{"id":2611,"date":"2016-01-07T23:55:07","date_gmt":"2016-01-08T07:55:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffersonscher.com\/ttw\/?p=2611"},"modified":"2019-12-27T20:31:15","modified_gmt":"2019-12-28T04:31:15","slug":"toward-northern-frontiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffersonscher.com\/ttw\/2016\/01\/toward-northern-frontiers\/","title":{"rendered":"Toward Northern Frontiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is the official first day of the Northern Frontiers trip. After only one meal together in Bangkok, we are taking two vans up the highway to Phitsulanok, where we will visit an art museum and a couple of temples on our way to towns where Western tourists are rare. We are bound to encounter some delays and disappointments, since we are the first to test out this itinerary, but since we have all traveled with Kasma before we have faith that even if an attraction is closed or the schedule requires us to miss something, we will never, ever, go hungry.<\/p>\n

Speaking of disappointments: I misunderstood the schedule — I thought we were checking out at 8:30 and then<\/em> having breakfast, but to the surprise of my growling stomach, we actually were hitting the road at 8:30. Fortunately, the vans were already well stocked with snacks. Fish-flavored chips, pieces of sour tamarind with salt-sugar-chilli seasoning, black sesame and honey bars, and crunchy pearl barley snacks held me over to the first truck stop where I picked up two curry puffs, one containing shredded pork and other seemingly filled with diced potatoes. But I\u2019m getting slightly ahead in the story.<\/p>\n

To Phitsanulok<\/h3>\n

\"map<\/a> Phitsanulok is a central city in the “lower North,” which played an important role in defending the sovereignty of Siam against neighboring kingdoms, particularly Burma. There are many more monuments to this proud history in this region than we have seen in our travels in the North, Central, and Southern regions. In some cases, statues of soldiers even appear in temples.<\/p>\n

After escaping the terrible Bangkok traffic, we headed North on the main highway. It wasn\u2019t until we switched to a smaller highway that the scenery changed from storefronts and truck stops to forests and fields. The greenery was a nice change of pace, and we passed farm stands along the roadside. For sustenance, we stopped for a quick stir fry of basil pork over rice. Nothing special.<\/p>\n

\"LunchLunch Ingredients on the Road to Phitsanulok<\/span><\/a><\/p>

\"BasilBasil Pork over Rice on the Road to Phitsanulok<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
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