Friday 27th of May and we left for Kanchanaburi just after 6 o'clock in the morning. My friend had stayed at my apartment since yesterday evening as we are leaving early morning. We expect to reach the temple Wat Nong Prachum, วัดหนองประชุม between 9 and 10 o'clock.
My friend came over ASAP when I returned from Europe my friend came over ASAP to inspect the teeth. And he was instantly very excited to get them to the temple to get some “MAGIC” power.
We have brought the teeth from Faroe Islands and my friend is very excited to meet the monk again. This is the only thing he have been talking about since I returned from Europe.
He came to my apartment yesterday and we had dinner before we went to sleep with the alarms set to go off at 5 o'clock.
We had omelette with bacon and cheese for breakfast, and of course tea to go with the omelette. We finished the breakfast and the kitchen was cleaned up when the taxi driver arrived.
On the way to Kanchanaburi
We stopped at 7 Eleven and then it was straight across the Chao Praya River and we were soon on road # 323 taking us to Kanchanaburi. We made a stop so my friend could buy coffee. Otherwise, it was non-stop all the way until we reached the eBird hotspot: Tha Lo paddies, just east of the city Kanchanaburi.
We spent 18 minutes at the paddies and there was not many birds to see in the paddies. And no access roads to reach the fields so we left continuing towards the Wat Nong Prachum, วัดหนองประชุม to see หลวงพ่อทองคำ to get some magic and good luck on to our tooth.
eBird Report
Tha Lo paddies, Kanchanaburi, TH
27 May 2022 08:34 - 08:52
Protocol: Traveling
1.19 kilometer(s)
10 species (+2 other taxa)
Zebra Dove 4
Black-winged Stilt 1
Red-wattled Lapwing 1
Asian Openbill 12
Cattle Egret 2
white egret sp. 11 Too far away for proper ID
Javan Pond Heron 1
drongo sp. 1
Great Myna 25
Asian Golden Weaver 3
Scaly-breasted Munia 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 5
There was no eBird hotspots in the vicinity so we did not stop until we reached the temple. The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ was very happy to see us. หลวงพ่อ means venerable monk.
Venerable
title used for religious leaders, clergy and someone who is being investigated by the Catholic Church for possible sainthood
In Buddhist monasticism, various terms or titles for senior or highly respected monks may be translated as "Venerable", including in Theravada Buddhism Bhante and Mahanayaka (Burmese). In Tibetan Buddhism there is Rinpoche.
We stepped up to his dwelling and we chit chatting for a bit and we handed over money for the service. Now the money goes to build a new temple so it is not the monk keeping the money in his own pocket.
We handed over the tooth to the Venerable Monk. The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ was preparing his equipment and candles were lit and incense started to smoke.
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ dwelling
Paying for the service
Preparing for the ceremony and starting to write “holy” language on the tooth
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ putting “MAGIC” power in to the tooth
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ writing holy language
This is the “HOLY” text he scratch in to the tooth
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ double checking the holy script
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ inspecting all the magic
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ making the last prayer
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ making the last prayer
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ is ready
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ handing over the tooth
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ handing over the tooth
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ handing over the tooth
We get souvenirs
We get souvenirs
Holy smoke
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ saying Good Bye
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ saying Good Bye
The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ are ready and the tooth have become Buddhist amulets and he handed them over to us. The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ spot my e-cigarette and he is having a look. He, I don't know if he had ever seen one before, but I was very “HOLY” that could blow smoke without any fire.
He wanted to try and who am I to say no?
We bought a couple of หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้ม amulets and we received souvenirs before we leave The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ as he is busy in the afternoon. He followed us to the car and we said bye bye and we took off towards our hotel.
We stopped at the eBird hotspot: Salak Pra Wildlife Sanctuary--headquarters vicinity not so far away from the Temple. I started the eBird app at 11:54 and we checked out the area. Not many birds to be seen and two Sooty-headed Bulbul was the most exciting thing we could see.
Today's track at Salak Pra Wildlife Sanctuary--headquarters vicinity
We drive back towards the hotel and we turn off after a couple of minutes to visit the eBird hotspot: Pavilion Rim Kwai Resort. This resort looks to be abandoned, 2 years of the Covid and there has not been many guests at the resort.
There is quite a few birds to be heard, not so many to be seen.
eBird Report
Pavilion Rim Kwai Resort, Kanchanaburi, TH
27 May 2022 12:15 - 12:37
Protocol: Traveling
2.09 kilometer(s)
5 species
Asian Openbill 1
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Sooty-headed Bulbul 1 Yellow vented
Common Myna 2
Oriental Magpie-Robin 1
View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S111382339
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)
Today's track at Pavilion Rim Kwai Resort
We are getting hungry and drive across River Khwae Yai and we are soon at the hotel. No staff visible when we arrive but there is a guy coming out after a while and we can find the reception. We get three rooms and we go to instal ourselves.
The room are big and they look nice. Very nice bathrooms with good water pressure on both the hot and cold water. And it was nice with a shower after a day of Temple and bird watching action. We will go to have a look at the “Bridge over the River Khwae”
And as I have found out that the “Bridge over the River Khwae” is an eBird hotspot I am a little bit excited. But first we need food and we went to the restaurant after the shower.
My Balcony
My room
My room
Bath room
Waiting for the restaurant staff
Waiting for the restaurant staff
My friend get his food
I was informed that they did not have any chicken breast with rosemary sauce when they delivered my friends food. So I was sitting there watching them eating and when they were ready my porkchop arrived. Very bad, it was so bad and I was not very happy.
We left the hotel and I decided to buy a couple of Brie cheeses to have for dinner, I will for sure not have any dinner at the hotel restaurant. But first the eBird hotspot: Bridge on the Kwai River
We notice of the market stalls are popping up immediately when coming closer to the “Bridge over the River Khwae”. And it is a proper market around the bridge, same stuff you can buy on night markets all over Asia. But there was not much people and we managed to find a parking just 20 meters walk from the bridge.
Bridge over the River Khwae
Waiting for the boat
Waiting for the boat
The Khwae Yai River
The Khwae Yai River (Thai: แม่น้ำแควใหญ่, RTGS: Maenam Khwae Yai, also known as the Si Sawat (แม่น้ำศรีสวัสดิ์), is a river in western Thailand.
It has its source in the Tenasserim Hills and flows for about 380 kilometres through Sangkhla Buri, Si Sawat, and Mueang Districts of Kanchanaburi Province, where it merges with the Khwae Noi to form the Mae Klong River at Pak Phraek.
History
This river used to be the upper section (before the confluence with the Khwae Noi River) of the Mae Klong River, however, in the 1960s, this river was named the Khwae Yai River, meaning 'Big River.
In 1980, the Srinagarind Dam (Thai: เขื่อนศรีนครินทร์; rtgs: Khuean Sinakharin) on the Khwae Yai was completed in Si Sawat District of Kanchanaburi Province. It is an embankment dam for river regulation and hydroelectric power generation.
I had walked for about five meters when I was approached by a lady with a placard. One hour boat trip on the river for 800 Baht. Great, we will start by bird watching by boat along the river.
We have to wait for a while before the boat return and there is also two other tourists waiting for a boat. So, there is a little business to be made now after two years of Covid.
After about 5 to 10 minutes the boat arrived to the platform and we got in to the boat. We took off towards south and I was on lookout for birds along the river.
We got out of the boat and I stopped the eBird app and I restarted the app again but now on eBird hotspot: Bridge on the Kwai River. We walk up to the bridge and there is a train at the station. And I am surprised to see that the train continue out on the bridge to cross the river.
I thought that the bridge was closed for trains. But there are platforms so the people on the bridge can step out of way when there is a train crossing.
Anyway, we waited for the train to leave and we walked out on the bridge when the train had passed and we walked behind the train across the bridge. Well, we turned around when we had walked a third of the way across the bridge.
The train at the station
The train coming out on the bridge
The train coming out on the bridge
We can walk out on the bridge
We can walk out on the bridge
We can walk out on the bridge
We can walk out on the bridge
River Khwae north of the bridge
River Khwae south of the bridge
There was not many birds to be seen. Well, there was many Eurasian Tree Sparrows, Mynas and Doves but nothing exciting around the bridge. But the first sparrow I spotted was a Plain-backed Sparrow so this was a little exciting.
I try to get a few pictures of the birds, but I only get a picture of a Common Myna that I could bring with me back home.
Bridge on the Kwai River, Kanchanaburi, TH
27 May 2022 16:39 - 17:12
Protocol: Traveling
0.4 kilometer(s)
10 species
Feral Pigeon 1
Red Collared Dove 6
Zebra Dove 3
Coppersmith Barbet 1 Heard only
Streak-eared Bulbul 1
Asian Pied Starling 2
Common Myna 2
Great Myna 1
Plain-backed Sparrow 1
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 25
Today's track at eBird hotspot: Bridge on the Kwai River
Time to look at Thai Buddha amulets, พระเครื่อง
They need magnifying glass to see the finer details
We left the bridge and River Khwae behind and we drove to Robinson and I bought some cheese. We bought Whiskey and soda water as well. My friend wanted to sit on the balcony to drink a little Whiskey while looking at Thai Buddha amulets, พระเครื่อง and to talk about amulets.
So, I bought some MAX as well so I could join my friend and the taxi driver on the balcony at the hotel. It was not possible to sit on the balcony as there were many mosquitos. We spent the evening in my friend's room. I was in bed at 9 thirty and it did not take long to fall asleep.
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Saturday 28th of May 2022 and my alarm went off just after 4 o'clock and I moved over to my desk and I opened a bottle of MAX. My friend sent a LINE message at 4 thirty. The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ had called him and told him that he could change his หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้ม amulet that he bought yesterday.
My friend was not happy with the หลวงปู่เฒ่ายิ้ม amulet and he had been nagging on the Venerable Monk to change it.
So they will meet at a gas stop close to the hotel as The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อทองคำ will leave for Bangkok today and he will be passing through Kanchanaburi around 7 o'clock.
We had breakfast and of course, no sign of my birth day cake. I asked if they had birth day cake when I booked the room. I asked for a birth day cake with whipped cream and not the butter cream they use on the cakes here. I got confirmation the day after and when I asked for the price she was soon returning and she said it would be complimentary.
Well, there was no cake for me, and seriously, after the experience yesterday afternoon in the restaurant I had not expected any birth day cake. Well, I will not come back to this hotel again.
Mt friend return and he is happy, now he have an amulet that he is happy with.
We leave for Lopburi where we will meet one of the Pilots on the FSU at Bongkot. We will go visit the Wat Khao Chorakhe, วัดเขาจรเข้ and another temple. But we have planned for a little bird watching on the way to Lopburi as well.
There is a couple of eBird hotspots along the road between Kanchanaburi and Lopburi and the first stop was the eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal
Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal, Suphan Buri, TH
28 May 2022 9:57 - 10:57
Protocol: Traveling
3.03 kilometer(s)
22 species (+1 other taxa)
Red Collared Dove 2
Spotted Dove 1
Greater Coucal 1
Asian Koel X Heard only
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 Heard only
Common Moorhen 1
White-breasted Waterhen 1
Red-wattled Lapwing 1
Asian Openbill 50
Little Cormorant 1
Little Egret 5
Cattle Egret 5
Javan Pond Heron 11
pond heron sp. 3 No breeding plumage so no proper ID
Black-winged Kite 1
White-throated Kingfisher 1
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo 1
Zitting Cisticola 1
Streak-eared Bulbul 1
Common Myna 1
Great Myna 9
Asian Golden Weaver 9
Eurasian Tree Sparrow 1
Today's track at eBird hotspot: Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal
I turn off my eBird app and we leave Chedi--paddies N of Song Phi Nong Canal behind continuing towards Lopburi and after 15 minutes or so. I started my eBird app again and we drove slowly along the road with a lake on the left-hand side and on the right-hand side we had paddies and marsh lands.
There was a lot of birds but not many pictures. We were getting hungry and we are going to meet our friend in Lopburi so we made a U-turn driving back again while keeping an eye out for birds.
Bueng Phai Khak, Suphan Buri, TH
28 May 2022 11:14 - 11:49
Protocol: Traveling
2.98 kilometer(s)
21 species
Little Grebe 1
Red Collared Dove 1
Zebra Dove 5
Asian Koel X Heard only
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 Heard only
Black-winged Stilt 2
Red-wattled Lapwing 6
Bronze-winged Jacana 1
Asian Openbill 63
Purple Heron 1
Great White Egret 5
Little Egret 2
Cattle Egret 1
Javan Pond Heron 5
Coppersmith Barbet 1 Heard only
Malaysian Pied-Fantail 2
Plain Prinia 2
Great Myna 1
Oriental Magpie-Robin 2
Asian Golden Weaver 4
House Sparrow 5
We leave Bueng Phai Khak and as we don't find any restaurants that I like we stop at 7 Eleven to buy some snack. Nothing I like as there is no good food to keep the blod sugar level low.
We continue towards Lopburi and we keep our friend in Lopburi updated and he will come to our hotel. We will go to have a look at some temples. Our ETA to the hotel is said to be at 14:00 and we arrive a few minutes after 2 o'clock.
Our friend was waiting for us and we left for the first temple วัดเขาลังพัฒนา at Khlong Ket. I start my eBird app at the temple at 15:10. There are quite a lot of people so the birds are keeping away. But I can imagine a lot of birds comming here alone early morning.
We walk down to the pond and I spot one Sooty-headed Bulbul in a tree, and the bird was not scared so I got a few pictures. There is a walk path over a pond through trees and bushes and we arrive to some holy place. I can see some birds but not any good look.
Coming back out from the board walk and there was yet another “Get lucky” attraction. Of course, you are going to lose the coins tossed, but the money goes to the temple. And they need money to maintain the temple.
I lose all my coins in a jiff, and that is without managing to get one single coin in to the bowl, so no good luck for me. But my friend got his last coin in to the bowl.
Picture on the board walk
Yet another game, toss the coin
eBird Report
วัดเขาลังพัฒนา - Khlong Ket, Lopburi, Lop Buri, TH
28 May 2022 15:10 - 15:50
Protocol: Traveling
0.81 kilometer(s)
7 species
Red Collared Dove 3
Zebra Dove 1
Coppersmith Barbet 1 Heard only
Sooty-headed Bulbul 1 Red vented
Great Myna 1
House Sparrow 7
Today's track at วัดเขาลังพัฒนา - Khlong Ket, Lopburi
We have a coconut drink on the way back to the cars and we leave the temple and I stop my eBird app. Not many birds on this checklist but I was happy for the pictures of the Sooty-headed Bulbul. Next stop will be the Wat Khao Chorakhe, วัดเขาจรเข้ and we will visit The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล.
We bought amulets from him back in 2020 that the Pilot in Bongkot brought on board when we loaded at Bongkot. So, it will be nice to meet The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล
Took us 30 minutes to drive to Wat Khao Chorakhe, วัดเขาจรเข้ and I started my eBird app at arrival. We got out of the cars and we went to look for The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล.
Arriving to Wat Khao Chorakhe - วัดเขาจรเข้
Wat Khao Chorakhe - วัดเขาจรเข้
Wat Khao Chorakhe - วัดเขาจรเข้
We have a few pictures outside The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล office, or maybe they call it a prayer room. We take a seat on the floor in front of The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล.
He bring the amulets, same lot they had made back in 2020 and I already had some of the amulets. They had planned to do new amulets but the Covid had put a stop to those plans.
But there were some amulets that I did not have so I choose 3 amulets and I also bought one for my friend at the boxing gym in Bangkok.
Add “HOLY” God language on the amulets
Add “HOLY” God language on the amulets
I receive the amulets
I receive the amulets
Some help for the temple
Some help for the temple
Some help for the temple
He was happy with my donation so he handed out free amulets for us
We say bye bye to The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล
I asked The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล if he could add some “HOLY” God language on the amulets. He add the language and then he hand me the amulets. I gave him a 4000 Baht donation for the temple. He was very happy and he handed out free amulets for us.
My friend, I never seen him so quick, threw himself over me to reach the free souvenirs. Well, we were all laughing. We said bye bye to The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล and we were going up to the top of the mountain to have a look at their buddha statues.
And we were lucky, it was possible to drive with car so no need to climb all the stairs.
We come up on the top and it was really fresh air and it was gorgeous with the smell from the grass. And The Venerable Monk, หลวงพ่อสายชล was obviously very happy that we had stopped by to visit the temple. They had started all the bells in the temple and we could hear the sound below us. A beautiful afternoon and view!
On top of the mountain
eBird Report
Wat Khao Chorakhe - วัดเขาจรเข้, Lop Buri, TH
28 May 2022 16:18 - 17:11
Protocol: Traveling
2.0 kilometer(s)
2 species
Today's track at Wat Khao Chorakhe, วัดเขาจรเข้ - Lopburi
We got back in to the cars and we left the temple and I turned off my eBird app. Not many birds seen here , but any way, now I have the track and it will be easy to find the temple on the map when I am back home.
Our friend, the Pilot from Bongkot lives very close to the temple and we went to have a look at his house before we go for dinner in the city of Lopburi.
Our friend had a nice house on a beautiful land. We walked around his land and there was a fruit plantation and he had his own pond for water. This is how I would like to live, but it is the problem with the snakes. Who want to be surrounded by snakes?
We visit our friend's house
Our friend ordered a birthday cake that we will pick up on the way to the restaurant. We kept ourself busy talking about snakes in the car driving back to Lopburi. We had a good time while it was getting dark outside the car.
We stopped so our friend could pick up the cake and then we continued to Lopburi Steakhouse. Turns out that the restaurant was almost next to our hotel.
We got a table and menus and I was soon having a pot of tea in front of me. My friend got his beer first of all, but my tea was not long after. The food came very quickly as well, first salad and bread. And the steak was soon coming to the table.
We get a table
Having steak
Time for cake
Time for cake
Back at the room
Here we go with the amulets again
Back at the hotel and we are having a look at the amulets in my friend's room. I had a bottle of MAX but my friends had a glass of Whiskey before we went to bed. We will leave for Bangkok tomorrow with a few stops for bird watching on the way.
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Sunday 29th of May 2022 and we will go for breakfast at 7 o'clock and my friend came to knock on my door and we were off to the restaurant. The breakfast, well, it was not disappointing, about what I had expected, and I only had a cup of tea.
We left the restaurant after 20 to 30 minutes and we took 30 minutes to pack our bags and we were off towards Bangkok.
Time for breakfast
Breakfast
Road # 1 will take us to Bangkok and there are a few eBird hotspots along the road. The first stop was at the eBird hotspot: Phueng Ruang paddies and I started the eBird app at 08:56.
We drove around for half an hour but there was not many birds to be seen in the area. There were a lot of new houses and they were also constructions of new villages in the area.
eBird Report
Phueng Ruang paddies, Saraburi, TH
29 May 2022 08:56 - 09:27
Protocol: Traveling
3.7 kilometer(s)
4 species
Red Collared Dove 2
Red-wattled Lapwing 1
Asian Openbill 5
Great Myna 1
Today's track at eBird hotspot: Phueng Ruang paddies
We leave and I start my eBird app again at 10:05 at eBird hotspot: Wang Chula paddies & shrublands. We drive along a narrow road with a canal on the right-hand side and, well, mostly a hedge between us and the paddies on left hand side.
We were soon spotting the first White-throated Kingfisher and we spotted the second a few minutes later. I spotted on sitting on the wire along the road, but as I had stopped my eBird app I never reported the bird.
White-throated Kingfisher / นกกะเต็นอกขาว
Little Cormorant
White-throated Kingfisher / นกกะเต็นอกขาว
White-throated Kingfisher / นกกะเต็นอกขาว
Male Asian Golden Weaver, and we can see that he have started to build the nest
eBird Report
Wang Chula paddies & shrublands, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, TH
29 May 2022 10:05 - 10:31
Protocol: Traveling
3.8 kilometer(s)
15 species (+1 other taxa)
Red Collared Dove 2
Plaintive Cuckoo 1 Heard only
Red-wattled Lapwing 1
Little Cormorant 1
Great White Egret 2
Little Egret 13
Cattle Egret 20
Javan Pond Heron 3
White-throated Kingfisher 2
Coppersmith Barbet 1 Heard only
Black Drongo 1
drongo sp. 1
Asian Pied Starling 1
Common Myna 1
Asian Golden Weaver X
House Sparrow 1
Today's track at eBird hotspot: Wang Chula paddies & shrublands
Turning off the eBird app and we continue towards Bangkok. I want to do one more stop and we take off the high way and we are soon at eBird hotspot: Lam Sai marshlands. We drive around for about 30 minutes.
There were quite a few birds and the most exciting birds was Bronze-winged Jacana babies.
Today's track at eBird hotspot: Lam Sai marshlands
We left and we drove to Samut Prakan to drop our friend and we also bought silver to cover the new amulets from Kanchanaburi. We had lunch at S&P at Robinson before I went back home after a very exciting weekend.
The month of May 2022 have come to an end. But there will be more temples and birds in June, just click HERE to see what I find.
OK, it has come to my knowledge that we have senior citizens visiting my web page. How hard can it be? So it's not very easy for them to see the blue coloured links to the next page.
Jiffy (also jiff)
noun [in SING.] informal a moment: we'll be back in a jiffy.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.
So as you understand, in a jiff pretty much depends on your internet.
So I put a “Next” button here and I hope that there isn't any problem to understand how to use that one. So just CLICK the “Next” button on your left hand side and you will be on the next page in a jiff!
Marunong ka mag-tagalog? Walang problema! Magpunta sa kabilang pahina pindutin ang “NEXT” button sa itaas
Faites vous parlez le français? Pas de problème! Pour arriver à la page suivante faites s'il vous plaît un déclic le bouton “Next” ci-dessus!
Haga usted dice el español? No hay problema! Ver la siguiente página sólo hacer clic el botón “Next” encima!
Farla parla l'italiano? Non problemi! Per vedere la prossima pagina lo scatto per favore giusto Il bottone “Next” sopra
Sprechen sie Deutsch! Kein problem! Wenn Sie die folgende Seite sehen wollen gerade klicken der Knopf “Next” oben!