One fine day back in June, I awoke from my “hiatus” and decided to travel to Bangkok on my own to shoot sunflowers on my birthday. Initially, I wanted to do a day-trip to Saraburi or Lopburi ~ the towns that were vast with sunflower fields along the Phatthana Nikhom – Wang Muang route during the November and December period.
However, as I recalled, I took a cab to Changi to shoot the sunrise for my birthday last year.
Took the cab to shoot sunrise at Changi on 3 Dec 2011
This year, I decided to up the ante by taking a flight to Bangkok / (Lopburi) to do a sunrise on a sunflower field.
How gorgeous would that be ! I could well envisioned the beauty of so.
With that, excited as I can be, I started making plans for it.
Rice Field Home Stay
I was charged THB 1500 for a one-way, 2 hours airport transfer from Don Meung airport to the Rice Field Home Stay, THB 1000 per night for accommodation, in which I had two.
My trip was scheduled for 2nd to 5th December and boy, how anxious I was when the days got nearer for my trip. My biggest worry was to encounter snakes on the field and to be bitten by one. I would not want my birthday to be my death anniversary as well since I was travelling alone. Hahaa… : )
I soon realized my worries were unfounded.
I flew out via Air Asia on 2nd Dec, 5.10pm and arrived Don Meung airport at 6.40pm.
The host’s daughter, Jennifer and her friend, Dong came to pick me up and sent me to the Rice Field Home Stay where her dad puts up.
Jennifer and Dong picking me up from Don Meung airport
We hit it off quite well and chatted throughout the entire 1.5 hours journey back to the home stay.
When we arrived at the Rice Field Home Stay, she even found a cupcake in replacement of a real cake and sang me a Birthday song!
I was very touched and surprised by her kind and thoughtful gesture.
Cupcake, Birthday cake oso Cake…
3 December 2012, Mon
Happy Birthday to me !
I got up at 4.30am and started preparing to depart for the sunflower field.
My host (James) and I set off at 5.30am and arrived at a sunflower field in Lop Buri by 6.30am.
Vast Sunflower Field in Lop Buri
Lop Buri is a province situated on the western end of the Khorat Platea, and has the country’s most sunflower fields, boasting a coverage of 200,000 – 300,000 rai.
The sunflower fields are scattered around Mueang District, Phatthana Nikhom District and Chai Badan District.
Full Bloom
The sunflowers are usually in full bloom from November to December / January periods. During this period before the harvest, the sunflowers create picturesque vast yellow fields, bringing locals and tourists from far and wide to visit Lop Buri.
Lop Buri is a two hours drive or three hours bus or train ride from Bangkok.
Alternatively, there are also air-conditioned and non air-conditioned buses that ply Bangkok’s Northern Bus Terminal (Mo Chit) every 20 minutes between 5.30 am to 8.30pm.
(Call 02 936 2852-66 for more information.
Source: http://www.tourismthailand.org/Where-to-Go/Lopburi/Transport).
Sunflower field in Lop Buri
As I stood right on the sunflower field in the wee hours trying to shoot the sunrise, I was embraced in the arms of Mother Nature. The feeling of being in this vast sunflower field was wonderful and immense.
As the sun rose, only then did I realized that the sunflowers were facing the sun. It is a no wonder that they were termed as “Xiang Ri Kui 向日葵” in Mandarin ~ which loosely translated to “Flowers facing the sun”.
Sunflowers facing the Sun
I was here on Rai Khun Pu Sunflower field ~ also known as “Grandfather Farm” in Lopburi. This is one of the biggest and prettiest sunflower field around this area. The other sunflower fields were either too small, too flat or did not have this mountain as backdrop to the framing.
Grandfather Farm
Happy Birthday to MEEEEEeee…. : )
Someday, I wish to be like you…
The pollen is yummy
I took lots and lots of shots of the sunflowers; in wide angle, in 18-200mm, in fish-eye and even in macro lens. Some were fully bloomed, some were half bloomed, some were still budding.
By 10am, the weather was scorching and I was melting. I headed to seek shelter at the stalls at the entrance.
The first stall was selling hand-painted apparels, bags and pouches.
Most of the collaterals were in English and the stall was named “Made In Heaven.com”.
Made in Heaven ~ I am in Heaven…!!
I thought to myself, “Wow… This is quite ‘artas’”. I do not think many of the stall holders here could speak much English and this stall has all the collaterals in English.
As I loitered near the first stall, the lady mending the stall smiled and asked where was I from.
We began chatting and I told her I was there to shoot sunrise and was waiting to shoot sunset.
A God-Send angel from heaven
As it was going to be a long wait, she offered me a seat as we chatted.
Her name was Pui.
I asked if there were any public transport that could bring me to any nearby places and yet get back to this location to shoot sunset. Alas, public transport in and around this area was not as prevalent as like in any other Thailand locations that I had been. In many of the other Thailand destinations that I had been, there were always tuk-tuks, taxis, pick-ups etc. There were none at this place.
Just then, her brother came by. She exclaimed and suggested getting her brother to bring me to the “White Buddha” site so as to while off some hours and to bring me back thereafter. I was delighted. She did not charge me for the ‘services’ that they rendered, but I parted with THB 300 for their gasoline charges.
We departed at 10.15am and arrived at the location at 10.45am. We bought the 11.30am tickets to go on the tram ride to the ‘White Buddha’. As we had about 45mins, I strolled around and got some shots of the place.
Kawaii desu ne
I went up to the brother at about 11.20am and gestured to him that I would be going to the washroom and would be back soon. I got back at 11.25am and there was not a single soul in sight. Everyone at the waiting area was gone!
I asked the lady at the ticketing counter what happened and where did everyone, including the brother went. She too was not conversant in English and wrote “12.30pm” on a piece of paper for me – indicating that everyone else had gone on the tram and the next tram would be 12.30pm.
Oh Gosh ! Did the brother leave me there and went on the tram ride or did he leave and went somewhere else ? I did not know. I just sat at the seats and waited. The ticketing lady motioned me to her counter and “asked” if I had the contact number of my companion. Thankfully, Pui (the sister) wrote me both their contact numbers before I came for my excursion.
The ticketing lady then called the brother and found out that he had gone on the 11.30am tram ride without me.
Though I did not understand any of the Thai language, I reckon that the ticketing lady gave him a good lashing for leaving me behind, alone, at the waiting area. Haahaa… ; p
It was comforting to know that people do care and I was not really alone despite being alone.
I went around, got more shots, bought an ice-cream for myself and bought some puffs for the ticketing lady.
The brother arrived back at 12.30pm and was apologetic. Till date, I could not resonate how he could have left me there, alone, whilst he boarded the 11.30am tram ride.
The first time that I reeaallyy felt like I am on a holiday… Wheee…
The White Buddha
The 1-hr tram ride took us along the river bank as we soaked in the sea breeze and beauty of the countryside. For once I felt that I was really on a holiday ~ so relaxed and at ease.
During the morning drop-off, James mentioned that I could call him at 6pm to check if he is available. If he was, he would come by to pick me up. If he wasn’t, I would have to make my way back on my own, and he could pick me up from the nearest train or bus station thereafter.
Feels like pinching the cheeks of this cute chubby little fella
Prior to arriving, I had thought that I could easily catch a Tuk-Tuk, taxi or bus to the train station from across the street. After spending a couple of hours on the field, I knew it was far from easy.
A worried look flashed across Pui‘s face. She suggested calling James at 4pm to check if he will be coming by to pick me. If not, she will help me to book a seat on the mini-van to send me to the bus-stop outside Saraburi Technical School so that James could pick me up from there.
Sunflowers in the rear
She tried calling James from 4pm till 5pm and there was still no news of him. Hence, she decided to book a seat for me on the 6pm mini-van for THB 120.
She made several calls to and fro in arranging for my transport; to confirm my seat, to confirm my destination, to check out the carplate number etc. As she needed to leave early at 5pm that day, she even delegated one of her friends to send me to the pickup point in her motorbike.
She really went out of her way to help me although we were not in any way related nor have we met long enough. We were just two strangers that met on the street on the same day, and she had treated me with such warm hospitality. I am extremely thankful to have met a kind soul like her who helped me ~ a total stranger, so much and so unconditionally. I was indebted to her for her help, kindness, thoughtfulness and sincerity. It is people like her who gave fresh hopes to their slogan “The Land of Smiles”.
Her shop was named “Made in Heaven” http://madeinheaven.in.th/ . It really did give me a sense of being in heaven, for if not, where else would I be able to meet angels like her ?!
At 5pm, I helped her pack up her stuffs, bid her farewell before I went on to shoot the sunset.
Sunflowers in the sunset
At 6pm, her friend sent me to the pickup point in her bike. Her friend waited with me for the mini-van to arrive before leaving.
When the mini-van pulled over, she reminded the driver where to drop me and even got the driver to seat me beside him so that it would not slip his mind to drop me off at the designated location.
Although I knew zero Thai and she had zero English, I was thankful that God sent me such a beautiful angel to help me along.
I arrived Saraburi Technical School at 7.15pm and waited till 7.45pm before James came to pick me up. We got back to the resort and I was famished. I took things for granted when James mentioned that he treated guests as family members and hosted them like one. As such, I had assumed that there would be meals and dinner provided as like the first night.
When I got back to my hut, there was no dinner waiting for me on the table. I was thirsty, hungry and tired. And best of all, I gave away all my little treats, i.e. cookies, candies etc to the many kind angels that I met on the streets during the day. Groowwlll… (That was my stomach… :”X) Thankfully, I found a melted, mashed up 2-finger Kit Kat at the bottom of my bag. That was my dinner.
4 Dec 2012, Tues
Sunrise on a Rice Field
Sunrise on a Rice Field
I got up at 6am and went around the Rice Field trying to get a shot of the sunrise. It was a cool chilly morning with the cold air beating on my naked face. The air on the rice field was fresh, sweet-smelling and free from any commercial or city pollutants.
James mentioned that he would be going to the market to grab some stuffs and to do some marketing. I asked to tag along.
The market was right beside the Nong Seung / (Saraburi) Train Station where I would be catching the train in the afternoon. We went to check out the train timings. There were three timings back to Bangkok for that day; 10am, 12noon and 4pm. I chose the 12pm slot.
We went around the market and I caught some very interesting shots.
We came across a hawker roasting popcorn over charcoal.
Woww… These days, our popcorn were either popped in a popcorn machine or cooked in a toaster or microwave oven. I had never seen popcorn being roasted over charcoal.
James bought a packet and I tasted some. The popcorn was dry without any oil and it exudes a scent of fragrance from the charcoal.
Roasting Popcorn using Charcoal
The coconut grater brought back a lot of memories as my family used to buy grated coconut from the mini-mart when we were residing in Ang Mo Kio some 10 years back.
It has been more than 10 years since I last saw this machine in operation !
Coconut Grating Machine that has become a has-been in Singapore
From afar, I saw these tim sum baskets and my eyes popped 10x bigger.
I was starving since my melted, mashed-up 2-finger Kit Kat dinner from the previous night.
“You mean they have Dim Sum here too ?” I was puzzled.
“Was it Dim Sum in there ? Could I grab some ?” I was so so so hungry….
Tim Sum baskets of fish…
As I went nearer, to my surprise and disappointment, I saw the baskets being laid with fishes. Ohh… They actually sold the fishes in baskets, costing THB 10 – 25 per basket.
We headed back to the Rice Field for some home-cooked congee. Though it was a simple congee, it was fragrant with the spring onion garnishings and the minced meat in the congee was very well-seasoned. I’m not too sure if I was so starved or was the congee really good, I finished every single bit of it !
The exterior of my little hut. I sat at the porch, beside the pond and ate my congee.
The interior of my little hut. Nice and cozy. Had these ‘steps’ going up to the attic. So cool… ; D
After the hearty congee, James brought me around the rurals for some shooting. We visited “The Oldest Market” in Saraburi and went into this antique shop that had such a strong rustic flavor to it.
It was almost time to head off. We left the Rice Field Home Stay at 11.30am to catch my 12 noon train ride to Bangkok.
I waited, waited and waited. It was 12.20pm and there was still no sign of the train. I went to ask the train officers and only to realize that the train would be delayed by 70 minutes till 1.10pm.
A 2-hour wait for the train
At 1.30pm, I was still waiting. A Thai lady came by, sat beside me and we waited together. Our smiles broke into a conversation and we started chatting.
She mentioned that the train was late every single day, an hour each day. Ohhh… We were ‘lucky’! The train was two hours late today!
When the train arrived at 2pm, we made our way up and she quickly found a seat and ushered me to take the seat opposite her. We were F I N A L L Y on the train!
As the train swayed and the heat set in, I began to doze off.
I awoke not too long later and the lady asked if I needed any food when one of the hawkers walked past. I declined so.
Seeing the couple opposite me sucking on the ice-cream heartily, I jokingly asked her for one.
She took my little request seriously and got the passenger seated beside her to stretch out his arm to grab the ice-cream hawker and got one for each of us .
I was quite taken aback by her kindness and warmth and she even refuse to accept payment for it.
Free ice-cream from the nice lady in pink at the back
We were about 2 hours into the journey when the couple opposite me alighted and which the lady came over and took on their seats.
Another angel seating across from me
Looking at the train schedule, it would take 3 hours from Saraburi to Bangkok, which also meant that I would arrive in Bangkok at 5.15pm. That would only give me 15mins to get back to my hotel, shower and run over to Terminal 21 to meet my friend, Jonas for dinner.
I asked her if there was a faster route to get to Bangkok City, either via MRT or BTS. She had no idea either and asked the train conductor. Thankfully, there were other options and I decided to make a jump from the snail-moving train.
I got off at Ban See station and asked a guy standing ahead of me how to get to the MRT. He gave me instructions and walked me to the MRT station before he went his way.
I was told to alight at Chatuchak MRT station and change to the BTS.
When I arrived at Chatuchak MRT station, I did not see any signages leading to the BTS.
I turned around and asked a lady for directions. She had difficulty providing me with instructions on how to get there and motioned for me to follow her instead. I did. It was up and down, in and out before I got to see the BTS. I had assumed that we were going the same way since she brought me right to the door step.
Upon the entrance of the BTS, she waved goodbye. I was caught by surprise. She had taken the extra mile to bring me to the BTS when she actually wasn’t going my way. I was very touched and thankful.
I got to Tune hotel at 5.15pm, had a shower in lightning speed and got to Terminal 21 (directly across Tune Hotel) by 5.30pm.
I had indeed beaten the train by jumping off and switching trains.
Got to Tune Hotel at 5.15pm, showered and rush out by 5.30pm
Jonas and I had a fabulous time catching up.
We had been wanting to meet up for the longest time ever, since he left to work in Bangkok.
I don’t get to go by Bangkok often and he doesn’t come back Sin as much.
It has been such a long-awaited meet-up.
We were off dinner by 8.30pm before I got back to the hotel to knock out.
It had been such a long day.
Catching up with my good old fren – Jonas in Bangkok, Terminal 21, MK Restaurant
5 Dec 2012, Wed
Yummzz… Deep Fried Chicken Drumstick
By 1pm, I took the BTS to Mo Chit station.
At Mo Chit station, I tried to locate the public buses 510 and 29, but did not see either as there were too many buses crowding around.
The mini-van had about 8 paxs but could carry up to 12 paxs on a full-load.
It costs THB 20 and took me about 30 minutes from Mo Chit to Don Meung airport.
The public buses would have taken about 45 minutes, costing THB 10. For an additional THB 10, I would have been able to shave off 15 minutes, I was more than happy to do so.
As I travelled on my own, I met with many little adventures along the way. I had abundance of friendly, pleasant and unimaginable encounters during this trip. And boy, am I really thankful to many of the locals who came forward to help me despite the language barriers. The hospitality, warmth and generosity of kindness in these locals were impeccable. I am not sure how my trip would have turned out without them. They were angels that God sent to me on this trip. I really am thankful and grateful beyond words… 🙂
| Cost – THB | SG$ | |
| FLIGHT | Air Asia | S$ 179.00 |
| FD 2936; 2 Dec 2012, 5.10pm – 6.40pm | ||
| FD 2933; 5 Dec 2012, 4.45pm – 8.05pm | ||
| TRANSPORT | Saloon Car from Don Meung airport to Rice Field Home Stay | THB 1500 |
| Jeep from Rice Field Home Stay to Lopburi Sunflower Field | THB 1000 | |
| Saloon Car to Lopburi “White Buddha place” | THB 300 | |
| Mini-Van from Lopburi to Saraburi Technical School | THB 120 | |
| Train from Saraburi to Bangkok City | THB 21 | |
| BTS from Tune Hotel to Mo Chit | THB 35 | |
| Mini-van from Mo Chit BTS to Don Meung Airport | THB 20 | |
| ACCOMODATION | Rice Field Home Stay (THB 1000 x 2 nights) | THB 2000 |
| Tune Hotel in Bangkok City | THB 950 | |
霞女之旅 