Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 11 – Part 1 – On the Roof of Saifon Hotel & Morning Market

Continued from Thailand – Laos Travel: Day 10 – Part 5 – Trip to Ayutthaya & Ayutthaya Night Market. For pre-travel, please refer here.

Travel Date: January 7, 2017
Day: 11
Location: Ayutthaya

Ok, this blog post is long because I combined some morning activities.

8.26 in the morning. The room we stayed in had a balcony which was connected to the next room and was also suitable for hanging clothes.

I opened the door to hang out on the balcony while breathing in the fresh morning air. The air from the city of Ayutthaya and located 1560km from my house. Realize that I am now in northern Thailand. If I go further north, I can penetrate into neighboring countries as far as Laos, eastern Myanmar and even as far as China. This feeling is only for the traveler who understands my expression even though Thailand is only a country next to Malaysia.

Here I could see the train station we arrived at yesterday from afar.

This morning we had some free time and I spent time zooming in towards the station. Many tuktuks are waiting for customers to arrive from Bangkok or from Chiang Mai. The row of motorcycles located under the tent is not new motorcycles for sale but for rent.

At the other end, a jetty awaits for anyone wishing to cross the river. I found the location we stayed in was very best in terms of amenities although not staying in a hotel with a high level of comfort.

The advantage of our hotel is that the train station distance is only a few meters. The river can also be crossed at any time. Tesco Lotus and 7-E are also in the row of shops in front of the station. Motorcycle? Bicycle? Everything can be rented here. There are also more than 6 hotels nearby, just choose whichever you like.

All these toys we have bought one by one in Thailand. For parents, a method to please the child while pleasing yourself in terms of backpack load, don’t bring any toys from home (except for ages 2 and under) but buy one at a time in each city visited. When kids get bored and when they get somewhere, there will be new toys.

As Tatie got ready and packed, Aqif and I paced the outside of the room. The stairs lead to the ground floor but we don’t want to go down.

Instead, we went up to the roof. Look at the blue sky. We really wake up with optimal mental freshness.

From this door, we emerged. The surrounding situation is a bit unmanageable. In fact, the hotel takes up two lots of shops. Because there are two lots, so there are two stairs as well. To facilitate the management, the hotel only opened one staircase and the second staircase was ignored and piled with all the items that are rarely used.

Can’t expect much in getting the best hotel based on our situation yesterday.

But the scenery is so marvelous! There are also chairs for those who want to hang out at night (dare to ??) or maybe just enjoy the view.

Are we smiling or because of the scorching sun?

This is the view at the back of the hotel.

At exactly 12 noon, we need to check out. Let’s go down to get ready …

I also took a picture of the situation behind a house in Ayutthaya.

As I went down the stairs, I saw a room with a slightly open door.

This room is very attractive for solo travelers. There is a fan and a clean toilet, except for the TV.

I also inspected the toilet and it turned out to be clean.

We went back to the room. While there was still time, I patched up once again the soles of the shoes that had been cracked since we left Prachuap Khiri Khan.

To walk around the city of Ayutthaya later, I did not wear these shoes for a while so that the glue sticks more strongly. So, I used Fipper slippers only.

This is the condition of the room we rented. Extra mattresses are also available.

The toilet is a bit cleaner.

Before leaving, we once again enjoyed the atmosphere on the roof of the hotel. I really like this style and background.

Giving a chance to this Hindustani hero to pose alone.

The bottom of the Saifon Hotel. Seen some backpacks left there by travelers who checked out at 12 noon and wanted to wander around Ayutthaya city like us. The bag storage service here is free.

But I do not advise readers to leave it here because it is not fully monitored. Follow our way of storing bags at the Left Luggage Office at Ayutthaya train station. After all the fee is only THB10 per bag.

The hotel is combined with a restaurant. Bicycle rental services are also available here, but I do not encourage it because the bikes provided are less than satisfactory.

Better to rent at the row of bike shops located outside the hotel.

Our backpacks still haven’t transformed like into sardines in a can, but all the stuff for us to hold in hand is becoming more and more.

Finally, before checking out, we took a picture with the hotel owner who is also a restaurant owner. She treated us well, the only problem was the condition of the hotel was not satisfactory. Hmm, after all, we only stayed for one night, not a big issue. The nightly price is not more than THB500 including a queen size bed, air conditioner, extra mattress and private toilet in the room.

This is the hotel from the outside. On the very top floor, there was a pair of cyclists I talked with yesterday. Cycling was still new to me at the time. So, I said ‘take care of own self’ many times to them and advised them to be careful because the attitude of drivers in most of these ASEAN countries is very different from western countries.

Oh yes, before we went downstairs, the female cyclist handed Aqif a souvenir of coins from the US. And that sunflower is the flower we took from the farm yesterday, hehe.

Dried fish is sold at the market located outside Saifon Hotel.

Market conditions here with a wide variety of vegetables.

For some reason, it was fun to see this old man who was busy peeling vegetables there. Some people have big ambitions. And some others are happy with what they have even if it does not make them rich billions of dollars.

Next, we headed to Ayutthaya train station to store our backpacks at the Left Luggage Office.

It was already 12.47 noon. From the station, we headed straight to the mini jetty that was visited yesterday to cross towards the main area of ??Ayutthaya city.

How much is the one-way fare? Only THB5 which is equivalent to MYR0.60!

It was crowded when entering the boat. Apparently, there was a female tourist who was unable to lift the bike to get inside. I reached out to help.

Ok, we have arrived at Chao Phrom Market Pier. Presumably, how far was it from the first jetty?

Look at the picture above. See the white house? That’s the jetty we boarded earlier. If the distance is so close, so it only takes a minute to cross the river.

Those who came out of the boat will take turns with those who came in. Although THB5 per person, this kind of business is indeed profitable.

See the bridge at the end there? If you don’t ride a boat, you have to ride a taxi or tuktuk or walk to cross the bridge. It seems like a U-turn and this will involve a lot of additional costs on public transportation.

Let’s step up.

This is the ticket counter for a boat ride. In Thailand, such water transport systems and ticket counters are common. It is different in Malaysia which is rarely seen as similar as here, even though in my country there are many wide rivers like in Thailand.

The boat operates from dawn until the sun is no longer visible. There may be a boat service after 8.00 pm (this one I’m not sure about).

Walking through a row of shops to go to the center of town.

Somehow, my feet felt like choosing to go into a market that sells groceries.

Probably because I want to see the atmosphere here.

Hungry? You can buy fruit here as a temporary meal.

Stepping deeper …

This is the meat and fish section, but there are fewer traders, probably because the sun is already high above their heads and usually markets like this start trading at 3.00 am.

Keep stepping deeper …

Then we entered the vegetable section.

Suddenly I saw a woman wearing a hijab at the end there.

Alhamdulillah, we met a stall selling chicken rice.

And so are stalls selling drinking water by Muslim traders.

The chicken rice is very tasty. All my life, this is the tastiest chicken rice I’ve ever eaten until I ordered it twice.

Halal certification here is regulated and under the supervision of the Islamic Religious Council of Thailand.

It’s just that it’s only drinking water that I’m a little skeptical of because I’m worried about the water being contaminated with bacteria that come from dishwashing water and ice cubes of unknown water types. So, every time we eat at the stall, we avoid ordering water and only drink from mineral water/boxes/cans bought from 7-E.

More Muslim traders but I’m not sure what they sell.

After this, we cycled for the first time on Thai soil.