Among giants >> Travel: Laos, Myanmar, Thailand 45

Nov 21: Afternoon, Udon Thani

We had breakfast in Nong Khai before setting out for Sala Kaew Ku, the Buddha park on the outskirts of town. The scrambled eggs with ham were very good, but our starch intake was sadly restricted to the dainty toasts that accompanied our protein dish.

As we planned to leave for Udon Thani later in the morning, we were off to Sala Kaew Ku by 8.30am.

This Buddha park was smaller than her sister in Laos and very quiet in contrast. Besides us, there were only one or two other visitors within the compound. The stone sculptures, however, were as impressive and as imaginatively rendered.

Not intending to take too many photos, we did not bring an extra row of film for this excursion. And so, just midway through our walk, we discovered we were low on film and had to husband our remaining resources for the rest of our visit.

After a fairly whirlwind (by our speed anyway) tour of Sala Kaew Ku, we hurried back to the hotel. Our bags were already packed and we settled our bill quickly. Then, it was off to the bus station.

Alighting from our tuk-tuk, we saw a bus getting ready to move out. It was the Udon Thani bus! Some wild gesturing from the bus boy induced us to scramble up the vehicle and, by 10.20am, we were on our way to Udon Thani.

At Udon Thani, we walked from the chaotic bus station towards the eating and shopping places a stone's throw away. Unfortunately, we could not find a budget place we liked. We thought the accommodation choices looked rather crummy.

Eventualy, we 'upgraded' to the neat and trim Charoen Hotel, which seemed popular with businessmen and Thai families. Actually, we had walked into an even better-looking hotel, attracted by the lavish use of glass in its bright and airy atrium. The beautifully coiffured and attired staff were very polite and smiley, but regretably, they could not offer a room to Madam because the hotel was fully occupied for the night. Instead, they directed us to the Charoen Hotel.

At Charoen, we were shown a couple of rooms. We were indicated the one we liked, agreed on the price and discovered we got ourselves a deluxe room, which was three grades above the cheapest. Carpeted aircon room, ensuite bathroom with tub, cable TV, minibar and even an in-house swimming pool. Yup, we had moved up. Yes, indeed.

May as well enjoy the amenities while we are here.

Addendum: Annie's POV

Budget (for two baht)

Breakfast >> B130
Tuk-tuk to Sala KK >> B40
Entry >> B40
Tuk-tuk back to hotel >> B40
Tuk-tuk to bus station >> B30
Bus to Udon Thani >> B42
Tuk-tuk to hotel >> B40
Room >> B750
Tips >> B20
Lunch >> B65
Groceries >> B323.50
Train tics to Ayuthaya >> B512
Dinner >> B119
Breakfast (for next day) >> B57

Next... Overnight in fan class