Lotus in bloom....

Travelling round the country side... went to the largest fresh water lake in Thailand and I would boast that it's the biggest in SE Asia but I would probably be dribbling murkies and can't verify the facts!...it is quite large however (and definitely bigger than Singapore) having a presence in 3 provinces. Tale Noi Waterfowl Reserve is pretty ordinary in the heat of the day but if visited in the early morning before 8am when all the birds are active and the lotus flowers are in bloom, it is splendorous spectacular breathtaking. To hire a boat costs very little for an hour journey through reeds and millions of lotus flowers..it's quite magical..

Also visited a huge cave temple used for Vipassana meditation which I've been to numerous times, only to find all the lights out and 2 kids with flash lights miraculously appearing from nowhere! They led us down into the bowels of darkness where we were met with a group visiting the area for the first time. After about 20 metres some lights were turned on so you could actually see your hand in front of your face! The group walked super fast through the cavernous rooms (which I have previously taken more than an hour to explore in the light) so we decided to just hang around on the opposite side waiting for them to depart. They were "worried" that we didn't have a light to get back (I'm pretty sure, using my powers of deduction the kids were after a service fee for the torches!) but left after a mini. Sooo..we headed back in after a while to find the little boogers had turned off all the lights in the cave and the entire cave was pitch black! The only alternative back to the car was to walk the enormous circumference of the entire mountain in scorching heat. Firstly we attempted to walk the path holding on to the rail, knowing full well the drop off the side was about 6 metres deep into cold water and the path was not even a metre wide. We only got a few metres before aborting the attempt (due to heavy, squirming 3 year old in tow!). My trusty boy scout husband then set aboot to find a light source and came back with alter candles and a box of matches! Sigh...our hero! Walking gingerly holding onto 2 tiny little candles, rapidly burning out we made it to the entrance...we are ALIVE! Seriously living on the edge there. Nasty lil so and sos were sitting next to our car on the outside...grrr strangle boot head lock fantasies. Was pretty mystical walking through such a massive cave just by flickering candle light, bat screeches, wing flutterings and the sweet rank smell of guano!!