the north side that was showing what the local preservationists were aiming for in terms of restoration and taking care of how the temple’s remaining structures will be preserved and used.
I then spent the bulk of the time briskly walking around, seeing the insides of the structures we were allowed to wander in, looking around, sometimes finding a place to sit and marvel at what was left of the place that survived the ravages of time. And also some happiness in self-appreciation how far I have come in the 7 years after I left my corporate job. And a small prayer of thanks to God for the things I got.
I managed to finish my touring maybe 15 minutes before the meetup time. So I was looking for a bite to eat, as I burned the energy that lunch gave me. And another bottle of water too. So I ate a few things: first, three small filled rice dumplings wrapped in banana leaf and grilled. Two were filled with taro and one with banana. Smelled strongly like “tupig” (an Ilocano snack) too. Second, meat on a stick, grilled too. Likely beef from the taste. The last one I ate… whoopee.
I saw a stall selling some kind of thickened soup that smelled strongly of fish sauce, anise and spices. From what my tour mate told me, that was kra pho pla – fish maw soup. I bought a small bowl for 70 baht.
It had chicken strips, fish maw, bamboo shoots, hardboiled quail eggs, some chillies, and pork blood, which was in cubes. And definitely a healthy amount of Thai fish sauce, maybe cooked in the soup itself. The soup was somewhat thick but not gelatinous. And it definitely has stock in there, not sure if pork or chicken stock. But way overpowered by the fish sauce.
The problem was, I had five minutes left. Shit.
So I started eating it quickly. But it was piping hot. I went to a corner to eat it quickly. I immediately decided to not care about the soup, I’ll just power thru the solid ingredients. I ate the eggs, the pork blood, the chicken strips, and the bamboo shoots, in that order. Blow, eat, blow, eat. I also kept an eye out, and I saw our tour guide Visan eyeing me as a potential time straggler.
I barely managed to finish, and my watch timer buzzed (I had the 45-minute limit timed too). Time’s up, so I stopped eating and dumped the remainder of the soup in the nearby trash bin. Sorry, but priorities. On the van, I popped a couple of mints into my mouth to remove the smell of the fish sauce.
Once we all got in the van and accounted for, the vehicle drove us to the final “official” stop of the tour. Sun’s starting to head south.
Water bottle count: 5
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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