July 2015 Trip Report - Chiang Mai and other places later

[bkkmfj2648]

This is the Sukhothai portion of my trip report. I will try to post the Kanchanaburi portion tomorrow.

So, after the exciting zipline adventure, we head back to Chiang Mai to search for a hotel for the evening, and we find the Chiang Mai Gate Hotel, http://www.chiangmaigatehotel.com

A normal hotel, but Woody and Non were chomping at the bid to have a hotel that offered an all you can eat breakfast, so I conceded in letting us leave the Qi 68 guest house, which did not offer breakfast but was cute and charming to transfer to a mainstream normal generic hotel.

Woody, warns me in his endearing protective way, тАЬNo Go-Go bars tonight тАУ we must get up early at 7:00am we have big drive to SukhothaiтАЭ. So, it was an early night тАУ no hanky pank тАУ as we needed to conserve our energy for tomorrowтАЩs journey and eventual sightseeing.

Woody and. Non were illuminated as they plowed through the тАЬAll You Can EatтАЭ breakfast buffet. It was good, but I much preferred тАЬButter is BetterтАЭ http://www.butterisbetterbakery.com/

ItтАЩs now 10:00 am and we are finally off for Sukhothai. The guys tell me itтАЩs a 4 hour drive but it ended up taking us 5 hours because of time taken to enjoy the rest areas (no тАУ not for cruising hahahaтАж). I was quite impressed with the Thailand rest areas as they are very different than the ones we have here on the Italian Autostrada. Here in Italy, they usually consist of 2 buildings тАУ one for eating, usually called CIAO or AutoGrill and the other is for petrol. Instead here in Thailand it is a rather large complex with the ubiquitous 7-Eleven, Caf├й Amazon, KFC, S&P, etc. So, the main difference is choice while in Italy there is no choice. Just an observation. Consequently our 4 hours became 5 hours because I just had to have my wonderful Caf├й Amazon iced coffee at each service area. My 2 tour guys are beautiful and very much in shape I just hope that my falang ways do not fatten them up.

[attachment=6:qq3le4ze]typical_Thai_rest_area_where_choice_is_king.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

The drive from Chiang Mai to Sukhothai was kind of boring. I found the transformation of the terrain from greenish to arid is what made it less interesting. You could definitely see that the current drought is having a negative impact on many parts of Thailand. In addition, Sukhothai was much more hotter and humid than Chiang Mai.

We arrive in Sukhothai and start the search for a hotel. First we checked out the Pailyn Hotel, a huge hotel which has seen better days and looked tired. Then we found the gem that we all liked called the Sukhothai Treasure Resort & Spa http://www.sukhothaitreasure.com/
once we saw the rooms, pools, and breakfast area тАУ we immediately accepted a suite here as it is absolutely a lovely resort.

[attachment=5:qq3le4ze]Sukhothai_Treasure_resort_and_spa.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

So checked in and unpacked we then head off to MK for a bite to eat and to wait for WoodyтАЩs and NonтАЩs friend, Wit to join us for a late lunch before heading over to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Sukhothai Historical Park.

[attachment=0:qq3le4ze]Lunch_at_the_local_MK_in_Sukhothai_with_Wit.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

Woody met Wit some years back when he worked at the Classic House in Chiang Mai, http://www.classichousemassage.net/ as a masseur. Now he lives in rural Sukhothai to take care of his ailing mother and sorely misses the gay life back in the metropolis of Chiang Mai and he made us understand that he cannot wait to return. Wit would be our local tour guide during our sojourn here.

Why visit this Sukhothai ?
First of all, Sukhothai translates into the тАЬDawn of Happiness.тАЭ Secondly, if you are a history buff and want to learn about Thai culture it is an interesting place to visit because from 1238 until 1438 Sukhothai was the first capital of Siam (then followed by Ayutthaya, Thonburi and Bangkok). The most famous and influential one of its nine kings was King Ramkhamhaeng, the second son of the founder of the state (reign from 1275-1317). He significantly expanded the Siamese empire through his military victories to a territory even bigger than modern Thailand, developed the first Thai script (Siamese alphabet that we all know and love to decipher), imposed strict observance to the Buddhist religion and founded a military and social organization which was soon copied by the Khmers. The Sukhothai Kingdom, consisted of a long arc of territory that ran through what is today's Laos and western Thailand as far as the Malay states.

In addition, since I live in Rome, which is home to the тАЬFori ImperialiтАЭ, RomeтАЩs ancient beginnings, I wanted to see the contrast with ThailandтАЩs ancient past, and I can say that it is quite impressive.
Some pictures тАУ I limited them to just a coupleтАж.

[attachment=4:qq3le4ze]Sukhothai_National_Park_I.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

And then my most favorite part of this wonderful UNESCO heritage site is the giant standing Buddha at Wat Si Chum.

[attachment=3:qq3le4ze]Buddha_at_Wat_Si_Chum_Sukhothai_my_favorite.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

Legend has it that this giant Buddha statue was able to ward off its enemies by being able to talk and to scare them away from harming it тАУ as is what unfortunately happened to many of the other monuments in the park.
It was hotter than hell in the park and SO humid as it had just finished raining before we arrived. The famous lotus pond that you see in many tourist pictures near the monuments was all dried up due to the drought.
After our visit, Wit took us to his favorite Wat in New Sukhothai, Phra Mae Ya Shrine, which is right across the street from the Yom river in front of City Hall on Thanon Nikhon Kasem street, which cuts through downtown. I asked Wit, why it was his favorite and he explained the following to me:

The shrine is highly respected by Sukhothai residents. ItтАЩs home to the idol of Phra Mae Ya, a stone figure with a long face, tapered chin, long halo, and dressed as an ancient queen. The idol is about 1 meter high and is supposed to have been built during King Ramkhamhaeng the GreatтАЩs reign as a dedication to his late mother Nang Sueang. The name provides the connections in the word Phra Mae Ya or grandmother in Thai, which is literally a term of endearment, since the local people regarded King Ramkhamhaeng the Great as their fathers. The statue was formerly housed in a rock shelter of Phra Mae Ya Mountain. The Sukhothai residents later relocated it to its present shrine situated in front of the City Hall. The shrine is also believed to house the spirit of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great. The Phra Mae Ya Fair is held annually in late February.
тАГ
Of course, now it was time for the usual Buddhist prayer and the shaking of the fortune sticks and I could not miss this photo op.

[attachment=2:qq3le4ze]my_guides_praying_at_the_Phra_Mae_Ya_Shrine_in_dow ntown_Sukhothai.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

For more info about this interesting place, http://www.bangkoksite.com/sukhothai/CityShrine.htm

So, what else is there to do in Sukhothai? Wit exclaims, тАЬcruising!!тАЭ @-)

Since we were already at the riverfront and there was no flooding due to the drought (we need to remember that back in September 2014 and also in September 2012 the Yom river overran its river banks and flooded downtown), we were safe to proceed to a little gym and Thai boxing workout center that overlooks the Yom river. Wit made us understand that many of the hot guys that we saw working out may join you if you sit down along the river bank тАУ there is a steep drop off from the square where they are so you are somewhat secluded. Wit said, you just sit and wait and perhaps one of the guys will come over and say hello. We only looked for a little while and then we headed off to dinner. So, if any of you out there reading this тАУ check it out тАУ here is a little google mapтАжenjoy

[attachment=1:qq3le4ze]Sukhothai_cruising_map.jpg[/attachment:qq3le4ze]

Wit then took us to an excellent restaurant, I cannot remember its name :-\ тАУ but the food was the highlight of my entire vacation. Of course it was a Thai restaurant, and my 3 guides ordered for me тАУ so I have no idea what I ate but it was great. One dish was based on coconut, as I go crazy for coconut. Another dish was chicken based and another 2 dishes were with vegetables. I am soliciting the name of this great restaurant and once I get it I will post it here.

After dinner we return to the cruising place on the river and there was definitely more movement, as it was now dark while before I was not yet a complete sunset. Then we part our ways, as we return Wit to his motorbike at the MK restaurant and then we return to our wonderful hotel to have a well deserved swim in that wonderful swimming pool. There were many sexy pictures that we took in that pool, but to date I have not yet been successful in getting them off of NonтАЩs phone. Had they been on WoodyтАЩs phone, I would have been able to post them here. If I ever get my greedy hands on them in the future I will post them here.

Back to the room for a well-deserved 4 hand massage with all of the usual final glory fun and then off to la-la land sleeping away until the next morning.

Enjoyed the great all you can eat breakfast buffet тАУ the guys were SO happy and then checked out and off for our very long 6 hour drive to Kanchanaburi тАУ which will be the next segment of this trip report.

Ciao,
M.

[BOY69]

Great report.
I was in Sukothai on last March , Sukhothai national park is very impresive place left me breathtaking impression. Sukhothai new city isn't special but the thai people there are very friendly , modest and helpful . Sukhothai is definitely one of the finest destinations in Thailand !

[bkkmfj2648]

Big adventure to Kanchanaburi тАУ 6 hours in the car and guess what a little bit grumpy at times тАУ but to be expected. As reported in the previous Sukhothai section of this trip report, thank God for the Thai rest areas which break up the monotony and also provide an immense number of choices for eating, drinking, and to kill the boredom.

We stopped for lunch in a surreal place in the middle of nowhere in the country-side between Sukhothai and Kanchanaburi тАУ again hotter than hell and they only had outdoor seating тАУ so we took the one with the least mosquitos and most fans. Food was very good тАУ тАЬmom and pop styleтАЭ. Poor Non is always doing all of the driving on this trip while Woody and myself are often dozing off in the car or playing with our smartphones. Non deserves a metal for excellent driving and for never dozing off. Here he is at the out in the sticks restaurant, driving again тАУ his t-shirt says it all, тАЬBide your timeтАЭ

[attachment=6:266eic3t]lunch_break_on_the_highway_between_Sukhothai_to_Ka nachanaburi.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

We arrive at Kanchanaburi city around 15:30 and I am thinking, halleluiah we have made it and we can finally get out of the car. No, Woody informs me that we still have 1 more hour to go to reach our destination at the lovely and fabulous тАЬRiver Kwai Village Jungle Resort HotelтАЭ.

http://www.riverkwaivillagehotel.com/

This place is real cool. Try to imagine a lush resort tucked away in the jungle 1 hour outside of the capital province city, sitting on beautiful land on the banks for the Kwai Noi River. This resort consists of 191 rooms spread out over an immense estate divided into 4 sections; Mountain Wing, River Wing, Royal Wing, and then the Raftel. They showed us a room in the River Wing тАУ it was nice тАУ but I insisted with Woody тАУ as they were speaking to the bell boy in Thai to show us one of the rooms that we saw down on the river. Back to the lobby тАУ at least a 10 minute walk тАУ as the place is truly gigantic тАУ get the keys to a Raftel room and then down the steep embankment and then over a little wooden bridge to a group of 26 barges all tied together тАУ one after the other тАУ with fabulous wooden carved rooms on each barge. Once we entered I said, тАЬguys тАУ come on тАУ this Raftel is MUCH better than the River Wing roomsтАжтАЭ Woody and Non replied, тАЬbut it costs moreтАЭ тАУ тАЬwho caresтАЭ, I replied тАУ these floating rooms are fantastic.

Being off-season тАУ there were hardly any guests тАУ as the resort was like a ghost town тАУ so Woody and Non negotiated a 30% off the already low season price. I was SO happy!!! Having Thai guides are truly worth their weight in Gold тАУ hence the reason that I keep trying to fatten them up with my falang breakfasts. :>))

View of our Raftel floating on the Kwai Noi river тАУ behind my left shoulder

[attachment=5:266eic3t]view_of_our_raftel.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

Then I find out why we are here in this spectacular resort. NonтАЩs 2 sisters work here on a temporary construction site which is a little bit down river. They are painting the new rooms in the to-be new modern wing of this already huge resort. The receptionist was all excited to tell me all about it and suggested that I return when it will open next year and I told her that the charm of this place for me was the wooden old-style rooms and that I much prefer the Raftel instead of the nice new concrete facility. She was quite surprised тАУ just call me old fashioned.

So, after checking in, and seeing the immense grounds (which included a big pool with water slide and sprouting decadent fountains) тАУ the guys asked me if I could give the sisters some money to prepare our dinner as we would be eating out on our Raftel balcony. That was all ok for me as I would be able to have a cultural exchange with NonтАЩs 2 sisters and their male partners.

Later on that same evening they came with some cold iced beers, mosquito spray and candles, and some great spicy food and we just sat around and just chatted away and enjoyed the rapidly flowing river behind our balcony and the subtle movements of being on a barge on the river. Obviously, I was just a silent observer as I donтАЩt speak Thai тАУ but I did insist on showing all of them our 3 zipline videos and our manly adventure. They loved it.

Non drives the sisters back to the employee area of this resort тАУ it is huge and they employee housing is tucked away in the deep jungle where the guests would not even know they are there. I felt honored to see and experience тАЬthe other sideтАЭ of this resort тАУ to be with its laborers.

Again, a well-deserved 4 hand massage with the ensuing mutual squirting and relaxing and then to sleep.

As usual, the guys could not wait to have their all you can eat breakfast, so up the embankment to the main resort area to eat.

After breakfast, Woody told me bring bathing suit тАУ because we might go into some waterfalls. Yahoo!! We then drove off towards the Myanmar border to the famous Three Pagodas Pass, about 150 km from where we were. At first I was confused, because for me, Kanchanaburi brings back memories of World War II studies, the Japanese occupation of this area, the Death Railway, and of course the famous movie, тАЬThe Bridge Over the River KwaiтАЭ. Strangely, this had no relevance nor matter of importance to Woody and Non тАУ as they could not understand our falang history and desires. This was very strange for me тАУ as they must have learned of the importance of this place during the war тАУ but their lack of interest told me otherwise. So, today it is jungles, waterfalls, and another Myanmar border town and I was happy. Little did I know that at the Myanmar border crossing that I would be able to show the significance of this place and greater Kanchanaburi to us falangs.

After having understood the historical significance of this place I was disappointed to see the mini тАУ Pagodas, as they had already formed a larger than life mental fantasy in my head from history class. Anyway, it was worth the couple of hours drive to see this important historical place.

[attachment=4:266eic3t]3_Pagodas_Pass.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

Excerpted from wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Pagodas_Pass

Three Pagodas Pass - Dan Chedi Sam Ong
Is a pass in the Tenasserim Hills on the border between Thailand and Burma (Myanmar), at an elevation of 282 metres (925 ft). The pass links the town of Sangkhla Buri in the north of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, to the town of Payathonsu in the south of Kayin State, Myanmar. The pass is named after three small, crumbling stupas or chedis which were probably built at the end of Ayutthaya period as a symbol of peace. They are now on the Thai side of the border. Parts of the border are still disputed. These three chedis appear in the provincial seal of Kanchanaburi Province in stylized form. The pass gives its name to the Three Pagodas Fault. This pass has been the main land route into western Thailand since ancient times, and is believed be the point at which Buddhist teachings reached the country from India in the 3rd century. During the Ayutthaya period in Thai history (14th-18th centuries), the pass was the main invasion route for the Burmese, but at times was also used against them by Siamese armies. The first was the Burmese invasion in 1548, part of the BurmeseтАУSiamese War of 1548. During World War II, Japan built the infamous Death Railway (officially Taimen - Rensetsu Tetsudo) through the pass. There is a memorial to commemorate the thousands of Australian prisoners of war who (with other Allied prisoners and Asian civilians) died as forced laborers in the construction of the railway. The region is home to several hill tribes, including Karens and Mons, who are unable or unwilling to obtain citizenship from either countries. Separatist armies have repeatedly tried to take seize of the pass from Burma, with the Mons in effective control until 1990, when Burmese troops regained it.
тАГ
These 3 photos put together tell a very interesting story. For the left most photo I had to walk a little behind the Thai border crossing gate into the underbush to find it and this gesture slightly agitated the 2 machine gun toting Thai border guards because I had to enter no-manтАЩs land (that area between 2 nations borders) to take that photo. Then the center photo, which was taken to the left of the official border crossing where the local Mon market begins, shows the death count by country to build the 415 km Death Railway, of which you can see a small section of it passing here at Three Pagodas Pass in the right most photo. According to the center photo plaque, an estimated 200,000 Asian laborers and 61,000 POWs were forced to build this railway line for the Japanese, of which 80,000 Asian laborers (mainly Burmese and Thai), plus 1,000 Koreans and Japanese, 6,540 British POWs, 2,830 Dutch POWs, 2,710 Australian POWs, and 356 American POWs died building it, hence the name given to it, тАЬThe Death RailwayтАЭ. Construction started in September 1942 and ended in October 1943. It remained in service until the Allies bombed it and put it out of final commission in June 1945 тАУ so it had a short life for the number of lives that were sacrificed. What a waste of humanity.

[attachment=3:266eic3t]Death_Railway_border_crossing.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

When I explained all of this to both Woody and Non тАУ they finally understood why Kanchanaburi Province had a very different significance for us falang. So, we truly had a cultural exchange тАУ my 2 Thai guides showed me the Disneyland side of Kanchanaburi, with its wonderful river, waterfalls, jungle, caves, etc. and I showed them something that was important in history and perhaps the Thai educational system chose to downplay. We were both more culturally diverse for this trip and I was happy to have enlightened them somewhat.
Afterwards we explored the Burmese market and interestingly between the market stalls тАУ I saw some cute guys and walked behind the market to investigate. Woody came running after me, because I had actually walked into Myanmar without knowing it. The market was actually on the border line тАУ I thought to myself тАУ wow тАУ how porous this border is. Anyway, I can now finally unofficially say that I have been to Myanmar even though my passport does not say so. By the way, it was possible to do a legal crossing into Myanmar for me but not for my guides as they told me that they require visas. I did not even push the issue, as I was already satisfied with my little 2 minute illegal adventure.

Finishing with the Three Pagodas Pass, we then drove back towards Kanchanaburi stopping at the Mon Bridge (Uttamanuson Bridge) which links the Sangkhlaburi market and local Mon village. It is 850 meters long and crosses the Songkalia river. There is a very large body of water which I believe is manmade, created by the Vajiralongkorn Dam. Interestingly, the Mon Bridge is the longest wooden bridge in all of Thailand. It was washed out in July 2013, but when we were there the redone wooden bridge, organized by the local Mon people was strong and beautiful and very operational. Ironically, they left the floating temporary bamboo bridge up and you can see it from way up high. It is truly a great experience.

[attachment=2:266eic3t]before_and_after_Mon_bridge.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

Another example of evidence that the drought is having on Thailand тАУ note the water level in 2015 тАУ very low.

From the Mon bridge you can see the vast waters of the Khao Laem reservoir and also the Wat Wang Wiwekaram. So we went to check it out and also to find out about getting a long tail boat out to the famous sometimes underwater "Old" Wat Wang Wiwekaram which is now refered to as Muang Badan (Underwater world). This temple was sunk into the lake when the Vachiralongkorn hydroelectric Dam was constructed in 1979 - 1984. During our visit it was not submerged due to the drought and the low water levels тАУ consequently we were able to walk into the temple instead of having to try and see it from above the water. Of course it was very muddy and slimy and we had to be careful about not slipping and falling into the mud like a pig. Back to the long tail boat to the other side of the lake to visit another abandoned temple (I cannot remember its name) that was covered in tree roots.

[attachment=1:266eic3t]Old_sunken_Wat_Wang_Wiwekaram.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

Back to town to visit the most important temple, Wat Wang Wiwekaram & Chedi Buddhakhaya, which overlooks the entire area тАУ you can see it peeking out of the tree line in the previous photo.

Now very tired from all day in this very hot and humid area тАУ drive back to our hotel, which is some 150 km away. Arrive back at the hotel and we eat dinner in the hotel restaurant and then afterwards we went to the fabulous hotel pool and water slide for some fun. Non went to get his nephew and the 5 of us had a great time. Since there were no guests in the vacant resort, Non had to call the reception area from the pool, as everything was closed up, and they sent one of the workers to turn on the pool, decadent squirting fountains, and water slide. We had a blast all taking turns going down the water slide тАУ it was great to be a youngster all over again. There were no other guests so we had everything to ourselves.

Off to bed and no hanky pank as we were all exhausted. Tomorrow was going to be our last day for sightseeing as the guys promised to drive me back to Bangkok after we finished our Kanchanaburi adventure.

Last day at the resort for breakfast and we were literally the only breakfast guests. Checked out and the hot and sexy bellboy took my luggage to the car тАУ a big feat since the car park is up the hill from the floating river rooms. Here is a photo with him тАУ he placed his hand on my butt during the photo and I did not know what to do тАУ but we had to leave. Damn!!! So, if one of you readers get him тАУ please do report all!!!

[attachment=0:266eic3t]River_Kwai_resort_bellboy.jpg[/attachment:266eic3t]

The SGT 7 photo limit was hit here X( - so I will add an additional thread for the conclusion of my Kanchanaburi adventure

[bkkmfj2648]

continuation of my Kanchanaburi trip report - I had to break this segment into 2 pieces due to the SGT 7 photo limitation.

The guys had a passion to get their pictures taken with the tigers at the Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno)

http://www.tigertemple.org

We got there too early тАУ before noon тАУ so we decided to make a quick visit to the last stop of the River Kwai train, at Nam Tok at the Wampo Viaduct (Wang Po), so that I could finally touch and bond with the railroad and walk on the viaduct. I was very happy but at the same time moved by the sheer sight of knowing that so many POWs gave their lives to build this. Some photo ops and then back to the tiger temple for the guys.

[attachment=1:2mju9cso]River_Kwai_train_Nam_Tok_Wampo_Viaduct.jpg[/attachment:2mju9cso]

For those of you who might want to ride a train here I leave this web link (one of many), as I plan to return to Kanchanaburi тАУ as 2.5 days here was not enough to do all of the million exciting things that are available.

http://www.roughguides.com/destinations ... h-railway/

Did some souvenir shopping at the Nam Tok train station market тАУ t-shirts with the River Kwai on them. Then back to the Tiger Temple for the guys (as I did not fancy my picture with the tigers тАУ it was too controlled and fake, as the tigers are tied to the trees and they do the photo op from between 12:30 and 13.30 the hottest part of the day as that is when the Tigers are most docile). Sorry guys, no photos of my guides with the tigers тАУ I did not take any photos тАУ only this kitsch photo here at the entrance to the park.

[attachment=0:2mju9cso]entrance_to_the_Tiger_Temple_Wat_Pa_Luangta_Bua_Ya nnasampanno.jpg[/attachment:2mju9cso]

Ok, that ends my trip to Kanchanaburi тАУ and I can say that I had a GREAT time тАУ but my main regret is that I should have allocated more time to see more things (waterfalls, hot springs, caves, bamboo raft floating on the river, etc.) So, another reason to return and reflecting back тАУ I can say that you should take 5 days to truly enjoy Kanchanaburi. When I do, I am DEFINITELY returning to the River Kwai Village Jungle Resort тАУ and not only for that cute bellboy тАУ because that place was fantastic.

My next trip report that I will post next week will be about Pattaya тАУ in this segment тАУ my two lovely guides and private masseurs dropped me off in Bangkok at the bus station near the Pinklao bridge where they arranged for me a great taxi for Pattaya. We did our hugs goodbye and I cannot wait to see them again тАУ I love the both of them тАУ they are great guys.

To be continuedтАж.

[Brad the Impala]

Really nice reports which give a good sense of the places that you visit, and of your interesting menage a trois.

Do you all sleep in one bed?

[Smiles]

Please note that my trip report for Chiang Mai, Sukhothai, Kanchanaburi and Pattaya will be broken up into many smaller reports due to the SGT 7 photo upload limit

Thanks very much for the photos and the energy it takes to write great long posts like this yours above.

You can easily get around the 7-photo limit by NOT using the Sawatdee 'Upload Attachment' feature. I believe the limit on that feature is pre-built into the software itself and possibly the moderator cannot change that (though I don't know for sure).

The best way to put images into a post ~ i.e. if you wish to post more than 7 ~ is to first load your photos into an online photo album (e.g. Photobucket or Picasa or many others which provide free image support) then, once loaded there, just copy the photo URL address and paste it into the post. There is no board limitation on number of photos using this method.

[sexagenerian]

Thank you for the informative reports - I too visited Sukhothai in July - very hot the day I was there, 40 degrees so passed hiring a bicycle and did the historical park and surrounds in the comfort of an air conditioned car - the resort sounds magical and well worth a visit. Its strange how you can visit some places and hardly anyone around. Reminds me when I went to the Lotus Hotel in Chiang Mai for dinner one night in July - never seen a chef/cook so pleased to see a customer. And of course a big thank you for the pics of the wonderful Non - certainly hope you can drag those pool pics out of him!!!

[bkkmfj2648]

Smiles wrote:
You can easily get around the 7-photo limit by NOT using the Sawatdee 'Upload Attachment' feature. I believe the limit on that feature is pre-built into the software itself and possibly the moderator cannot change that (though I don't know for sure).

The best way to put images into a post ~ i.e. if you wish to post more than 7 ~ is to first load your photos into an online photo album (e.g. Photobucket or Picasa or many others which provide free image support) then, once loaded there, just copy the photo URL address and paste it into the post. There is no board limitation on number of photos using this method.

Smiles - that is a great idea. The pre-built into the software 7 photo limit is so frustrating.

Do you know that after I copy the photo URL address into the post - will the users see the web link to the photo or the actual photo?

I would prefer that the end-user sees the photo - as it makes for a better trip report read.

Again, thanks for your brilliant suggestion.

M.

[Smiles]

" ... Do you know that after I copy the photo URL address into the post - will the users see the web link to the photo or the actual photo? I would prefer that the end-user sees the photo - as it makes for a better trip report read."

No problem:

(1) Choose a photo image host. There are lots out there. I use Photobucket (you can load a huge number of photos to it, and all for free), but the site has over the years gotten more and more popular and unfortunately cluttered with adds. Google's Picasa is very good, and few adds. Another, very simple photo hosting site is TinyPic ( http://tinypic.com/about.php ). It's free as well and if you only use it for posting photos into message board topics is probably the easiest way to go.

(2) Once your photos are uploaded you can just right click on any photo and a dropdown box will appear. From that box click on 'Copy Image URL'.
(If you are putting numerous photos into a post then I find it easiest to past a group of them into MS notebook first. That way you don't have to run back and forth to your image host site.)

(3) Paste the URL(s) into your Sawatdee post, highlight them one by one and click on the Features Button named 'Img' which lives in a group of features at the top of your Compose Message Window.
Your image should then look like this in the Compose Message Window {img}http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v18/sawatdeephotos/balcony-2006_zps33127642.jpg{/img} (I have used the wiggly brackets '{......'/} instead of the square brackets just for show. Using the 'Img' button feature above will do that for you automatically.).

But in the actual post it will look like this (plus, no need to scroll!):





Sounds complicated I know, but once you get the hang of it it's quick as a breeze.

[Surfcrest]

You can easily get around the 7-photo limit by NOT using the Sawatdee 'Upload Attachment' feature. I believe the limit on that feature is pre-built into the software itself and possibly the moderator cannot change that (though I don't know for sure).

I changed the limit up to 7 from where it was before at the request of christianpfc a few years back. I believe 7 is the maximum we can allow due to the page length limitations of the phpBB software that the Board runs on. Sorry about that!

Smiles does raise an excellent option to using the attachment up loader, I use Photobucket mainly here as well to avoid having a photo that has to be scrolled or clicked on to be fully viewed. The only consideration for using Photobucket or another site similar is that you have to maintain the site and the photos you uploaded to that site for them to be viewable here forever. If you go way back to earlier posts on Sawatdee, you will see "Oooops Photo Not Available" for Photobucket uploads that are no longer there.

Surfcrest